Fear is a strong negative emotion that arises as a result of an imaginary or real danger and poses a threat to life for the individual. In psychology, fear is understood as the internal state of a person, which is caused by an alleged or real disaster.
Psychologists attribute fear to emotional processes. K. Izard defined this state as basic emotions related to innate, which have genetic, physiological components. Fear mobilizes the individual's body to avoid behavior. A person's negative emotion signals a state of danger, which directly depends on numerous external and internal, acquired or congenital causes.
Psychology of fear
Two neural pathways are responsible for the development of this feeling, which must function simultaneously. The first responsible for the main emotions, reacts quickly and is accompanied by a significant number of errors. The second reacts much more slowly, but more accurately. The first path helps us quickly respond to signs of danger, but often works as a false alarm. The second way makes it possible to more thoroughly assess the situation and therefore respond more accurately to the danger.
In the case of a feeling of fear in a person who is initiated by the first way, there is a blockage by the functioning of the second way, evaluating some signs of danger as unrealistic. When a phobia occurs, the second path begins to function inadequately, which provokes the development of a feeling of fear for stimuli that are dangerous.
Reasons for fear
In everyday life, as well as in emergency situations, a person is faced with a strong emotion - fear. Negative emotion in a person is a long or short-term emotional process that develops due to an imaginary or real danger. Often this condition is marked by unpleasant sensations, at the same time being a signal for protection, since the main goal facing a person is to save his life.
But it should be borne in mind that the response to fear is the unconscious or thoughtless actions of a person, which are caused by panic attacks with the manifestation of severe anxiety. Depending on the situation, the flow of the emotion of fear in all people varies significantly in strength, as well as in the impact on behavior. A timely clarification of the cause will significantly speed up getting rid of negative emotions.
The causes of fear are both hidden and obvious. Often the person does not remember the obvious reasons. Under the hidden understand the fears coming from childhood, for example, enhanced parental care, temptations, a consequence of psychological trauma; fears caused by moral conflict or an unresolved problem.
There are cognitively constructed reasons: feelings of rejection, loneliness, threats to self-esteem, depression, feelings of inadequacy, feelings of imminent failure.
Consequences of negative emotions in a person: strong nervous tension, emotional states of uncertainty, search for protection, prompting the individual to escape, rescue. There are basic functions of people's fear, as well as the accompanying emotional states: protective, signaling, adaptive, search.
Fear can manifest itself in the form of a depressed or agitated emotional state. Panic fear (horror) is often marked by a depressed state. Synonyms for the term "fear" or similar in state are the terms "anxiety", "panic", "fright", "phobias".
If a person has a short-term and at the same time strong fear caused by a sudden stimulus, then he will be attributed to fright, and long-term and not clearly expressed - to anxiety.
Conditions such as phobias can lead to frequent as well as strong experiences of negative emotion by an individual. A phobia is understood as an irrational, obsessive fear associated with a certain situation or object, when a person cannot cope with it on his own.
Signs of fear
Some features of the expression of negative emotions are manifested in physiological changes: increased sweating, heart palpitations, diarrhea, dilation and constriction of the pupils, urinary incontinence, shifting eyes. These signs appear when life is threatened or in front of a characteristic biological fear.
Signs of fear are forced silence, passivity, refusal to act, avoidance of communication, insecure behavior, the occurrence of a speech defect (stuttering) and bad habits (looking around, stooping, biting nails, fiddling with objects); the individual strives for solitude and isolation, which contributes to the development of depression, melancholy, and in some cases provokes. People who are afraid complain about the obsession of the idea, which ultimately prevents them from living a full life. Obsession with fear interferes with initiative and forces inaction. At the same time, deceptive visions and mirages accompany a person; he is afraid, trying to hide or run away.
Feelings that arise with a strong negative emotion: the earth leaves from under the feet, adequacy and control over the situation are lost, internal numbness and numbness (stupor) occurs. A person becomes fussy and hyperactive, he always needs to run somewhere, because it is unbearable to be alone with the object or problem of fear. A person is clamped and dependent, stuffed with complexes of insecurity. Depending on the type of nervous system, the individual defends himself and goes on the offensive, showing aggression. In fact, this acts as a mask for experiences, addictions and anxieties.
Fears manifest themselves in different ways, but they have common features: anxiety, anxiety, nightmares, irritability, suspicion, suspiciousness, passivity, tearfulness.
Types of fears
Yu.V. Shcherbatykh singled out the following classification of fears. The professor divided all fears into three groups: social, biological, existential.
He attributed to the biological group those that are directly related to the threat to human life, the social group is responsible for fears and fears in social status, the scientist associated the existential group of fears with the essence of man, which is noted in all people.
All social fears are caused by situations that can undermine social status, lower self-esteem. These include fear of public speaking, responsibility, social contacts.
Existential fears are associated with the intellect of the individual and are caused (by reflections on issues that affect the problems of life, as well as death and the very existence of a person). For example, it is a fear of time, death, and also the meaninglessness of human existence, etc.
Following this principle: the fear of fire is attributed to the biological category, the fear of the stage - to the social, and the fear of death - to the existential.
In addition, there are also intermediate forms of fear that stand on the verge of two groups. These include the fear of disease. On the one hand, the disease brings suffering, pain, damage (a biological factor), and on the other hand, a social factor (separation from society and the team, switching off from usual activities, lower incomes, poverty, dismissal from work). Therefore, this state is attributed to the border of the biological and social groups, the fear of swimming in a pond on the border of the biological and existential, the fear of losing loved ones on the border of the biological and existential groups. It should be noted that in each phobia all three components are noted, but one is dominant.
It is normal for an individual to be afraid of dangerous animals, certain situations, and natural phenomena. The fears of people that appear about this are of a reflex or genetic nature. In the first case, the danger is based on negative experience, in the second it is recorded at the genetic level. Both cases control the mind and logic. Presumably, these reactions have lost their useful meaning and therefore interfere with a person to live a full and happy life quite strongly. For example, it makes sense to be careful about snakes, but it is foolish to be afraid of small spiders; one may reasonably be afraid of lightning, but not of thunder, which is incapable of causing harm. With such phobias and inconveniences, people should rebuild their reflexes.
The fears of people that arise in situations dangerous to health, as well as life, have a protective function, and this is useful. And people's fears of medical manipulations can be harmful to health, as they will interfere with the timely diagnosis of the disease and start treatment.
The fears of people are diverse, as are the fields of activity. The phobia is based on the instinct of self-preservation and acts as a defensive reaction to danger. Fear can manifest itself in various forms. If the negative emotion is not pronounced, then it is experienced as a blurred, vague feeling - anxiety. A stronger fear is noted in negative feelings: horror, panic.
State of fear
Negative emotion is a normal response of an individual to the vicissitudes of life. With an implicitly expressed form, this state acts as an adaptive reaction. For example, an applicant cannot successfully pass an exam without experiencing excitement and any anxiety. But in extreme terms, the state of fear deprives the individual of the ability to fight, giving a feeling of horror and panic. Excessive excitement and anxiety do not allow the applicant to concentrate during the exam, he may lose his voice. Researchers often note a state of anxiety and fear in patients during an extreme situation.
The state of fear is helped to remove sedatives and benzodiazepines for a short time. Negative emotion includes a state of irritability, horror, immersion in certain thoughts, and is also marked by a change in physiological parameters: the appearance of shortness of breath, excessive sweating, insomnia, chills. These manifestations intensify over time and this complicates the patient's usual life. Often this condition turns into a chronic one and manifests itself in the absence of an external specific reason.
Feeling of fear
It would be more accurate to speak the emotion of fear, but there is no clear boundary between these two concepts. Often, when there is a short-term effect, they talk about emotion, and when there is a long-term effect, they mean a feeling of fear. This is what distinguishes the two concepts. And in colloquial speech, fear is referred to as both a feeling and an emotion. In people, fear manifests itself in different ways: for someone it fetters, limits, and for someone, on the contrary, it activates activity.
The feeling of fear is individual and reflects all genetic characteristics, as well as the characteristics of upbringing and culture, temperament, accentuation, and neuroticism of each individual.
There are both external and internal manifestations of fear. Under external they understand how an individual looks, and as internal they refer to the physiological processes occurring in the body. Because of all these processes, fear is referred to as a negative emotion, which negatively affects the entire body, increasing the pulse and heartbeat, respectively increasing the pressure, and sometimes vice versa, increasing sweating, changing the composition of the blood (releasing the hormone adrenaline).
