Cynnabyte, that reminds me of this:
The Bene Gesserit Littainy against Fear.
Pg 19 of Dune
I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.
Reading this thread I have come to the conclusion that we are afraid of only one thing - pain. Being afraid of the dark is being scared of the unknown, because what we don't know about might hurt us. There could be scary things hiding in the dark. Being afraid of needles and spiders etc. is a fear of pain. Being afraid of driving because we may hurt others is a fear of the distress we may cause others and therefore the worry and guilt we cause ourselves, and/or the pain of incarceration. Worry and guilt are kinds of pyschological pain. The fear that our friends and family don't really like us and are just being polite is the fear that we are unloved. Feeling unloved is another kind of pyschological pain. We are also scared of things we don't understand, because if we don't understand every aspect of a thing and how or why it works then it might be something that could cause us pain.
We're human. The majority of us don't like pain, because pain is a warning that something is wrong. "OW! HOT!" can mean "Take your hand off that hotplate, it is burning your skin and that is not a good thing." "Aw! SAD!" can mean "They don't like you - change your behavior so you are more socially acceptable and then more people will like you and be your friend - because there is safety in numbers." Therefore, there is not really any such thing as an
irrational fear. Really, an "irrational fear" is just someone labeling you to make themselves feel more comfortable because they don't understand your fear and, well, didn't I say not understanding things was a fear already?
So basically, the best we can do is try to analyze each fear and weigh risks against benefits. Is it worth the effort to get over your fear of sharks? If you ever want to go scuba diving, probably yes. If you don't, probably not. If you worry sharks will come out of the shower head during your daily wash, probably yes. Fear is an instinct that has evolved over millions of years. Those that worried there was a lion hiding in that bush lived every time there really
was a lion. The rest became cat food. The scared live on and breed and pass on their scared little genetics.
To conclude (I didn't mean to write an article guys, sorry, I started typing and it just sort of... happened. At least there is a scroll bar!) sometimes it is worth fighting against your instincts and sometimes it is not. As a librarian, I could be crushed by a stack of falling books and be killed! But this is very unlikely event and it is not worth giving up a paycheque for. Any time I make the Vancouver to Sydney flight we could crash! But it's only a slim chance, so I don't let it get in the way of seeing my loved ones. Basically, like everything in life, you need to put it into perspective.
P.S. Having said all that, thank you to Ephemere and everyone else for talking about their fear of driving. I am 23 now, and I
still don't drive.
