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Why We Fear

By Winner Onyinye

25 July 2021   |   1:00 pm

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Do you have moments when you feel like sinking into the ground? Did you jump when a rat ran through your legs as a child, or do you still do? Do you always want the lights on at night even after twenty-three hours of sunlight? Or do you always want people around you because you…

Do you have moments when you feel like sinking into the ground? Did you jump when a rat ran through your legs as a child, or do you still do?

Do you always want the lights on at night even after twenty-three hours of sunlight? Or do you always want people around you because you fear being alone?

Are you afraid of something? If so, how do you explain your fears? Is it a scary old man residing in your heart that is after you?

Do you have thoughts to flee, a feeling to get under a warm blanket, a feeling to isolate from people, a mental disorder that gets your whole body vibrating, a simple loss of speech, heartache, or a series of actions that you regret later on?

Who do you blame for your fears? The expectations you placed, the memories of your hurtful pasts, your scary teddy, the evil you did, your experiences, karma, your Dad, your Mum, your grey hair grandma, the evil witch in your village, the universe, whispers in the air, the black shadows you see at night or your ignorance.

Where then did you get your fears?
Studies show that a child is born with two types of fears: the fear of heights and the fear of noise. The rest of us adults derive our fears from a lot of other things. Here are some of our fears.
• Your unique abilities
• Not getting a job
• Going for an interview
• A heartbreak
• Losing a loved one
• Having a spillover year in school
• Not having a boyfriend or girlfriend
• Rejection
• Poverty
• Low self-esteem
• Shame
• Depression
• Hopelessness
• Loneliness
• Old age
• Not getting married
• The existence of death
• Weakness
• A guilty conscience
• Pressure
• A threat of harm
• Failure

Fear is therefore common among humans, from the strongest to the weakest, the biggest to the smallest. Then there are consequences of detrimental fear which are usually fatal and as such it is discouraged. Some of the consequences are thus:
• Emotional shock
• Cardiovascular damages
• Gastrointestinal problems such as ulcer
• It accelerates ageing
• It stifles your thinking and actions
• It decreases fertility
• It causes stagnation
• It leads to self-doubt

Do you know that part of the body where you feel? Yes, the heart beneath our ribcage, that’s exactly where people keep their hearts. The heart is the organ that is mostly affected by fear. Yet it is so fragile that it can be so gripped that it leads to death.

For this reason, we should treat our fears as a guest, welcome it, confront it and refuse to be intimidated by unfavourable situations and circumstances.

Nonetheless, the fears we face are usually accompanied by pains either after or before, but the pain is inevitable, and only what we do with it makes a difference.

So while some people have to face fear from time to time, others have to battle fear among others in their personality daily because of bad wiring or the likes.

But it is important that you do not walk around with the world on your shoulders no matter the fears you face, for fear, is like wetting your pants, while courage is merely showing up for a party with wet pants. Fear doesn’t mean you’re weak, for fear can be an ally, so feel the fear but do it anyway.

Want a job? Make that phone call, write the application. Feeling lonely? Reach out to someone. Doubting your abilities? Write the book, sing the song, produce the film, paint if you would, and when you fail, pick yourself back up and try again.

Feeling weak? Eat healthier, take rest, and exercise. Google something and learn something new. For fear is just always around us to remind us that we are humans and we will always need each other.