There’s a huge difference between fears and phobias. We all have fears. Some are concrete, like spiders and snakes. And some are intangible, like dying alone. What makes a fear become a phobia is when your fear turns into an irrational avoidance.
If you’re not going to face your fear, avoiding it is not the answer. Some people live their entire lives in fear. Those are the people who you feel sorry for. Those are the people who never take risks and never stand up for themselves because they’re afraid of something bigger — failure.
We all want to feel accepted and content in this world. But how will that ever be achieved if you keep running? In Associate FUSE Editor’s Hilly Nguyen’s article “Fight or Flight” she brings up the well-known theory that animals react to threats with a general discharge of the sympathetic nervous system, according to Psychology Today. So in a stressful situation, you can choose to fight and face your fears, or choose to run away from your problems.
Most of the times, we run away from fears because we’re afraid of the future. That’s right. We’re afraid of something that hasn’t even happened yet.
We build up these insecurities in our heads, and rather than face a problem straight on, we choose the safe route of never exploring it. The problem with constantly “flighting” is that you never really know your true potential as a person. You never know if your fear is something you’re supposed to face in life. Maybe you’re running away from the love of your life or a job opportunity. The world is full of uncertainty. That’s something you’ll have to face and fight.
