What Are People Afraid Of??

[WAYNE3298]

Another thread turned into this subject and got interesting to me. What are people afraid of and why. Starting as kids and all through life. If not afraid of certain things do you know why?
As a kid I was somewhat over confident and have always been that way which has resulted in my having little understanding of why some folks are afraid to venture into things they have never done. I haven't done a good job expressing myself on this but thankfully that doesn't matter here.

[BNME8EZ]

I hate snakes, don't know if you can say I am afraid of them as I have killed my share, but won't touch them either.

I don't know of much I am afraid of cept maybe not being good enough with I suppose would equate to the fear of failure. That has not stopped me from doing some things, but others for sure. One of those would be public speaking. Getting up in front of over a dozen is enough to give me an anxiety attack, but even so I was president of the church council for 5 years and had to conduct the annual meeting. But I think it is the fear of saying something "wrong" that creates the anxiety which I would equate to failure.

[WAYNE3298]

I also hate snakes and won't touch them. Like you I don't know if it's fear but an unexplained hatred.

[coolwhip]

I hate spiders, especially if they are on me.

[timebuilder]

When I was studying to become a flight instructor, they included a lot of information into the process that is common to the requirements of schoolteachers.

One of those subject areas is the Hierarchy of Needs, articulated by Maslow.

The top needs are: Self-actualization, Esteem, and Love/belonging.

The ones below that are more obvious: Safety and Physiological needs, such as health, food, and shelter.

Any of these needs can be threatened by events in life, so the most prevalent fears are associated with the loss of these things. People fear violence from others, and often, their governments.

They fear becoming sick and helpless. They fear becoming homeless. They fear loss of those they love.

Fears such as spiders, snakes, and the like are not fears in the Maslow sense. They are phobias.Those can be treated, along with an unreasonable fear of other needs.

Sometimes,. a fear can be an excellent motivator, to take actions that help to preclude the feared event from happening.

[WAYNE3298]

timebuilder don't you think fear inhibits people more than spur them on? I think it does both but inhibits a lot more than it encourages.

[coolwhip]

When I was studying to become a flight instructor, they included a lot of information into the process that is common to the requirements of schoolteachers.

One of those subject areas is the Hierarchy of Needs, articulated by Maslow.

The top needs are: Self-actualization, Esteem, and Love/belonging.

The ones below that are more obvious: Safety and Physiological needs, such as health, food, and shelter.

Any of these needs can be threatened by events in life, so the most prevalent fears are associated with the loss of these things. People fear violence from others, and often, their governments.

They fear becoming sick and helpless. They fear becoming homeless. They fear loss of those they love.

Fears such as spiders, snakes, and the like are not fears in the Maslow sense. They are phobias.Those can be treated, along with an unreasonable fear of other needs.

Sometimes,. a fear can be an excellent motivator, to take actions that help to preclude the feared event from happening.

Nonsense...pure psychobabble. Im not afraid of the things you mention here...put a big spider on me, and I will scream like a biatch though.

[MT1]

When I was a kid I was cared of clowns. As I got older that just turned into a dislike of them. Now I would say I dont have any real fears that would be considered phobias. Not scared of heights, spiders, snakes, falling, people, or much of anything.

Theres stuff that bugs me but they dont cause fear. I dont really understand a fear of spiders. They keep other bugs in check. I dont like them on me but they dont bother me. Snakes are pretty cool but I know not to touch them.

Confined spaces only get annoying when you get kinda stuck but you cant panic or else itll get worse. I almost got stuck crawling above a ceiling. I didnt panic I knew I could get out another way but it would require breaking some drywall if it came to it. I got through once I took my belt off as it got caught in something.

Now as time builder stated far of losing your house, job, or partner can motivate one to work to keep those things. I agree with that but I wouldnt call them fears. I'd say they are more just part of being a responsible adult.

[BNME8EZ]

As I said earlier fear of public speaking which I suppose some would call a phobia. Here is the other side of that story.

