Fear

Fear is what we feel when we come across something that could hurt us. It’s a perfectly natural reaction, as fear helps protect us, making us alert to danger so we can deal with it properly. However, when we let fear get the better of us we can sometime act in ways we later regret. That’s why it’s so important to learn to recognise when we’re afraid and what we’re afraid of.

Words

Anxious, Scared, Cautious, Frightened, Worried, Uneasy, Nervous, Frightened, Stressed, Stuck, Unsure, Confused, Tense, Vulnerable, Timid, Panicky, Insecure, On Edge, Paranoid

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Like all emotions, fear can be mild, medium, or intense depending on both the situation and the person. Perhaps you’re afraid of someone, or perhaps something. Fear of failure can be a powerful thing, particularly with all the pressure from parents, teachers and exams. However, fear can be useful.

We feel fear because it’s a warning, a signal that tells us to be careful. When we’re afraid of something, our body goes into something called “fight or flight’ mode, after the way animals either attack or run away when threatened. When we feel it, our heart rate speeds up, we breathe faster and we may turn pale, start to shake or sweat. We may even feel “butterflies” in our stomach. However, it’s important to know what there’s a difference between fear and anxiety.

While fear has a distinct cause (like a person, animal or situation that someone is afraid of), anxiety is a more general feeling which can be hard to pin down. That’s why it’s more important than ever to learn to talk about emotions and identify exactly what we’re feeling.