The essence of fear lies in the fact that the individual, being afraid, tries to avoid situations that provoke negative emotion. Strong fear, being a toxic emotion, provokes the development of various diseases.
Fear is observed in all individuals. Neurotic fear is noted in every third inhabitant of the Earth, however, if it reaches strength, then it turns into horror and this takes the individual out of control of consciousness, and as a result, numbness, panic, defensiveness, flight. Therefore, the emotion of fear is justified and serves for the survival of the individual, but it can also take pathological forms that will require the intervention of doctors. Each fear performs a specific function and arises for a reason.
Fear of heights protects against falling from a mountain or a balcony, fear of getting burned makes you not come close to the fire, and, therefore, protects you from injury. The fear of public speaking makes you prepare more carefully for speeches, take courses in rhetoric, which should help in career growth. It is natural that the individual tries to overcome personal fears. In the event that the source of danger is indefinite or unconscious, then the state that arises in this case is called anxiety.
panic fear
This condition never arises without reason. For its development, a number of factors and conditions are necessary: anxiety, and anxiety, stress, schizophrenia, hypochondria,.
The suppressed human psyche quickly reacts to any irritants and therefore restless thoughts can undermine the person's capacity. Anxiety and related conditions gradually turn into neurosis, and neurosis, in turn, provokes the emergence of panic fear.
This condition cannot be foreseen, since it can occur at any time: at work, on the street, in transport, in a store. A panic state is a protective reaction of the body to a perceived threat or an imaginary one. Panic causeless fear is characterized by the manifestation of such symptoms: suffocation, dizziness, palpitations, trembling, stupor, chaos of thoughts. Some cases are marked by chills or vomiting. Such states last from an hour to two for one or two times a week. The stronger the mental disorder, the longer and more often.
Often, this condition can occur against the background of overwork, exhaustion of the body in emotionally unstable people. In most cases, women fall under this category, as emotional, vulnerable, reacting sharply to stress. However, men also experience panicky unreasonable fear, but they try not to admit it to others.
Panic fear does not disappear on its own, and panic attacks will haunt patients. Treatment is carried out strictly under the supervision of psychiatrists, and the removal of symptoms with alcohol only aggravates the situation, and panic fear will appear not only after stress, but also when nothing threatens.
fear of pain
Since it is common for a person to periodically be afraid of something, this is a normal reaction of our body, which reflects the performance of protective functions. Fear of pain is one of the most common experiences of this kind. Having previously experienced pain, the individual on an emotional level tries to avoid the repetition of this sensation, and fear acts as a protective mechanism that prevents dangerous situations.
Fear of pain is not only useful, but also harmful. A person, not understanding how to get rid of this condition, tries not to visit the dentist for a long time or avoids an important operation, as well as the examination method. In this case, fear has a destructive function and this should be fought. Confusion before effectively getting rid of the fear of pain only exacerbates the situation and encourages the formation of a panic reaction.
Modern medicine currently has various methods of pain relief, so the fear of pain is predominantly only psychological in nature. This negative emotion is rarely formed from previous experiences. Most likely, the fear of pain from injuries, burns, frostbite in humans is strong, and this is a protective function.
Treatment of fears
Before starting therapy, it is necessary to diagnose, within the framework of which mental disorder, fears are manifested. Phobias are found in hypochondria, depression, in the structure of neurotic disorders, panic attacks, panic disorders.
The feeling of fear occupies a significant place in the clinical picture of somatic diseases (hypertension, bronchial asthma, and others). Fear can also act as a normal reaction of the individual to the situation in which he finds himself. Therefore, the correct diagnosis is responsible for the tactics of treatment. The development of the disease, from the point of view of pathogenesis, should be treated in the aggregate of symptoms, and not its individual manifestations.
Fear of pain can be effectively treated by psychotherapeutic methods and is eliminated by therapy, which has an individual character. Many people who do not have special knowledge to get rid of the fear of pain mistakenly think that this is an inevitable feeling and therefore live with it for many years. In addition to psychotherapeutic methods of treating this phobia, homeopathic treatment is used.
People's fears are very difficult to correct. In modern society, it is not customary to discuss your fears. People publicly discuss diseases, attitudes towards work, but as soon as they talk about fears, a vacuum immediately appears. People are ashamed of their phobias. This attitude to fears has been instilled since childhood.
Correction of fears: take a sheet of white paper and write down all your fears. Place the most significant and disturbing phobia in the center of the sheet. And be sure to understand the causes of this condition.
How to get rid of fear
Each person is able to learn to overcome his fears, otherwise it will be difficult for him to achieve his goals, fulfill his dreams, achieve success and be realized in all areas of life. There are various techniques for getting rid of phobias. It is important to develop the habit of actively acting, and not paying attention to the fears that arise along the way. In this case, negative emotion is a simple reaction that occurs in response to any effort to create something new.
Fear can come from trying to do something against your beliefs. Understand that each person develops a personal worldview over a certain period of time, and when you try to change it, you need to step over fear.
Fear can be strong or weak depending on the power of persuasion. Man is not born successful. We are often not brought up to be successful people. It is very important to act in spite of personal fear. Say to yourself: "Yes, I'm scared, but I'll do it." As long as you procrastinate, your phobia grows, exulting, becoming a powerful weapon against you. The longer you delay, the more you grow it in your mind. But as soon as you begin to act, the fear will immediately disappear. It turns out that fear is an illusion that does not exist.
The cure for fear is to accept your phobia and, resigned, walk towards it. You shouldn't fight it. Admit to yourself: "Yes, I'm scared." There is nothing wrong with that, you have the right to be afraid. The moment you recognize it, it exults and then weakens. And you start taking action.
How to get rid of fear? Evaluate the worst case scenario of the expected development of events by connecting the logic. When fear appears, think about the worst-case scenario if suddenly, no matter what, you decide to act. Even the worst case scenario is not as scary as the unknown.
What causes fear? The most powerful weapon of fear is the unknown. It seems terrible, cumbersome and impossible to overcome. If your assessment is really real and the terrible state does not go away, then you should think about whether in this case the phobia acts as a natural defensive reaction. Maybe you really need to give up further action, because your negative emotion saves you from trouble. If the fear is not justified and the worst case scenario is not so terrible, then go ahead and act. Remember that fear lives where there is doubt, uncertainty and indecision.
The cure for fear is to remove doubt and there will be no room for fear. This state has such power because it causes negative pictures in the mind of what we do not need and the person feels discomfort. When a person decides to do something, then doubts evaporate instantly, because the decision has been made and there is no turning back.
What causes fear? As soon as fear arises in a person, then a scenario of failures, as well as failures, begins to scroll in the mind. These thoughts negatively affect emotions, and they control life. The lack of positive emotions greatly influences the occurrence of indecision in actions, and the time of inaction perpetuates the individual's own insignificance. A lot depends on decisiveness: get rid of fear or not.
Fear keeps the attention of the human mind on the negative development of the event, and the decision concentrates on the positive outcome. When we make a decision, we focus on how wonderful it will be when we overcome fear and eventually get a good result. This allows you to positively tune in, and most importantly, fill your mind with pleasant scenarios, where there will be no room for doubts and fears. However, remember that if at least one negative thought associated with a negative emotion arises in your head, then multiple similar thoughts will immediately arise.
How to get rid of fear? Act in spite of fear. You know what you're afraid of, and that's a big plus. Analyze your fear and answer yourself the questions: “What exactly am I afraid of?”, “Is it really worth it to be afraid?”, “Why am I afraid?”, “Does my fear have a reason?”, “What is more important for me: to make an effort over yourself or never achieve what you want? Ask yourself more questions. Analyze your phobias, because the analysis takes place at a logical level, and fears are emotions that are stronger than logic and therefore always win. After analyzing and realizing, a person independently comes to the conclusion that fear has absolutely no meaning. It only worsens life, making it anxious, nervous and dissatisfied with its results. Are you still afraid?
How to get rid of fear? You can fight against fear with feelings (emotions). To do this, sitting comfortably in a chair, scroll through the scenarios in your head of what you are afraid of and how you do what you are afraid of. The mind is incapable of distinguishing imaginary events from real ones. After overcoming the imaginary fear in your head, it will be much easier for you to cope with the task in reality, since the model of events has already strengthened at the subconscious level.
