IS FEAR YOUR FRIEND OR FOE?

Fear is simply a signal — an invitation to assess our surroundings.

Fear, as defined in the Oxford Dictionary of English (3rd ed., Oxford University Press, 2010), is “an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm”. Breaking down the definition, let’s zoom into its first part: “an unpleasant emotion”.

Mostly, we don’t like unpleasant emotions. They make us uncomfortable, and our attention often goes to that unpleasantness rather than to what causes it. If we, however, pay attention to what causes the emotion — “the threat of danger, pain, or harm” — we see that fear is a response to what we may perceive as being dangerous, painful, or harmful. What is “danger, pain, or harm”? Simply put, whatever we believe to be so.

Then, what if fear is maybe just a misunderstood friend that only aims to protect us and nothing else? What if our education on how to handle emotions has made us see fear as a foe to be avoided, ignored, or suppressed? Indeed, what if...

Going back to the definition, we can interpret fear as just a signal telling us something might be wrong — an invitation to assess the potential “danger, pain, or harm” we might face. If that “danger, pain, or harm” is real, we protect ourselves accordingly; if not, we calm down and let the emotion dissolve naturally.