When Fear is a "Four Letter Word"
Fear becomes a "four letter word" or unhealthy and dysfunctional when it interferes with our functioning, rather than facilitate our coping and survival. Fear is the emotional and physiological arousal that alerts us to potential danger and threat to our well being. The healthy form of fear occurs when the danger is real. In such cases, it gets our attention and prompts us to seek ways to get to safety and re-establish a sense of calm and equilibrium. Unhealthy fear or the "four letter word version" occurs when we experience this distressing emotion in response to perceived danger, that is not real or to negative thoughts that have no proof. Examples of mental states that underlie unhealthy fear include: persistent and chronic worry about the future negative and pessimistic expectations that have no foundation irrational, unrealistic and erroneous beliefs viewing a negative event from the past as ongoing, even when it has ceased negative, self-deprecat...