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  • Fear

    Is fear an innate state of being for humans? Are we genetically predisposed to worry? Anxiety? It seems to me that more and more people are worrying about small stuff. Is that we are inclined to worry/ feel anxious/be afraid of something and a lot of the big things aren't an issue anymore?
    We are what we are. Nothing more, nothing less. There is good and evil among every kind of people. It's the evil among us who rule now. -Anne Bishop, Daughter of the Blood

    I wondered if he could ever understand that it was a blessing, not a sin, to be graced with more than one love.
    It could be complicated; of course it could be complicated. And it opened one up to the possibility of more pain and loss.
    Still, it was a blessing I would never relinquish. Love, genuine love, was always a cause for joy.
    -Jacqueline Carey, Naamah's Curse

    Service to your fellows is the root of peace.

  • #2
    Re: Fear

    Honestly, I don't think it's innate at all. From all that I've observed, I think it's a learned behavior, and one that can relatively easily be contagious.

    That's not to be confused with the reptilian level of fight or flight behavior, however. Just the abstract fear that modern humans nourish.

    *shrug




    "Reason is not automatic. Those who deny it cannot be conquered by it." - Ayn Rand

    "Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." - Marcus Aurelius

    "The very ink with which history is written is merely fluid prejudice." - Mark Twain

    "The only gossip I'm interested in is things from the Weekly World News - 'Woman's bra bursts, 11 injured'. That kind of thing." - Johnny Depp


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    • #3
      Re: Fear

      Infants are afraid of sudden, loud noises. Everything else has to be learned.

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      • #4
        Re: Fear

        As Chain said - it is a great part of human behaviour. The feeling of fear is determined in us since the beginning, but it can work in different situations or not work at all. It often depends on the person.
        "Fair means that everybody gets what they need. And the only way to get that is to make it happen yourself."



        Since I adore cats, I might write something strange or unusual in my comment.Cats are awesome!!! ^_^

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        • #5
          Re: Fear

          Hmm. I guess what I'm getting at is.. if you are in a completely secure environment, everything's as good as it could possibly get, would you still find something to be anxious over? I think a lot of people would. Even if that was some crazy, this is too good to be true, reaction.
          We are what we are. Nothing more, nothing less. There is good and evil among every kind of people. It's the evil among us who rule now. -Anne Bishop, Daughter of the Blood

          I wondered if he could ever understand that it was a blessing, not a sin, to be graced with more than one love.
          It could be complicated; of course it could be complicated. And it opened one up to the possibility of more pain and loss.
          Still, it was a blessing I would never relinquish. Love, genuine love, was always a cause for joy.
          -Jacqueline Carey, Naamah's Curse

          Service to your fellows is the root of peace.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Fear

            I think we're naturally alert, but not anxious or afraid. We learn that.

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            • #7
              Re: Fear

              I think its an evolutionary trait, the capacity for fear. I think the *what* to fear is learned, but there are some things that instinctive, because its an evolutionary adaptation (dark places, deep water, heights). Fear is a tool for survival, its a response and motivator for stress (which can be a good thing). In the absence of stress, I think we would still have fear, because we'd fear the return of stress...we are capable of complex enough thoughts to know that stress will return (and look at prey animals, they know to stay alert for predators, even in their absence).
              “You have never answered but you did not need to. If I stand at the ocean I can hear you with your thousand voices. Sometimes you shout, hilarious laughter that taunts all questions. Other nights you are silent as death, a mirror in which the stars show themselves. Then I think you want to tell me something, but you never do. Of course I know I have written letters to no-one. But what if I find a trident tomorrow?" ~~Letters to Poseidon, Cees Nooteboom

              “We still carry this primal relationship to the Earth within our consciousness, even if we have long forgotten it. It is a primal recognition of the wonder, beauty, and divine nature of the Earth. It is a felt reverence for all that exists. Once we bring this foundational quality into our consciousness, we will be able to respond to our present man-made crisis from a place of balance, in which our actions will be grounded in an attitude of respect for all of life. This is the nature of real sustainability.”
              ~~Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

              "We are the offspring of history, and must establish our own paths in this most diverse and interesting of conceivable universes--one indifferent to our suffering, and therefore offering us maximal freedom to thrive, or to fail, in our own chosen way."
              ~~Stephen Jay Gould, Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History

              "Humans are not rational creatures. Now, logic and rationality are very helpful tools, but there’s also a place for embracing our subjectivity and thinking symbolically. Sometimes what our so-called higher thinking can’t or won’t see, our older, more primitive intuition will." John Beckett

              Pagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
              sigpic

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              • #8
                Re: Fear

                What a coincidence -- just a couple of days ago I briefly pondered what a life without fear would look like. Didn't take long for me to answer: "Short."

