A Case Study of

Face your Fears

By: Dinelo P. Donor

DIP-IT BLOCK 8
 Table of Contents

I. Table of contents
II. Introduction
III. Causes of fears
IV. Strategies to overcome fears
V. The positive side of fear
VI. Self-compassion Therapy
VII. References
VIII. Rating
IX. Suggestions
II. INTRODUCTION

Dictionary said fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by

the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely
to cause pain, or a threat. Fear is one of the seven
universal emotions experienced by everyone around the
world. Fear arises with the threat of harm, either physical,
emotional, or psychological, real or imagined. While
traditionally considered a “negative” emotion, fear
actually serves an important role in keeping us safe as it
mobilizes us to cope with potential danger. The family of
fearful experiences can be distinguished in terms of three
factors:

 Intensity: How severe is the harm that is threatened?

 Timing: Is the harm immediate or impending?
 Coping: What, if any, actions can be taken to reduce
or eliminate the threat?
When we are able to cope with the threat, this lessens or
removes the fear. Alternatively, when we are helpless to
decrease the threat of harm, this intensifies the fear. Fear
can sometimes take place immediately following surprise
and often oscillates with the experience of anger.

III. CAUSES OF FEARS

Like many other basic emotions, fear causes physiological

reactions in our body. Fear starts in the brain and the
physical effects throughout our body help us adjust so we
can have the most effective response to a dangerous
situation. On an instinctual level, our body is preparing us
to fight or flee.
Fear starts in the part of the brain called the amygdala.
According to Smithsonian Magazine, “A threat stimulus,
such as the sight of a predator, triggers a fear response in
the amygdala, which activates areas involved in
preparation for motor functions involved in fight or flight.
It also triggers release of stress hormones and sympathetic
nervous system.” Fear can create strong signals of
response when we're in emergencies – for instance, if we
are caught in a fire or are being attacked. It can also take
effect when you're faced with non-dangerous events, like
exams, public speaking, a new job, a date, or even a party.
The universal trigger for fear is the threat of harm, real or
imagined. This threat can be for our physical, emotional
or psychological well-being. While there are certain
things that trigger fear in most of us, we can learn to
become afraid of nearly anything.

Common fear triggers:

 Darkness or loss of visibility of surroundings
 Heights and flying
 Social interaction and/or rejection
 Snakes, rodents, spiders and other animals
 Death and dying.

IV. STRATEGIES TO OVERCOME FEARS

If you are experiencing overwhelming fear or anxiety,

especially a phobia, kindly consider working with a
therapist, it can helps you with your problem. When we
feel lonely and insecure the fear can easily overcome us.
Loneliness can happen to us even when we are
surrounded by many close relatives. For example, I faced
a lonely moment when the doctors declared I have
suspected stage 4 brain cancer. I feared what will happen
to my family, to my baby, and their future. Though I was
surrounded by many there are lonely moments I have to
face deep within myself. Fear, not only enters our life
through sickness, but Loss of job, debt, life-changing
moments such as loss of loved ones, can lead to fear about
the future. Some of us get fear when our life is absolutely
normal. The fear is conceived in their thoughts even when
their external circumstances are normal. There are ten
ways to conquer our fears.
 Take time out
 Breath through panic
 Face your fears
 Imagine the worst
 Look at the evidence
 Don’t try to be perfect
 Visualize a happy place
 Talk about it
 Go Back to basis
 Reward yourself

We can overcome our fear by believing in ourselves,

accept the fear and leave with it then try to relax
yourself. People can overcome unnecessary fears by
giving themselves the chance to learn about and
gradually get used to the thing or situation they’re
afraid of.

V. THE POSITIVE SIDE OF FEAR

Fear is one of the most basic human emotions. It is

programmed into the nervous system and works like an
instinct. From the time we’re infants, we are equipped
with the survival instincts necessary to respond with fear
when we sense danger or feel unsafe.
Fear helps protect us. It makes us alert to danger and
prepares us to deal with it. Feeling afraid is very natural
— and helpful — in some situations. Fear can be like a
warning, a signal that cautions us to be careful.
Like all emotions, fear can be mild, medium, or intense,
depending on the situation and the person. A feeling of
fear can be brief or it can last longer
Fears works When we sense danger, the brain reacts
instantly, sending signals that activate the nervous system.
This causes physical responses, such as a faster heartbeat,
rapid breathing, and an increase in blood pressure. Blood
pumps to muscle groups to prepare the body for physical
action (such as running or fighting). Skin sweats to keep
the body cool. Some people might notice sensations in the
stomach, head, chest, legs, or hands. These physical
sensations of fear can be mild or strong. This response is
known as "fight or flight" because that is exactly what the
body is preparing itself to do: fight off the danger or run
fast to get away. The body stays in this state of fight–
flight until the brain receives an "all clear" message and
turns off the response. Sometimes fear is triggered by
something that is startling or unexpected (like a loud
noise), even if it's not actually dangerous. That's because
the fear reaction is activated instantly — a few seconds
faster than the thinking part of the brain can process or
evaluate what's happening. As soon as the brain gets
enough information to realize there's no danger it turns off
the fear reaction. All this can happen in seconds. Fear is a
complex human emotion that can be positive and healthy

VI. SELF- COMPASSION THERAPY

 Helping people develop compassion for
themselves and others has powerful impacts on negative
affect and promotes positive affect. However, clinical
observations suggest that some individuals, particularly
those high in self-criticism, can find self-compassion and
receiving compassion through learning to relate to
yourself and your experiences with kindness and
compassion. Having compassion for oneself is really no
different than having compassion for others. Having
compassion for others you must notice that they are
suffering. If you ignore that homeless person on the street,
you can’t feel compassion for how difficult his or her
experience is. Second, compassion involves feeling
moved by others’ suffering so that your heart responds to
their pain (the word compassion literally means to “suffer
with”). When this occurs, you feel warmth, caring, and
the desire to help the suffering person in some way.
Having compassion also means that you offer
understanding and kindness to others when they fail or
make mistakes, rather than judging them harshly. Finally,
when you feel compassion for another (rather than mere
pity), it means that you realize that suffering, failure, and
imperfection is part of the shared human experience.
“There but for fortune go I.”
Self-compassion involves acting the same way towards
yourself when you are having a difficult time, fail, or
notice something you don’t like about yourself. Instead of
just ignoring your pain with a “stiff upper lip” mentality,
you stop to tell yourself “this is really difficult right now,”
how can I comfort and care for myself in this moment?

There are three elements of self-compassion:

 Self-kindness vs. Self-judgment. …
 Common humanity vs. Isolation. …
 Mindfulness vs. Over-identification.
Having self-compassion means being able to relate to
yourself in a way that’s forgiving, accepting, and loving
when situations might be less than optimal.

VII. REFERENCES

https://self-compassion.org/the-three-elements-of-self-
compassion-2/
https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/
phobias.html#:~:text=Fear%20helps%20protect
%20us.,and%20helpful%20%E2%80%94%20in
%20some%20situations.

https://online.uwa.edu/news/what-causes-fear/
#:~:text=Fear%20starts%20in%20the
%20part,involved%20in%20fight%20or%20flight.
https://www.paulekman.com/universal-emotions/what-
is-fear/

VIII. RATING

I will rate it to 9/10 because I’m not that satisfied

about the web content.

IX . SUGGESTIONS
 Improve the web content especially the letter
 Use the space that don’t have any words/images.
 Use a better images
 More specific about the topic.
 Highlights the important words