“Thus, fear and anxiety are not the same thing. For example, when we are threatened by a dangerous dog we are dealing with fear, this fear empowers us to defend ourselves against the external threat, and when, for example, we are afraid of losing our job we are dealing with anxiety (‘an expectation rather than a fact’).”
“To better grasp the difference between anxiety and fear complete Exercise One. Anxiety versus fear. Write down examples of anxiety (“an expectation rather than a fact”, “an imagined and unlikely possibility”) and then examples of fear (related to “the presence of an external threat”).
Exercise One. Anxiety versus fear.
Examples of anxiety
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Examples of fear
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“In everyday life we have to deal with everyday fear and anxiety, and sometimes with pathological fear and anxiety. Some people suffer from anxiety disorders. Joseph Le Doux lists the following ‘fear and anxiety disorders’: paroxysmal anxiety, generalised anxiety, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), social phobias and specific phobias1
1 J. Le Doux, Lęk. Neuronauka na tropie źródeł lęku i strachu., s.50.”
“CHAPTER TWO.
THE NEGATIVE SIDES OF LIVING WITH ANXIETIES AND FEARS
The source literature certainly cites many negative sides of living with anxieties and fears. In this book I will focus on a few of them (it is not my aim to give an extensive and exhaustive description). As a consequence of human anxieties, we can observe the following negative attitudes:
- avoiding situations that are associated with danger (e.g. someone who fears talking to strangers avoids social situations and those in which someone else might ask or start a conversation)
- lack of taking on life challenges (e.g. someone fears they will not make it at university and gives up applying to university and consequently does not give themselves the chance to make a positive change in their life)
- anxiety about exceeding one’s comfort zone (e.g. someone accepts his/her current not-so-good job situation, but does not have the courage to leave his/her comfort zone and start looking for a new job; such a person is in his/her comfort zone, but at the same time this zone limits the person who succumbs to this kind of anxiety)
- avoiding contact with unfamiliar people (with the result that opportunities for development are limited, as other people can have a positive influence on us, e.g. they can be role models or inspire us)1
1M. Kerth, Emocje A-Z. Rozpoznać, zrozumieć, oswoić., s. 52.”
That’s all for today.
Dare to live. It’s YOUR life.
Dariusz Łukasik
DARE TO LIVE 