Fear, Human's Biological Emotion And How I Would Love To Control It

Fear! What is it and why do we hold so dearly to its embrace? To take a scientific approach here, you need to consider what fear is. Psychologists define fear as An anxious feeling, caused by our anticipation of some imagined event or experience. It is a biological response, and likely one of our first emotions. Fear protected the tribe, the flock and crops. We grew warriors, and battle techniques, and we've gotten really good at this. In our own life, we create fears and we engage with them like dancers. 

But psychologists go further to explain that there are only five fears that we can take to the floor to dance with: 

Extinction - fear of annihilation, of ceasing to exist. This is a more fundamental way to express it than just calling it the "fear of death". The idea of no longer being arouses a primary existential anxiety in all normal humans. Consider that panicky feeling you get when you look over the edge of a high building.

Mutilation - fear of losing any part of our precious bodily structure; the thought of having our body's boundaries invaded, or of losing the integrity of any organ, body part, or natural function. For example, anxiety about animals, such as bugs, spiders, snakes, and other creepy things arises from fear of mutilation.

Loss of Autonomy - fear of being immobilized, paralyzed, restricted, enveloped, overwhelmed, entrapped, imprisoned, smothered, or controlled by circumstances. In a physical form, it's sometimes known as claustrophobia, but it also extends to social interactions and relationships.

Separation - fear of abandonment, rejection, and loss of connectedness - of becoming a non-person - not wanted, respected, or valued by anyone else. The "silent treatment," when imposed by a group, can have a devastating psychological effect on the targeted person.

Ego-death - fear of humiliation, shame, or any other mechanism of profound self-disapproval that threatens the loss of integrity of the Self; fear of the shattering or disintegration of one's constructed sense of lovability, capability, and worthiness.

But why do we engage in fear so much? What is it? Why are we so afraid? If we have nothing to fear but fear itself, why do we focus on it? 

The terror from afar and, closer than not
Truer than all we've ever known
Fear like a rear-view mirror, the shadow.
Happenings with little understanding,
Fear that breaks us, and we comprehend little.
Shaking, hallow breath, it halts - terror.
We go no further.
We go no further.

I have no answers, but only continue to explore what my fears are and why they drive me. And at this point, they are driving me.