In the fight against fears, the method of self-hypnosis, namely the visualization of success, will be effective and powerful. After ten minutes of visualization, well-being improves and it is easier to overcome fear. Remember that you are not alone in your phobias. All people are afraid of something. This is fine. Your task is to learn to act in the presence of fear, and not pay attention to it, being distracted by other thoughts. Fighting fear, a person weakens energetically, because negative emotion sucks out all energy. A person destroys fear when he completely ignores it and is distracted by other events.
How to get rid of fear? Train and develop courage. When you are afraid of rejection, there is no point in fighting it by trying to minimize the number of rejections. People who are unable to cope with fear reduce such situations to nothing and, in general, do almost nothing that makes them unhappy in life.
Imagine that training for courage is akin to pumping up muscles in the gym. First, we train with a light weight that can be lifted, and then we gradually switch to a heavier weight and try to lift it already. A similar situation exists with fears. Initially, we train with a slight fear, and then switch to a stronger one. For example, the fear of public speaking in front of a large audience is eliminated by training in front of a small number of people, gradually increasing the audience several times over.
How to overcome fear?
Practice normal communication: in line, on the street, in transport. Use neutral themes for this. The point is to overcome small fears first, and then move on to more significant ones. Practice constantly.
How to overcome fear in other ways? Boost your self-esteem. There is some pattern: the better you think of yourself, the less phobias you have. Personal self-esteem protects against fears and its objectivity does not matter at all. Therefore, people with high self-esteem are able to do more than people with objective self-esteem. Being in love, people overcome a very strong fear in the name of their desires. Any positive emotion helps in overcoming fears, and all negative ones only hinder.
How to overcome fear?
There is a wonderful statement that the brave is not the one who is not afraid, but the one who acts regardless of his feelings. Proceed in stages, taking minimal steps. If you are afraid of heights, gradually increase the height.
Do not attach great importance to some moments of your life. The lighter and more insignificant the attitude to life moments, the less anxiety. Give preference to spontaneity in business, as careful preparation and scrolling in your head provokes the development of excitement and anxiety. Of course, you need to plan things, but you should not get hung up on this. If you decide to act, then act, and do not pay attention to the trembling of the mind.
How to overcome fear? Understanding the specific situation can help with this. A person is afraid when he does not understand what exactly he needs and what he personally wants. The more we fear, the more clumsily we act. In this case, spontaneity will help, and do not be afraid of failures, negative results. In any case, you did it, showed courage and this is your small achievement. Be friendly, a good mood helps in the fight against fears.
Self-knowledge helps in overcoming fears. It happens that a person himself does not know his capabilities and is not confident in his abilities, due to the lack of support from others. With harsh criticism, the confidence of many people drops sharply. This happens because a person does not know himself and receives information about himself from other people. It is important to know that understanding other people is a subjective concept. Many people often cannot understand themselves, let alone give a real assessment to others.
Knowing yourself means accepting who you are and being yourself. It is human nature to act without fear when one is not ashamed to be oneself. By acting decisively, you express yourself. Overcoming your fears means learning, developing, becoming wiser, stronger.
| Author | Psychological feature that determines the specifics of fear | Specificity of fear (new type of fear) |
| D. Selly | Awareness of "experience" | Social fear born from experience |
| 3. Freud | Super-I | Fear of the Superego |
| A. Freud | Super-I | Fear of the Superego as the first "internal" fear |
| G. S. Sullivan | The self-system gains self-control | The fear of violating prohibitions and subsequent sanctions becomes regulated by controlling behavior, fear becomes an element of the sign (syntactic) relationship of the child with the world. |
| V. I. Garbuzov | Awareness of death | Fear of death |
| A. I. Zakharov | Awareness of death, active socialization, "magical" thinking | Fear of death, fear of "being wrong", fear of mythological creatures |
In addition, the existence of fear in children associated with the symbolic structures of consciousness, with the mythological thinking, the fear of various mythological characters, is described. It is this approach that draws attention to these substitute fears, which can be a superstructure over all other children's fears and which are associated with the cultural and historical development of society.
Having considered the main theories of children's fears, let us turn to the description of a correctional program aimed at reducing the level of fears.
The theoretical basis of the program can be called the views of I.B. Grinshpun that the cause of fear is the deprivation of specific search and transformation activity, which “turns the child’s creativity into the area of a kind of passive imagination that performs the function of psychological protection.” In this case, the imagination is directed to the constant production of new images of fear, instead of finding ways to "overcome" them. Accordingly, when fear takes on a neurotic, morbid form, the child's imagination "deviates" from normal development. From free fantasizing, it turns into autostimulation, building a "circular" and rigid movement of images - thus the imagination is enslaved. Accordingly, the basic task, on the solution of which the success of all assistance will depend, will be the activation of fantasy and the winding up of a neurotic auto-stimulation chain - the destruction of habitual patterns of fantasizing that lead to neurosis.
A. I. Zakharov’s opinion is consonant with these ideas, that “the repeated experience of fear when it is displayed in a drawing leads to a weakening of its traumatic sound.”
In addition, it is necessary to be based on the concept of overcoming children's fears and anxiety with the help of images, developed by A. Lazarus. It consists in using images in the process of psychotherapy that can evoke positive emotions and a sense of freedom from anxiety.
Let's move on to the description of the correctional program itself.
The purpose of the program is to activate, optimize and normalize the processes of imagination associated with fear. It is aimed at ensuring that the imagination develops and acts not according to the “laws” of fear, but, on the contrary, so that a healthy imagination “masters” fear, subjugates it.
Realization of the goal is ensured in the process of solving the following tasks.
Symbolic contact with the object of fear and reaction through playing and identification with fear.
Activation through the imagination of the resources of the unconscious associated with archetypal experiences reflected in traditional folk culture.
"Mastering" fear through changes in the focus of the relationship and the restructuring of interaction with the object of fear.
The program consists of eight lessons, held weekly for 2 months. Each lesson is allocated from 1 to 2 hours. Group composition: 10-15 children aged 6-9 years.
The program is built according to the following plan.
Lesson 1. Introduction.
Primary psychological contact, stress relief, primary diagnostics.Lesson 2. "You can be afraid."
Removing the "fear of fear" through the realization of its social acceptability and usefulness.Lesson 3. Archetypes of fear.
Activation of the resources of the unconscious associated with archetypal experiences reflected in traditional folk culture.Lesson 4. "Cheerful fear."
The primary elements of reframing training are overcoming fear through a change in attitude towards it, while leaving the inherent value of “terrible” experiences.Lesson 5. Real fear.
Working out problems related to specific real fears.Lesson 6. Non-fearful fear.
The second stage of reframing training is learning and gaining experience in constructive interaction with fear.Lesson 7. Fear in dreams.
Working through the fears associated with sleep and using sleep as a mechanism to "penetrate" the internal dynamics of fear.Lesson 8. Conclusion.
Results. Generalization of the experience gained, awareness and verbalization of the results. Creating a festive atmosphere to form an optimistic development direction.Lesson 1. Introduction
General goal: primary psychological contact, stress relief, primary diagnosis.1. "Lost!"
Target. Representation of the name in a playful way. Removal of primary stress.Material. Blindfold.
Content. We are all walking in the woods, suddenly we see that one of us is missing. This child is blindfolded. We begin to call him in chorus, for example: “Ay, Sasha!”. But in fact, he did not get lost, but hid. When he wants to, he responds and says: "I'm here!". Everyone rejoices.
2. "Ugh, clean it up!" (based on folk game)
Target. Activation of energy potential. Removal of motor stress.
Content. The children are told that now we will build a house. A clenched fist is one floor. Children stand in a circle and put their fists one on top of the other - it turns out a house. Then the leader says: “The wind will blow, it will burn with fire. Ugh, take it off." On the last word, the children should withdraw their hands as quickly as possible and sit down in their places.3. "Turn into scary"
Target. Actualization of images of fear, game diagnostics. Primary response.Material. As many different masks as possible.
Content. The host asks: “Who can be scary? What could he be?" Children talk, the host writes. Then the children all together depict all the scary ones that they came up with. The author (the child who came up with a specific scary) shows everyone how scary it should look, if possible, and commands: "We turn into ...". The exercise should take place in an active motor form, the leader with humorous remarks maintains a peppy and optimistic game atmosphere.
4. Drawing fear
Target. Relaxation. Responding through visual activity. Diagnosis of "basic fear".Material. Paper, paints, pencils, markers.
Content. The facilitator asks the children to draw a "scary picture, something scary." In case of refusal, the child draws what he wants (this is an additional diagnostic factor).
Lesson 2. “You can be afraid”
The overall goal: the removal of the "fear of fear" through the realization of its social acceptability and usefulness.1. "Confusion"
Target. Motor emancipation, the formation of working capacity.Content. Children stand in a circle, holding hands and forming a ring. The host confuses the ring, passing some children under the arms of others. The task of the children is to “unravel” without disengaging their hands.
2. Fairy tale "How fear helped Misha and Masha"
Target. Learning to understand relativity in the evaluation of feelings. Awareness of the social acceptability of fear. Restructuring of consciousness from the fight against fear to its use and control.Content. 1st stage. The children read the story.
In one place, in a beautiful house with a flower garden, a family lived: dad, mom and two children - Masha and Misha. Mom and dad loved their children very much and were proud of them, but one thing upset them - both children were very afraid of everything: they were afraid of the wolf, they were afraid of the dark, they were afraid to be left without light, they were afraid to be left alone at home, etc.When they went to bed, Misha put a toy pistol next to him, which, despite being a toy, fired very loudly.
And Masha is a big toy knife. And each time, falling asleep in their beds, they spun around for a long time, listening to every rustle, so that in the morning, straightening their sheets, mother groaned every time.
One evening, mom and dad put the children to bed and went away for a short time to visit their grandmother. “Maybe they forgot to close the door,” Misha whispered to his sister, because soon in the garden, and then next to the door to the corridor, some too loud rustles and steps were heard. The children slowly opened the door and then slammed it shut. There was a big black dog with its tail down. The children moved chairs and boxes to the door and crawled under the bed. But suddenly a terrible thought came to them: “And what about mom and dad? What will happen to them when they see the dog? Maybe she is rabid and will bite them? The children shook with fear and wept softly. Then somehow Misha immediately took his pistol, and Masha a rubber knife. "I'll scare her," Misha said. “And I will beat her,” said Masha. The children dismantled the blockage near the door and went out into the corridor. Misha rattled his pistol, and Masha pounded her knife on the wall, then on the door. "Go away!" they shouted in unison. And the dog jumped out, and the children locked the door behind her. Soon the parents arrived. They were very worried. A neighbor warned that a large black dog was running from their house. The children told them everything that had happened. Parents were delighted: they were proud of such children. “But how did you manage to drive away such a terrible dog?” they asked. And the children answered: “We were just very afraid for you.”
2nd stage. Under the guidance of the host, the fairy tale is played by all children in the form of a small performance. The roles are distributed by the leader depending on the individual characteristics of the children.
3rd stage. Fairy tale discussion. It is concluded that fear can be useful both to the person himself and to those around him. Children independently come up with situations when fear interferes, and when it helps.
3. "Masks of fear"
Target. Reacting to negative feelings. Preparing material for class 4.
Material. Pieces of thick cardboard for A4 masks. Scissors, paints, felt-tip pens, pencils. Long thin elastic bands.
Lesson 3. Archetypes of fear
General goal: 52. Vibrational fields and noise pollution "> activation of the resources of the unconscious associated with archetypal experiences reflected in traditional folk culture.
1. "Kolobok" (a game based on a folk tale)
Target. Reacting to personal fears. Material. Various masks.
Content. The fairy tale "Kolobok" is played out with children. However, the characters that Kolobok meets are replaced by those that the children drew in lesson 1. At first, Kolobok is one child, after “leaving” the first character, the child who portrayed this character joins him. After the final meeting, during which Kolobok is eaten, “a miracle happens” - the stomach bursts and Kolobok turns into ordinary children. The story is played twice. First, the roles are distributed so that the "authors" of fears meet with them as part of Kolobok. Then the children become representing precisely their fears.
2. "Wolf-wolf, let me spend the night" (based on a folk game)
Target. Motor form of fear response using the archetypal potential of folk games. Removal of excess excitation and inhibition associated with fear.
Material. Wolf mask.
Content. One child - Wolf - sits in his house. All other children - Hares - walk through the forest. Hares walked for a long time, they are tired, they need to rest. Suddenly they see - the hut of the Wolf. It's scary to knock there, but there's nothing to do. They knock on the door to the Wolf and say: "Wolf-wolf, let him spend the night." The wolf replies: “I’ll let you in, but only until the evening, in the evening I’ll eat it!”. Hares go to bed in the Wolf's house. They should lie down, depicting sleeping, the leader checks that all the children are relaxed, helping those who are not successful. Periodically, the presenter reports how much is left until the evening. When evening comes, the Hares jump up and run to their houses (chairs). The wolf runs after the rabbits.
3- "Puff" (based on a folk tale)
Target. Reacting to archetypally significant psychological "themes" with the involvement of folklore material of cross-cultural significance.
Material. Opaque thick blanket of large size.
Content. One child - Puff, sits separately from everyone. The rest of the children are animals that are visiting one of them. They have lunch, but suddenly the food runs out. Someone goes down to the basement for food, despite the fact that he is not allowed to go there, saying that there is Puff. Puff frightens him and puts him on a chair next to him, covering him with a blanket (“eats”). After that, if desired, comes the second, and so on, until only those who do not want to be "eaten" remain. You can let the kids run away from the basement. The game should be played jokingly, on an emotional upsurge.
Lesson 4. "Cheerful fear"
Overall Goal: The primary elements of reframing training are overcoming fear through a change in attitude towards it while maintaining the inherent value of “terrible” experiences.
1. "Hares and Terrible"
Target. Getting children to experience a versatile attitude to fear in the process of playing out the polarity “fear - fun, joy”. The formation of the foundations of arbitrary control of this polarity is a change in the content of fear through a change in attitude towards it.
Material. Double-sided white mask, cut out of cardboard, on a stick (to be able to hold). Markers.
2nd stage. The child, holding the mask with the scary side, first depicts the Terrible, whom we are afraid of. Then he suddenly becomes Cheerful, thanks to which we laugh. This is repeated several times. It is said with children that when he is Terrible - we are afraid, when he is Merry - we laugh.
3rd stage. Now, when the Terrible scares us and we get tired of being afraid, the question is asked to the children - what should we do then? Then we laugh. As soon as we laugh, Scary becomes cheerful.
2. "How to make fear disappear?"
Target. Forming the foundations of voluntary control of this fear-fun polarity. Learning to control fear through a change in attitude towards it. Material. Scary masks.
Content. A story is played out in front of the children in which the hero is one child. He walks through the forest and suddenly - Baba Yaga. What can be done? Children's answers follow. And how to make, conjure, so that it disappears? You have to smile and laugh at her. The child smiles, laughs - Baba Yaga disappears. This is repeated several times with different children and different images of fear.
3. "The transformation of fear"
Target. Consolidation of what has been achieved in previous exercises. Material. Masks of fear drawn by children in lesson 2. Paints, felt-tip pens, pencils.
2nd stage. Dances are arranged to the music, in which children play with double-sided masks, becoming either Scary or Cheerful.
4. Modeling on a free topic
Target. Relaxation and reaction of accumulated experiences. Process diagnostics.
Material. Plasticine.
Lesson 5. Real fear
General goal: working out problems associated with specific real fears.
1. Fairy tale "Salvation of parents"
Target. Psychological study and reaction of fear of punishment.
There lived a family of animals. Everything was fine with them, but sometimes dad and mom punished one of the children (the children are asked - who, for what, how? Several episodes are shown). But then one morning, mom and dad went to get food. It is evening, it is time for them to return - but they are all gone. At first the children thought: it's good that there are no parents - there will be no one to punish. Time passes, it gets darker and darker - the children became sad, they were afraid for their parents and decided to go save them. After overcoming a series of obstacles, the children freed their parents, who had been bewitched by an evil wizard.
In conclusion, it is concluded that the children understood: despite possible punishments, parents are the most necessary for them, and they, in turn, are the most important and necessary for their parents.
2. "Who is lurking in the dark?"
Target. Responding and relieving tension associated with the fear of the dark. Understanding the "deceptiveness" of fear.
Materials. Horror masks.
Content. One child lies down on the bed, the light goes out, he falls asleep - “night”. The light turns off in the absence of resistance and obvious unwillingness. Suddenly, the child wakes up from some sounds and sees a terrible monster (another child plays it). He trembles with horror, overpowering himself, turns on the light and sees .... a small kitten who came to cuddle him. With sufficient “advancement” of the group, the saying “fear has big eyes” is discussed (author T. Shishova).
3. "I can!"
Target. Awareness of the possibility of adequate living and experiencing fear. Learning how to overcome real fears.
Materials. Depending on the content.
Content. First, it is told, then discussed, and then a story is put, which is specially compiled for each specific group, depending on the characteristics of the children's fears. Its main structure is as follows: the child first finds himself in a situation associated with fear and desire and the need (need) to overcome it. The impossibility of overcoming fear, depending on the specifics of the situation, is replaced by the refrain "I can!" - finding internal forces. An important element of this exercise is discussion, since it is necessary that children not only learn the method of overcoming fear proposed by the leader, but also modify it, changing and offering their own options.
4. Drawing on a free topic
Target. Relaxation and reaction of accumulated experiences. Process diagnostics.
Material. Paper, paints, markers, pencils. Content. Children are allowed to draw whatever they want.
Lesson 6. Non-fearful fear
Overall Goal: The second step in learning to reframe is to learn and experience constructive engagement with fear.
1. "Winter hut of animals"
Target. Changing the focus of fear-related imagination with elements of reframing. Teaching constructive interaction with fear.
Content. A fairy tale is played out with the children with the following plot. All children are animals, two children are Wolf and Monster. The animals meet each other and go "from winter to look for summer." Then everyone builds a house. Winter is coming. The Wolf is coming. We come up with what we can do: laugh (remember activity 4), everyone join hands. All initiatives are carried out, and in the end everyone says in chorus 3 times: “We are not afraid of you!”. The wolf, disappointed, leaves. The same is repeated with the Monster. After a while, the animals hear strange sounds. They sent one or more animals to look. They return and say that they saw the Wolf and the Monster sitting, trembling and crying. Why? They are cold, lonely and sad. What to do? You can feel sorry for them, talk to them, make friends and let them into your house.
2. Talking with fear
Target. Contact with hidden feelings associated with a specific fear, their psychological study. Teaching constructive interaction with fear.
Content. Children are told that “we have already become powerful wizards and we can do a lot. Now we will try to talk with fears. One child represents some kind of Fear sitting here in the center chair. The child can put an assistant there who plays Fear, a toy, a drawing, etc. Then a dialogue begins. It is desirable that the child plays both his role and the role of Fear. In case of difficulties, help from the group or the facilitator (last) is possible - hints about what the child can say, Fear and what they can hear in response, it is possible to speak for one of them. The important thing is that any options must be agreed with the child himself ("Did he say that? Could he answer that?").
With the successful implementation of the exercise, personal experiences associated with fear come to the surface. In the case of serious psychological problems (experience of serious stressful situations, etc.), individual psychological work should be carried out outside the framework of the training.
j?. Sculpting on a free topic
Target. Relaxation and reaction of accumulated experiences. Process diagnostics.
Material. Plasticine.
Lesson 7. Fear in dreams
Overall goal: to work through the fears associated with sleep and use sleep as a mechanism to "penetrate" the internal dynamics of fear.
1. Group sleep
Target. Emotional preparation for working with "personal" sleep. Removal of psychological defenses and the possibility of safe expression of personal experiences through projection. Primary psychological study of terrible dreams by reacting to the experiences contained in them, completing unfinished situations.
Material. The ability to create the effect of a relaxing "half-light" in the room. Record player. Cassettes with calm music.
Content. A brief conversation about dreams - who dreams, who does not, who loves, etc. Then the children are read A. Vvedensky's poem "Dreams". Then the children, sitting in a circle, hold hands, close their eyes, the music turns on, and the children are asked to imagine “as if we are now asleep together and we are seeing one big dream for all.” After a while, the children open their eyes and take turns telling the shared dream. The facilitator structures the content, maintains semantic consistency and, most importantly, asks provocative questions (about the content of the dream) related to fear. After that, the dream is enacted.
If the story causes difficulties, then spontaneous dramatization of “what we saw” begins, and this may arise as answers to the questions of the presenter.
2. Personal sleep
Target. Psychological study of terrible dreams by reacting to the experiences contained in them, completing unfinished situations. Integration of significant parts of the personality in the process of working with dreams.
Material. Same as in exercise 1.
Content. The child tells a terrible dream (possibly invented). After that, he is asked to play the role of one of the elements, the characters of the dream, tell about himself, show himself, arrange a dialogue between this character and the group. Further work can be carried out in several directions: a) playing the narrated dream with the help of other children; b) playing all roles in a dream, choosing the most significant ones, often in opposition, and organizing a dialogue between them using an “empty chair” or “understudy”; c) playing one, the most significant part of the dream.
J?. Sleep drawing
Target. Relaxation and reaction of accumulated experiences. Process diagnostics.
Material. Paper, paints, markers, pencils. Content. Children are asked to draw the dream the way they want.
Lesson 8. Conclusion. Results
General goal: generalization of the experience gained, awareness and verbalization of the results. Creating a festive atmosphere to form an optimistic development direction.
Materials. Music. Plasticine. Preferably carnival joke clothes.
2nd stage. Spontaneous dramatization is played out with children, which is filled with content depending on the specific group. Its structure is similar to the structure of a fairy tale according to V. Ya. Propp: animals face some kind of problem, set off on a journey, encounter obstacles (fears), which turn out to be their helpers, helping to overcome the path. Children play all the characters and constantly change roles. At the end, the goal is achieved and the lesson smoothly flows into the 3rd stage.
3rd stage. The culmination is a comic masquerade ball and general amusement using all the materials made (masks, etc.) and all the roles played, plot moves, etc. At the end, for relaxation, the children mold a country from plasticine in which everyone would like to live.
5. Parent counseling
So, we have considered the features of individual correctional work with children of the assimilation-accommodative level, the main goal and success criterion of which is their psychological health. However, we must also touch on the specifics of working with their parents. As we have already said, the most likely zone of conflict for younger students is their relationship with their parents. And the content of the conflict, due to the peculiarities of the child's experience of the stages of his maturation, is also largely determined by the child's family.
A theoretical analysis of the literature shows that the most optimal form for organizing effective interaction between parents and children is training sessions. However, it can be argued that the use of training forms of work with parents in modern Russian conditions is unrealistic. The socio-economic situation determines the lack of time for parents, and the low level of psychological and pedagogical culture entails the absence of a request for psychological assistance. Therefore, the main form of work with parents is psychological counseling.
Today, counseling psychology is a fairly developed scientific and practical area, including various theoretical concepts and a fairly diverse and effective methodological toolkit. Family counseling is described in the most detail as the most important area of application of counseling. Very interesting are the works that consider the problem-oriented approach as an integrative one, generalizing the accumulated achievements of various psychological schools (P. P. Gornostai, V. K. Vaskovskaya, V. K. Loseva, A. I. Lunkov).
However, it is required to modify, and sometimes somewhere in a new way to define the structure of the consultation conversation and the content of its stages in relation to the psychological health of children as the main goal of the work.
So, after establishing a contact, one of the first stages traditionally singled out by all authors is the formulation of a request, i.e. concretization of the expected psychological-assistance. The structure of the complaint is determined: locus, self-diagnosis. Ways of working with its hidden and explicit content are discussed.
However, the fundamental feature of the counseling process in the framework of the formation of the psychological health of children is the absence of a complaint. As we noted earlier, all children undergo diagnostics aimed at determining the level of their psychological health. Individual correctional work should be carried out with children of the assimilation-accommodative level. But starting it without parental consent is unethical. In addition, as you know, almost any psycho-correction of children is ineffective without the understanding and support of parents. Therefore, parents are invited to a consultation based on the results of diagnostics or problems of children revealed in the course of group or individual work, and do not come themselves. And this significantly changes the initial stages of the consultation. The first step is the message of the teacher-psychologist to parents about the problem of the child. And the task of this stage is to encourage parents to formulate complaints, and then a request. The complexity of this stage lies, on the one hand, in overcoming the fear of parents' self-disclosure, on the other hand, in the need to take into account the parents' attitude that they had in relation to the school in the period preceding the consultation. Fear of self-disclosure and inadequate attitude can interact with each other, form quite powerful psychological defenses that interfere with counseling.
We believe that it is best to single out two parts in the psychologist's message: a brief description of the child's difficulties and a "throw into the future" - a vivid description of the child's problems arising from these difficulties at an older age, which can prevent him from being successful, healthy and happy, i. e. threatening his self-realization and health. A message constructed according to this scheme can encourage parents to cooperate with a psychologist. Thus, the next stage of the consultation is the parent's complaint, largely initiated by the teacher-psychologist's message, both in terms of its locus and in terms of its plot.
Let us turn to the consideration of the second fundamental feature of counseling in the framework of the formation of psychological health - the short duration of counseling, that is, the presence of a fairly limited time for a counseling conversation. The short duration is due to the real conditions of the school psychological service: a large number of students per teacher-psychologist, as well as the typical attitude of parents to resolve all issues in one meeting.
The short duration of counseling makes special demands on its stages: diagnostic conversation and development of a hypothesis, interpretation of a hypothesis and reorientation - the search for new ways of acting.
Since the primary hypothesis about the content of the child's internal conflict, the zone of conflict, and the way he behaves in conflict was formulated before meeting with the parents, the hypothesis is refined during the diagnostic conversation. In this case, the main methodological approaches are:
requests for clarification, for example: “I really want to understand, explain ...”, “a lot of material, help me figure it out ...”;
the use of means aimed at establishing a connection, for example, unfinished sentences such as: "and this is the fear that ...";
the use of suggestive questions, for example: "is it possible that ...".
Since the conversation involves a fairly active position of the consultant, in order to ensure the emotional comfort of parents, some of the questions are formulated in an indirect form:
in the form of inserted questions, for example: “I am very interested in what you ...”;
in the form of polite commands, for example: "Could you tell about...".
To avoid misinterpretation of the feelings of the interlocutor by the psychologist, paraphrasing the thoughts and feelings of the parents is used, for example: "if I understand you correctly, then ...".
Important for ensuring the speed of the consultation is a constant summary - summing up the thoughts expressed by the parents, for example: "you are most worried, as I understand it, ...".
Quite important, in our opinion, is to pay attention to the prevailing psychological defenses of parents, which manifest themselves in the process of consultation. Most often, you can meet with protection of the type of projection or fusion. Projection is a neurotic mechanism, the main content of which is the desire to make the environment responsible for what comes from the person himself. Projecting parents, as a rule, tend to see the shortcomings of the child inherent in themselves, to attribute to the child their own fears, desires, judgments. Merging is characterized by the absence of a boundary between the person and the environment, in particular between the parent and the child. Such a parent tends to use the pronoun "we" when referring to the child, for example: "We learned our lessons." In a conversation with such a parent, topics of fear, anxiety, or mention of certain psychosomatic symptoms of the child often appear. And this is understandable, because in the presence of a fusion in a child, most often the main content of the internal conflict refers to the second stage of maturation of the “I”, inherent in the second and third year of life: “independence - indecision”. And the typical manifestations of this internal conflict just include various kinds of social fears: to do something wrong, to make an independent decision, etc.
In the process of consultation, one can also meet with the mechanism of reflection or intellectualization, which outwardly looks like a “talk about nothing”. The parent, as a rule, shows great interest in the inner world of the child in a conversation, analyzes with pleasure the smallest manifestations of the child's soul. However, in reality, the child draws attention to himself by his defenselessness, vulnerability, desire for support, warmth and attention from any adult, since his own parents are emotionally cold. Accordingly, the most important need for love and acceptance remains insufficiently satisfied. The main content of the conflict in such children often refers to the first stage, related to the first year of life: "trust - distrust of the world around."
An essential feature in school counseling is also the stages of interpreting problems to the parent and reorientation - developing ways to solve the problem. The most difficult for a novice consultant is the stage of interpretation. Some are tempted to skip it altogether and move on to reorientation, which novice consultants sometimes understand as giving advice. The complexity of the stage lies in the need to inform the parent about the child's problem so that he hears it. Hearing a problem means accepting it, agreeing with it, and not rejecting both the problem and the consultant himself. In order for the parent to hear the problem, the consultant must feel what part of the problem (maybe not all) and in what verbal form should be stated to this particular client here and now. If the parent does not accept the problem, does not agree with it, then the consultant failed to find a gentle enough way to present it.
If the parent heard the consultant, then the question arises about the causes of the existing problem. Here you can offer the client a fan of "usually existing causes" of such a problem, ask him to try to determine the cause himself. There are situations when the client chooses not everything from the fan, but only those reasons that he is ready to accept today. It makes sense to agree with the client at this consultation, perhaps next time he will go further.
An essential feature in counseling focused on maintaining psychological health is the stage of reorientation or the search for the parent's optimal actions in a given situation. It is clear that the result of the consultation should be the emergence of parents' readiness for changes, first of all, themselves, and not the child. This is the most subtle moment in the consultant's work. Sometimes, in order to bring parents to the need for self-change, it is enough to convincingly tell them K. Jung's observations about the fusion of the child's psyche with environmental conditions, especially with the psyche of parents. Therefore, according to K. Jung, neuropsychiatric disorders in children up to middle school age are based on disorders in the mental sphere of parents. In particular, difficulties in the relationship between the parents themselves are strongly reflected in the child's psyche. Moreover, the content of the dreams of young children relates more to the parents than to the child himself. K. Jung gives the example of an eight-year-old boy who experienced the love and religious drama of his father in dreams. Since the father himself did not remember his dreams, his treatment was carried out through the analysis of his son's dreams. Thus, it is necessary that parents turn "pedagogical enthusiasm" to themselves, their relationships.
However, here one can encounter such a difficulty. At present, the child often becomes a means of realizing the needs of parents for social prestige. In this case, parents make demands on him that sometimes exceed the capabilities of the child: early and fast reading, learning a foreign language, music lessons, etc. Let's give an example. At the consultation, the mother asks if her seven-year-old daughter should continue to make music if she does not want to. In the process of counseling, the following is revealed. The father believes that the daughter must definitely study music and languages, and the son - languages and sports. It is easy to guess that the father himself never went in for sports and music, he does not know foreign languages.
The most difficult situation is when the mother does not work and her social ambition can be realized only through the child. Accordingly, the child is simply obliged to be successful in order to fulfill the expectations of the mother. It turns out that he is forced to live by the desires of his parents, and not by his own desires.
Similar in essence, although outwardly different, is the situation in families where parents have achieved high social success. Here the child is not only obliged to be successful, but has no right to be different. Therefore, one of the most pronounced fears of such children is the fear of not meeting the expectations of their parents.
In a conversation with parents focused on mandatory success, one has to be inventive, explaining, for example, that success in the future requires not only school knowledge, but also personal qualities: purposefulness, self-confidence. Then move on to considering the child's insecurity and increased anxiety, the need to overcome them as a step towards future success.
Summing up the discussion of individual work with children of the assimilation-accommodative level, we can conclude that both corrective work with the child himself and counseling of parents are aimed primarily at initiating the child's own activity in the search for ways and possibilities to resolve a difficult situation.
Questions for self-control
What is the organizational structure of psychological support for preschoolers and younger schoolchildren"
What are the main directions in group psychoprophylactic work?
What are the main methodological tools used in group work?
What are therapeutic metaphors?
Where and how are reflective technologies used?
On what principles is individual correctional work with children based?
How can you see the dynamics of corrective work?
How do domestic and foreign psychologists describe the specifics of children's fears?
How to organize group help for children with fears?
What are the specifics of counseling parents focused on maintaining the psychological health of children?
Questions for introspection
What qualities do you think a specialist working with children should have?
Can you play with pleasure?
Can you perform the role-playing exercises suggested in the manual in front of a mirror?
How easy is it for you to praise yourself in public? Another person?
Do you think you have a need for self-development? In what direction would you like to develop?
6 How do you reflect on your own actions: episodically, daily in the evening, keep a diary or in a different way?
If you were working with a group of children, how would you solve the problem of discipline in class?
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Butpper N. Live with aggressive children. - M., 1991.
Butpterworth D., Harris M. Principles of developmental psychology. - M., 2000.
Zakharov AI Neurosis in children and adolescents. - St. Petersburg, 1998.
Kulagina N.V. The symbol as a means of world perception and understanding of the world. - M., 1999.
Cadyson H., Schaefer C. Workshop on play psychotherapy. - St. Petersburg, 2000.
Landreth G.L. Play Therapy: The Art of Relationships. - M., 1994.
World of childhood and traditional culture: Collection of scientific papers and materials / Comp. S.T. Ayvazyan. - M., 1994.
Mukhina V.S. Child psychology. - M., 1999.
Oklepder V. Windows on the child's world: A guide to child psychotherapy. - M., 1997.
Family in psychological counseling / Ed. A. A. Bodaleva, V. V. Stolin. - M., 1980.
Freud A. Psychology "I" and protective mechanisms. - M., 1993.
Freud 3. Children's sexuality and psychoanalysis of children's neuroses. - St. Petersburg, 1997.
Khukhlaeva O.V. Ladder of joy. - M., 1998.
Khukhlaeva O.V., Khukhlaev O.E., Pervushina I.M. Little games for big happiness. - M., 2001.
Khukhlaeva O.V. The path to my "I". - M., 2001.
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Hello!
Help, as far as possible, to cope with my problem!
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Thank you in advance...
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Hello. I have turned to you for help many times and I am very grateful to you.
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From birth to death, a person periodically experiences a feeling of fear. Someone is subject to it to a greater extent, someone to a lesser extent, but there are no people on Earth who would not be afraid of anything at all. Sometimes it is quite understandable and natural, and in some cases its nature is unknown. What are the causes of fear and how to get rid of it?
What is fear?
Fear is a negative state of the human psyche, provoked by a real or imaginary threat. Everyone has experienced this feeling many times in their lives in different situations. Even the most courageous and courageous person can be afraid of something deep down.
In psychology, fear is attributed to the basic emotional processes inherent in a person from birth. It mobilizes the body's defense systems, prepares it to fight the threat or to flee.
Fear is a kind of signaling of danger, which contributes to the realization. Under the influence, it can perform such actions that it is not capable of in its normal state. For example, run at great speed, jump over high obstacles, show amazing quick wits and resourcefulness.
The nature of human fear
Fear was born along with humanity itself. Its roots go back to the distant past, when its main function was to preserve the life of our ancestors. Fear is inherent in man by nature in order to quickly and accurately recognize danger.
It was common for ancient people to be afraid of everything unknown and incomprehensible. They were horrified by any unfamiliar sounds, natural elements, previously unseen animals. With the development of science, man gained knowledge about many phenomena that he used to be afraid of.
Today, fear no longer carries the function of the struggle for survival. The exception is those cases when a person finds himself in emergency, extreme situations. However, in the modern world, all sorts of social phobias have replaced the fear of real danger. This is due to the fact that at the moment it is very important for people to be recognized by society, to inspire respect for their person.
Is fear a feeling or an emotion?
Psychology interprets fear as a human emotion that has a bright negative connotation. At the same time, some sources consider this concept as a human condition. So what is fear? Is it a feeling or an emotion?
The word "fear" people in ordinary life used to call both a feeling and an emotion. In fact, there is no clear boundary between these concepts. On the one hand, fear is more related to emotions, since it is most often of a short-term nature and is designed to activate the protective functions of the human body. And on the other?
If it does not stop for a long time, transforms, periodically repeats, takes on new forms, then we can say that fear is a feeling. In this case, it no longer serves to save, but, on the contrary, has a destructive effect on the body. The feeling of fear is not an instant reaction to some irritant, but a product of human consciousness.
Types of fear
There are many different classifications of fear. It all depends on what caused this oppressive feeling. So, allocate real, existential and social fears. Let's briefly dwell on each of them.
Real or biological fear is a fear associated with an immediate threat to human life or health. In this situation, something represents a potential danger to the individual. For example, a huge dog trying to attack a person, or natural disasters such as tsunamis or earthquakes.
Existential fear is an unreasonable fear of something that does not pose a real danger to a person. Such fears lurk in the depths of the subconscious of people and cannot be fully explained. This group includes death, aging, confined space.
Social fears are a relatively new group of human phobias that did not exist before. They cannot cause real harm, but carry only a symbolic threat. This includes fear of superiors, responsibility, public speaking, failure, blows to self-esteem. Fears of this type are the most common in the modern world, cause psychological discomfort to a person and lead to a lot of problems.
and their reasons
The fears of children most often have no real basis, they are far-fetched and exaggerated. The imagination of babies is so rich that even a simple thing can seem sinister to them. For example, the shadow of a toy may seem like a scary monster to a child.
In addition, children do not have enough information about our world, which can also give rise to some kind of fear. It is good if a child shares his fears with adults, asks for help and protection. Parents should try to explain to the baby the nature of the phenomena that frighten him, to calm and give rise to a sense of security in the baby.
But in some cases, children's fears are caused by real events that made a huge impression on them. This can happen if, for example, a passer-by was hit by a car in front of a child, or a dog bit him. Such phobias can stay with a person for life, although they will weaken over time.
Fear of death
Some people practically do not think about the fact that they will not live forever, while for others, the fear of dying becomes a real phobia. Fear of death is one of the most powerful emotions, it is basic for a person. It is quite logical to be afraid to die, because everyone fears for their life, seeks to preserve and extend it.
There are many reasons to fear death. This is the frightening uncertainty of what will happen after, and the inability to imagine one's non-existence, and the fear of pain and suffering before leaving for another world.
People who previously did not think about death, getting into situations that really threaten their lives, begin to experience real fear. This can happen, for example, if a person was almost hit by a car, or a plane miraculously avoided a crash. At such moments, everyone begins to appreciate their life and think about the fact that we are all not eternal.
Fear of failure in love
Many people, at least once disappointed in a partner, are afraid to build new relationships. For them, love is the fear that negative emotions and suffering will be repeated again. Now it is difficult for them to believe a person, open their heart to him and begin to trust.
The fear of new failures in love makes them closed to communication and new acquaintances. Very often, it takes many years to overcome this feeling, and some never cope with their phobia throughout their lives.
In such situations, it is important to understand that there are very few people in the world who have never experienced a love failure. Having made a mistake once, you should not consider all men or all women the same. It is important to believe that you will definitely be able to find a person who will make you happy and help you forget previous troubles.
How to get rid of fears?
Fear is an emotion that overcomes every person from time to time. People are afraid of absolutely different things, so there can be no single recipe for getting rid of our phobias.
First, you should try to understand what exactly caused your fear. Sometimes it is very difficult to do this, since the fear of certain things is hidden deep in our subconscious. Having found out the source of your phobia, you need to think about whether your fear is really a life in a constant nightmare and experiences, or, in principle, it does not cause you any particular inconvenience. As a rule, fear as a short-term emotion does not require much struggle, but if it begins to develop into a phobia, then you need to get rid of it as soon as possible.
Next, you need to understand yourself, analyze at what moments you start to be afraid the most. Try to minimize stressful situations in which you feel discomfort, anxiety and fear.
In the fight against your phobias, you need to learn to switch your attention to something positive and kind as soon as you feel that fear has begun to creep up on you. If you yourself can not cope with the problem, do not hesitate to seek help from specialists.
What is fear for an adult, why does it arise and how can it be dangerous. Causes and types of phobias, their impact on life. How to overcome your fear.
The impact of fears and phobias on life
In itself, fear in adults is a normal reaction of the human psyche to a danger factor; it very often plays a protective role. Sometimes the reflexes embedded in the psyche can save the life of both the person himself and the people around him.
At the same time, fear is one of the symptoms of anxiety-depressive and panic disorders, various phobias. These nosologies are pathological reactions to causative factors and can significantly affect the quality of human life. When fears are stable, a person limits his life because of them, refuses many opportunities.
Neurotic fear, which is tied in time, to a situation or an object, takes the form of a phobia. It can constantly make a person feel symptoms of fear, or it can be expressed in the form of seizures. Regardless of this, the phobia significantly worsens the normal mode of life of a person, affects working relationships, understanding in the family.
The world of a person with fear is significantly narrowed and limited. The layman himself puts limits, forbidding himself anything. For example, the fear of going out (agoraphobia), riding in an elevator (claustrophobia), being at height (acrophobia), and other phobias significantly limit people's abilities.
Unrelated to a specific situation, fear is a constant feeling of anxiety. Man is in anticipation of imminent danger all the time. Naturally, in this situation, it’s not worth talking about the quality of life, since life is completely dominated by disturbing sensations.
The main causes of fear in adults
In the modern world, a multifactorial theory of the origin of fears is considered. This means that several reasons can together cause the formation of a particular phobia. The occurrence of such disorders only because of one reason is not excluded, but this happens much less frequently.
Causes of fear in adults can be as follows:
- organic pathology. Various kinds of injuries, infections and damage to the brain, which led to a change in its structure and visible on tomographic images, can cause the formation of a phobia in a person.
- genetic factor. Fears are, of course, hereditary. This has been repeatedly proven by researchers in the field. If characteristic neuroses of fear were observed in the family, it means that the younger generation has a tendency to develop phobias, both in childhood and in adulthood.
- Powerful stress factor. A single situation that had a significant impact on a person can provoke the formation of fear. Prolonged stress, which was accompanied by fear, can also lead to the formation of a persistent disorder.
Any motivation of the body in turn is satisfied by the cerebral cortex. Fear can block this order. It becomes the only experience of a person, completely embracing consciousness. In such cases, a stupor is described, or vice versa, a panic reaction.
The stress response itself can cause fluctuations in hormones in the blood. The release of catecholamines provokes a somatic response to stress in the form of fear. Immediately upon recall or the presence of a stress factor, the hypothalamus releases the hormone corticotropin into the blood. It promotes the activation of the adrenal glands, the release of norepinephrine and adrenaline. These hormones can constrict blood vessels, increase blood pressure, and cause tremors in the limbs.
Signs of developing fears and phobias
The mental and physical components of the fear syndrome in adults together give a fairly detailed picture. Whatever a person is afraid of, these signs are similar to each other. Physical manifestations are considered the most similar, they cannot be controlled, and they arise regardless of the desire of a person.
Physical or somatic signs of fear:
- heart palpitations;
- lump in throat or dryness;
- constant restlessness;
- skin covered with cold sweat;
- shiver;
- frequent urge to urinate;
- diarrhea.
Mental manifestations of fear are diverse and can take various forms. Depending on whether the fear is real or neurotic (no apparent cause), the symptoms are observed either in a specific situation or constantly.
In the first case, a person experiences unpleasant somatic manifestations and psychological stress, a feeling that something bad is approaching almost immediately after a collision with an influencing factor or even when remembering it. For example, the fear of public speaking manifests itself both when remembering that they are going to go on stage, and immediately before going out.
In the second case, the neurotic fear is not tied to any place or situation, but that does not make it any easier. Such people experience a constant sense of danger, live in anxiety and expect the inevitable. The famous psychiatrist Sigmund Freud called this condition "anxiety neurosis."
Fear can also manifest itself in a variety of short-term reactions. Most often, this is a panic syndrome that develops in a matter of seconds. For some time, a person accepts the irreversibility of what is happening and the inevitable fatal outcome. The loss of self-control and the feeling of helplessness are replaced by the mobilization of internal resources and an accelerated motor reaction. A person tries to protect himself from the situation that has arisen as soon as possible, if it exists.
The second variant of the short-term fear reaction is an affective stupor. This is an emotional dulling of all the possibilities of a person to move or take any action due to an emotional shake-up. This is manifested by a feeling of "cotton legs" and the inability to move.
Varieties of fears and phobias in adults
Depending on the occurrence and nature of the threat presented, three types of fears are distinguished:
- existential fear. The fear of a person lies in his inner experiences, reflecting the world. Depending on how he perceives reality, certain fears will be formed. Existential phobias include the fear of death, the inevitability of time, and other similar phobias.
- social fear. It is associated with the reflection and reaction of society to the person himself. If he is afraid of being rejected, ruining his reputation, then he is disposed to the formation of social fear. The most striking examples of social phobias include stage fright, ereutophobia, scoptophobia.
- biological fear. This type is based on the fear of physical injury or threat to human life. This includes all categories of fear of illness (hypochondriac phobias), those phobias that involve pain, suffering or somatic damage. Examples of this group are cardiophobia and carcinophobia.
Some of the most common phobias that develop in adulthood should be considered in more detail:
- Fear of open spaces (agoraphobia). This is a fairly common phobia, the principle of which lies in the pathological fear of open spaces and places where there is a large crowd of people. This is a kind of protective mechanism that allows the patient to isolate himself from the possible negative consequences of contact with the public. Manifestations in the case of staying in an open space are most often limited to a panic attack.
- Fear of closed spaces (claustrophobia). This is the opposite of the previous phobia. A person feels discomfort and even the inability to breathe in a closed room, and other somatic manifestations of fear are shown. Most often, symptoms are found in small rooms, booths, fitting rooms, elevators. A person experiences significant relief just by opening the door. Fear includes the very prospect of being locked up alone.
- Fear of death (thanatophobia). It can concern both the person himself and his friends and relatives. It often develops in mothers whose children are seriously ill or have been ill. It manifests itself in an obsessive and uncontrollable fear of dying suddenly, even if there is no reason for it. May be associated with religious beliefs or simply fear of the unknown, which is uncontrollable.
- Fear of speaking in public (glossophobia). This disorder is quite common among the adult population. In most cases, due to low self-esteem, fear of being misunderstood by the audience and strict upbringing. This reduces self-confidence, and a person is panicky afraid to speak to the public.
- Fear of blushing in front of people (erythrophobia). This is the fear of red spots on the face due to a stressful situation. At its core, this is a vicious circle for a person who is shy and embarrassed in public. He is afraid to blush because he is afraid to be in front of an audience, because he is afraid to blush.
- Fear of being alone (autophobia). It manifests itself in the pathological fear of a person to be left alone with himself. Fear is associated with fear of the possibility of committing suicide. It should be said that statistics show a negative trend in suicides among autophobes. Manifested by anxiety, sweating and panic attacks if a person is left alone in a room.
- Fear of heart disease (cardiophobia). This is a pathological condition that involves somatic manifestations without the presence of the disease itself. A person complains of discomfort in the region of the heart, a strong heartbeat, and nausea. Often these symptoms can interfere with what he is doing, and are perceived by doctors as heart disease, but after the necessary examinations, it is not detected.
- Fear of getting cancer (carcinophobia). This is a panic fear of getting sick with malignant oncological nosologies. By its nature, it is closely related to the fear of death and develops as a result of a stressful situation. It can be a disease of someone from relatives, acquaintances, or simply seen manifestations of cancer on strangers. The presence of a hypochondriacal personality and the presence of a couple of indirect symptoms can play a huge role.
- Fear of being hurt (algophobia). Underlying for many other types of phobias, including visits to the doctor and even medical procedures. A person, under any pretext, tries to avoid the slightest manifestations of physical pain, sometimes abusing painkillers. Manifested by anxiety and fears about the upcoming test of pain.
Important! The feeling of fear binds a person and can lead to fatal consequences, both for oneself and for others.
How to overcome fears in an adult
Fears can be part of a much larger syndrome or nosology that only a specialist can diagnose. That is why if you have symptoms of fear, you should consult a doctor. The disease, the manifestation of which he acts, can be both from the psychiatric register, and from the somatic.
Fears are often included in the structure of schizophrenia, anxiety and neurotic disorders, panic attacks, hypochondria, and depression. Often it is observed in bronchial asthma, cardiovascular diseases, accompanied by angina pectoris. A correct diagnosis will dictate treatment tactics. That is why only a doctor is competent in the question of how to treat fears in adults.
Every person who is afraid of something needs to realize that fear is far from forever. There are many techniques and methods of psychotherapy that can help with this problem. An obstacle to recovery is a human reaction - shame for their phobias. Usually in society it is not customary to talk about their fears, recognition of inferiority and vulnerability touches a person to the quick. But by boldly facing your phobias and taking the necessary measures, you can get rid of them once and for all.
One of the most common methods to cure fears in adults is humility. No one forces a person to fight their phobias or deny them, to convince them of their insignificance - it's useless. Therefore, psychologists recommend not to be ashamed of your feelings and at the same time do what is necessary, even if it's scary. A person who realizes that he is afraid (after all, such is his nature), but still has to do something, will easily overcome this barrier in time.
For example, the fear of public speaking often terrifies those who are about to take the stage. A person who has confidently decided to get rid of his phobia must come out with his fear. Being afraid and performing at the same time is the real solution for this case.
Also, visualization of the achieved result can give a good effect in treating fears in adults. If a phobia prevents you from achieving high career growth or family well-being, you should imagine life without it, what would it be like not to be afraid. Then it will be much easier to overcome your fears, because knowing what you are fighting for makes it easier to fight.
How to overcome fear in an adult - look at the video:
A person's fears are his protection until they cease to act for good. Fixating on negative experiences, they can destroy families, careers and even lives, which is why it is so important to realize the pathological nature of your phobias in time.