                "No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical." -- Niels Bohr

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                • #9
                  Re: Fear

                  Originally posted by Shahaku View Post
                  Hmm. I guess what I'm getting at is.. if you are in a completely secure environment, everything's as good as it could possibly get, would you still find something to be anxious over? I think a lot of people would. Even if that was some crazy, this is too good to be true, reaction.
                  I think that's part of the modern human's problem. In first world countries, we really don't have any natural predators, like lions or tigers or what-have-you (unless you're a jogger in mountain lion territory, or a golfer in Florida). But, our brains are still hard-wired to be alert and sensitive to threats in our environment. In the lack of actual things to be afraid of, actual predators, threats and risks... our brains get bored and invent things to fear. In and of itself, this is an evolutionary tactic to keep us alive - our brain still thinks there are lions lurking in the bushes, and wants us to stay sharp and ready to fight or flee. Some people are more sensitive to their imagination and their imagination's effect on their adrenal system, so they end up with generalized anxiety and panic disorders, along with stress and burn-out and stress-related chronic illness.
                  The forum member formerly known as perzephone. Or Perze. I've shed a skin.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Fear

                    In my opinion. Fear itself as a concept is innate, anxiety is more or less learned (unless you're naturally born with some chemical predisposition).

                    Although, for the record, I do see anxiety here (the USA) a lot more than I ever saw it in the UK and Slovenia. There's been the speculation that perhaps the US is a fear-based country where the news media hypes up any gruesome story to boost their ratings, that the government keeps their citizens on edge, and that in turn leads to more people owning and carrying firearms, looking sideways at their neighbors and the people they walk by on the street, and generally maintaining a mind of paranoia against any and all who are around them.

                    I'm not convinced that's the only reason for the amount of anxiety people have today (for example, I'm pretty sure the job situation-- or lack thereof-- has some pull there), but maybe there's points to be had in combination with other factors.

                    Some people do become more anxious than others, for whatever reasons, and that's just how the world is. We're all a little different, have different limits, different factors of resilience, and different situations.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Fear

                      Hmm. "Worry buckets". Does that sound accurate?




                      "Reason is not automatic. Those who deny it cannot be conquered by it." - Ayn Rand

                      "Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." - Marcus Aurelius

                      "The very ink with which history is written is merely fluid prejudice." - Mark Twain

                      "The only gossip I'm interested in is things from the Weekly World News - 'Woman's bra bursts, 11 injured'. That kind of thing." - Johnny Depp


                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Fear

                        Fear is something that is built in everyone of us. We are all humans, all have a right to fear something. What we fear - greatly depends on the circumstances, or sometimes is cause from events that happened with us.
                        Sometimes it can be overcome, sometimes not. But as a human, one can put this fear aside, if there is someone or something he needs to protect or help.
                        "Fair means that everybody gets what they need. And the only way to get that is to make it happen yourself."



                        Since I adore cats, I might write something strange or unusual in my comment.Cats are awesome!!! ^_^

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Fear

                          I think fear is a symptom of danger but it's customary to suppress symptoms so often the messenger is shot and nothing is learned. If the danger is ignored for long enough hope may still prevail but only in a precarious state of euphoria or mania, one which assists short-term interests by averting recognition of long-term prospects

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                          • #14
                            Re: Fear

                            ... but those who ignore their fears can be redeemed as messengers as their lives become cautionary tales

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                            • #15
                              Re: Fear

                              Originally posted by Shahaku View Post
                              Hmm. I guess what I'm getting at is.. if you are in a completely secure environment, everything's as good as it could possibly get, would you still find something to be anxious over? I think a lot of people would. Even if that was some crazy, this is too good to be true, reaction.
                              I would. But I think that my situation is not "ordinary" in the sense of how most people would react. I'm quite sure that a great many people out there would find things to worry about in the situation you have described, but I take things to the extreme because of my mental illness.

                              I find things to worry about to the extent that my every ability to function is compromised at times. I catastrophise about all manner of things - someone I care about has a headache and to me it must be a brain tumor; my boss gives me negative feedback and I make the assumption that I'm either just too stupid to live or I'm going to fired.

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