Many individuals strongly believe that fear isn’t something we should be afraid of, rather than being afraid- we should look at the cold hard facts and evidence of why this statement could be seen as true. While people should not let their minds take over their rational judgment, this statement is, from the experience of my own and others, wildly false. Seeing fear as harmful, unjust, or anything in between is nothing more than harmful itself. Nonetheless, people still hold dear to the fact that fear isn’t something to fathom.
Although, at times, fear can be seen as the bad guy in some situations because of the irrational horrors it brings, people seem to forget that a simple gut feeling- premonition, or any sign in your body that gives you a warning, seems to have never steered you wrong. Even if said thing to be fearful of wasn’t dangerous in the first place. For example, in the article “What are you so afraid of?” author Akiko Busch states, “Fear, arriving in layers in which genetic legacy converges with personal experience, is vital to our survival. When we freeze, stop in our tracks, or take flight, it is a biological response to what we sense as near and present danger”. This is inherently vital to my peace because it further digests the fact that we as human beings can and will sense danger. Whether it is without our willingness to think of such horrors that are possible. It is genetic in all humans, and inescapable.
There are many, MANY situations where fear is necessary. Fear, in general, all aspects of the spectrum is necessary for human survival- and this has been proven from real-life experiences. Some that even the readers can relate to and recall. Things like dark alleyways, enclosed spaces, and anything that can endure a creepy image in your head are arguably something you should fear. Not because of the places themselves, but the lingering feeling of what can happen inside of those places. In short, you don’t know what can kill you. Ironically enough, the text, “You don’t know what can kill you” by author Jason Daley argues a solid claim about general fear and how people react to such fear. For evidence, In the previously said text, Jason Daley includes in his article, “ “even though the earthquake and tsunami took all the lives, all our attention was focused on the radiation”. To some people, fear such as this can come off as uncaring or selfish—but I say otherwise. To fear for yourself is something that makes fear the more terrifying. Knowing what happened to someone and then not wanting it to happen to you is the scariest thing you could imagine. Especially if you’re at risk of it happening to you already.
Therefore, while fear is something to be moderately worried about- as stated by myself in my previous paragraph- you can never know what has the potential of killing you on the spot. Living in a world where people are shielded from “irrational” fears is idiotic in a sense. Take it from, once lived again, Jason Daley from the text “You don’t know what can kill you”, “In short, our risk perception is often at direct odds with reality.” In definite, I and many other people would agree to see this statement as true. People who forget the meaning of fear often use the argument that it is foolish to have your mind run wild with scenarios that are unlikely to happen—however, our minds are simply trying to warn us of the possible dangers that could happen. As long as it isn’t some mystical being someone is afraid of, all fear of what lurks in that spooky corner is valid. And it is silly to say that those fears are something that people shouldn’t be afraid of.
In closing, Fear is something society will never manage to tame. It is a natural, biological, and necessary function in a human’s brain to fear what they fear at any time. Without fear, many people wouldn’t be too cautious in situations where the 100 percent needed to and this would result in something more catastrophic. The feeling of fear can often save our lives or help us make the right decisions in doing so. And frankly put, without it, most of us would be dead.
"Being scared is a part of being alive. Accept it. Walk through it."
Robin S. Sharma
