What is fear?

Is fear the quick rise in body temperature? the sudden fast heart beating, the shaking and quivering of hands, the stomach churning, the hair standing...the feeling?

[Thunder Bow]

Fear could be all that, along with anxiety related to fear.

[Miss Hepburn]

I have heard fear is the absence of something.

That something could be confidence, faith, peace, light, God, knowledge,
understanding and wisdom, so... ignorance...you
could fill in the blank.

Then, fear has brothers and sisters...worry, fretting, doubt, low self esteem, projecting, blame,
nervousness, anxiety,
anger, hatred...the list goes on...but fear is their big brother.

Ask any psychologist...fear is the root....then they take it deeper and fear of what ...
ultimately they come up with abandonment.
Bec if abandoned/rejected as a baby ...it means death.

[LillyBelle]

I suffer from anxiety. I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder,my Psychologist diagnosed me with Agoraphobia and my current Psychiatrist just says I have severe anxiety.

Fear for me seems to come from my own thoughts. My mind will come up with the worst case scenario. Then,I will be terrified that,that's what will happen. So,I think the root cause of my fear is the unknown and change. Since,I don't know what the end result will be,I seem to make up what the worst one could be. If I know whats going to happen,then there really isn't anything to fear because the end has already been decided and is out of my control.

[Molearner]

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

I have heard fear is the absence of something.

.

Miss Hepburn,

I define that 'something' as love. Fear is the absence of love....that is the short answer.

[Natively Libran]

Fear is an acronym: False. Evidence. Appearing. Real.

It's not knowing, that's what fear is. It's an illusion. We fear what we don't understand. What scares humans the most is uncertainty (not knowing). We only feel liberated from fear when we've acquired the knowledge to understand our fears. This is why fear is an illusion.

Andrew Smith - "People fear what they don't understand and hate what they can't conquer."

[ocean breeze]

Resistance against reality.

It's not knowing, that's what fear is. It's an illusion. We fear what we don't understand. What scares humans the most is uncertainty (not knowing).

There are plenty of things i don't know or understand but i don't fear it.

[Natively Libran]

Originally Posted by ocean breeze

There are plenty of things i don't know or understand but i don't fear it.

That means you are not caught within the illusion of fear.

[SpiritCarrier]

Originally Posted by grpaul

Is fear the quick rise in body temperature? the sudden fast heart beating, the shaking and quivering of hands, the stomach churning, the hair standing...the feeling?

That definition of fear could also be used to explain the feeling one gets when they are in the company of someone they love and are passionate about. A lover.

I think my definition of fear would be....

Fear is that feeling you get that paralyzes you from taking action. It is what keeps a person stagnant. Fear of any situation that you do not have control over because when control is out of our hands it becomes the unknown.

I have found that facing my fears brings about a euphoric state. Making ones self proud is important part of our spiritual journey.

Not all unknown things create fear. On the other side of that coin, IMO, each time we do not have control it creates fear.

So to me fear = loss of control.

Good topic and great answers.

Peace and Light,
SC

[ocean breeze]

Originally Posted by Natively Libran

That means you are not caught within the illusion of fear.

There are plenty of things i fear. I do agree with you but only to a small extent. I just think fear goes a lot deeper than what you described.