Some years ago I was awarded the "Outstanding Alumnus Award" from the Technical college I graduated from. I was asked to speak at the graduation ceremony. Could not do it, had a hard enough time being in front of those people to accept the award. So my fear has stopped me from doing some things. I thought about typing out a speech and having it printed in the program but thought that would be kinda cheesy.

[WAYNE3298]

I think fear of public speaking originates from the thought that you are not good at it. I don't consider myself a good public speaker but will do it if needed. You don't have to be good at speaking to get the point across but it's best to make it as short as possible. In my opinion BNM you should have done the speech even if you warned the audience not to expect too much.

[timebuilder]

timebuilder don't you think fear inhibits people more than spur them on? I think it does both but inhibits a lot more than it encourages.

Depending on the situation, the type of fear could act as an inhibitor...but the greatest inhibitor of action is ignorance.

[WAYNE3298]

Sounds right time. Knowledge of a subject gives confidence even if at one time you feared it. Never thought of it that way.

[BNME8EZ]

I think fear of public speaking originates from the thought that you are not good at it. I don't consider myself a good public speaker but will do it if needed. You don't have to be good at speaking to get the point across but it's best to make it as short as possible. In my opinion BNM you should have done the speech even if you warned the audience not to expect too much.

My fear of public speaking is I don't want to look like an idiot {fear of failure}. I am of fair intelligence and have been know to put enough words together to make a statement but, I am an introvert by nature. Put me in a party and I am more than happy to go sit alone in the corner but will talk to most anyone if they come over. So you put me in front of a large group of people and I stutter and stammer around like a, well your not suppose to use that word, I end up saying the wrong words, get frustrated and embarrassed and it goes down hill from there.

I am a member of BNI so I have to give a 1 minute speech weekly and 10 minute when my turn comes around about every 3 months, and I can do that just fine, but I know these people.

When I think of speaking the message should be intelligent and inspiring, with a poor delivery that is not going to happen.

[Fender60]

My fear of public speaking is I don't want to look like an idiot {fear of failure}. I am of fair intelligence and have been know to put enough words together to make a statement but, I am an introvert by nature. Put me in a party and I am more than happy to go sit alone in the corner but will talk to most anyone if they come over. So you put me in front of a large group of people and I stutter and stammer around like a, well your not suppose to use that word, I end up saying the wrong words, get frustrated and embarrassed and it goes down hill from there.

I am a member of BNI so I have to give a 1 minute speech weekly and 10 minute when my turn comes around about every 3 months, and I can do that just fine, but I know these people.

When I think of speaking the message should be intelligent and inspiring, with a poor delivery that is not going to happen.

I used to have a fear of public speaking. Like Timebuilder, I went to instructor school; aircraft maintenance instructor not pilot. Although mine was a military instructor school. I was taught how to speak in public and to do it fairly well. Later, I went to three professional military education schools over my career and each one was big on public speaking; both prepared and extemporaneous. Then I decided to get an associate degree from the Comm College of the Air Force, which required a public speaking course. All of this training has prepared me quite well for public speaking and I actually don't mind it at all. However, I will say I understand peoples fear of doing it.

[Scoobie]

I hate snakes, don't know if you can say I am afraid of them as I have killed my share, but won't touch them either.

I don't know of much I am afraid of cept maybe not being good enough with I suppose would equate to the fear of failure. That has not stopped me from doing some things, but others for sure. One of those would be public speaking. Getting up in front of over a dozen is enough to give me an anxiety attack, but even so I was president of the church council for 5 years and had to conduct the annual meeting. But I think it is the fear of saying something "wrong" that creates the anxiety which I would equate to failure.

BMN, right there with you on public speaking. Tough for me also.

A while back when one of my daughters was in high school, her former elementary school asked her to come speak at the fifth grad class graduation. I took off from work to attend the ceremony, and was very nervous. At least 500 folks in the auditorium. My girl strolled up there and gave a nice talk about setting and achieving goals. Nice to see your kids doing things better than you.

[Air Depot]

Petrified of needles. The thought of something going into my skin makes me nauseous.

[WAYNE3298]

Forgot about that one Air. In boot camp some of the biggest and toughest fainted when they got their shots.