Fears and Phobias
Being afraid is completely normal. Fear protects us humans from danger and is deeply anchored in our brain stem. In the Stone Age, fear was what protected humans when encountering animals, such as the saber-toothed tiger, and led to survival. The fear triggers a reaction in us, namely the so-called “fight-flight-freeze” reaction. People in the Stone Age had to decide within seconds whether they would fight the tiger or flee to ensure survival, or they would freeze in fear and not survive. Nowadays we usually don’t encounter wild animals in our everyday lives, but in frightening situations we still react as our ancestors did in the Stone Age. A healthy level of fear protects us from danger. However, when fear takes control and prevents us from freely living our everyday lives, it loses its original purpose and can be very distressing. We feel attacked, avoid anxiety-provoking situations, or freeze and feel overwhelmed. A distinction is made between situational and non-situational (so-called “free floating”) anxiety. Situational anxiety includes, among others:
- Agoraphobia (fear of crowds, public spaces, etc.)
- Social phobia
- Specific phobias such as arachnophobia (fear of spiders), acrophobia (fear of heights), claustrophobia (fear of closed spaces), etc.,
while free floating anxiety includes generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder.
Fears and Phobias
Being afraid is completely normal. Fear protects us humans from danger and is deeply anchored in our brain stem. In the Stone Age, fear was what protected humans when encountering animals, such as the saber-toothed tiger, and led to survival. The fear triggers a reaction in us, namely the so-called “fight-flight-freeze” reaction. People in the Stone Age had to decide within seconds whether they would fight the tiger or flee to ensure survival, or they would freeze in fear and not survive. Nowadays we usually don’t encounter wild animals in our everyday lives, but in frightening situations we still react as our ancestors did in the Stone Age. A healthy level of fear protects us from danger. However, when fear takes control and prevents us from freely living our everyday lives, it loses its original purpose and can be very distressing. We feel attacked, avoid anxiety-provoking situations, or freeze and feel overwhelmed. A distinction is made between situational and non-situational (so-called “free floating”) anxiety. Situational anxiety includes, among others:
- Agoraphobia (fear of crowds, public spaces, etc.)
- Social phobia
- Specific phobias such as arachnophobia (fear of spiders), acrophobia (fear of heights), claustrophobia (fear of closed spaces), etc.,
while free floating anxiety includes generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder.