In Mark Crear’s latest book, Peace Be Still 978-1-950088-90-4, he talks about the fear that exists within individuals and communities, which face racism and discrimination. He divides fear into 3 types – healthy fear, real fear, and illogical fear. The book revolves around the topic of racial reconciliation and promoting it in our society. Especially in the time we live in, where racial tensions are reaching new heights since Donald Trump became the President of the United States of America in 2016.
Crear describes fear as “is a signal generated by the brain. It is a sum of sensations and perceptions generated in response to something seemingly threatening.” We have all faced fear at one point or another in our lives. If you look at fear from an evolutionary perspective, fear looks like a mechanism that is built within us, like a warning system that helps us stay out any danger or harm, throughout our life. Psychologist, Dr. Renee Carr stated in an interview “When one race of persons unconsciously feels fear in response to a different race group—fears that their own level of security, importance, or control is being threatened— they will develop these defensive thoughts and behaviors.” She elaborated: “They will create exaggerated and negative beliefs about the other race to justify their actions in [an] attempt to secure their own safety and survival.”
Healthy fear is still helping us protect ourselves from danger. On the other hand, the two remaining types of fear, real fear and illogical fear, have been consistently evolving over time. If taken time to be deeply understood, fear can help us grow as individual and teach us to better cope with difficult situation. Otherwise, fear can hold us back from living our life and finding true happiness.
Crear described healthy fear in his book: “Healthy fear helps us differentiate between safe and dangerous situations. It is a gift given to each and every one of us and typically manifests as a physical, instinctual response. This is the type of fear we need for our survival and protection, and it is characterized by a physical response: a rush of adrenaline, an elevated heart rate, a burst of energy. It is the fear that kicks in when you are standing too close to the edge of a cliff or placing your hand near an open flame.” He goes on to describe real fear as “another type of fear that is not as same as the healthy fear. It does not have any positive aspect attached to its core. This type of fear is not based on physical danger but is more about what corrodes a person from inside and harms their mental health. The fear of losing people close to our heart, the fear of failure, the fear of never being good enough, and so on are a few examples that fall into the category of real fear.” Crear writes about the last type of fear: Another form of fear is illogical fear. Illogical fear is a mirror opposite of healthy fear, although it feels the same, it is closer to feeling anxiety - the fear of a hypothetical situation or something nonexistent.”
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