Fear - Fight or Flight

To begin with, fear is an emotion which arises when one senses a legitimate, impending threat or danger. The first thing which probably comes to mind is that feeling: sitting on the couch in a dark room on a Friday night, watching a horror movie. But, is the definition of fear limited to the fear of being encountered by a ghost, demon or ghoul? Obviously not. Fear can be experienced by any one at any age. Let us see how.

      During later part of the afternoon, when a little child's desire, to eat those irresistible cookies from the jar, intensifies ; strong sunlight from the window spotlights this act of 'innocent' crime. With those little fingers tightly gripping the stool, the child tiptoes through the kitchen, cautiously climbs the stool and finds that special jar. As he triumphantly looks at the cookie, fear accompanies - not of getting caught red-handed, but of making any noise which might steal his mother's hard-earned nap after a tiring day.

        As the child grows up, he makes sure he enjoys every moment of the stolen happiness on his cheat day. Swimming after months, playing football, plucking flowers and mangoes from the garden and what not. But the next morning, with a heavy school bag on his shoulders, the child carries fear in his mind. His legs twitching and voice unable to explain the undone homework goes on to prove the fear of punishment and loss of good reputation in the eyes of the teacher.

        Years later, an older lad constantly looks at his wrist watch, his heart beat racing faster by each passing second. Fear surrounds him as he is standing outside the examination hall minutes before the final exam. Afraid, if years of hard work will pay off, afraid, if he will know all the answers and most of all, afraid if he would be able to stand up to the expectations of everyone.

          As years pass, a young man, gripped by fear, walks the entire length of the corridor back and forth. What if the interviewers didn't like him? What if, unlike his other peers, he would be denied the opportunity of having a job, a stable source of income? Fear of being rejected and not being a part of the group made him feel empty from the inside.

        Immersed in a sea of traffic, surrounded by cars and various other vehicles, fear made a father believe that not being able to make in time to his daughter's convocation ceremony would be the worst thing. Fear of being the reason that, even for a moment, she would feel let down on such an important day of her life. Fear, that the search for a familiar face by her expectant eyes would be futile.

         Sitting right outside the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), head in his hands, what else could the little beads of sweat on his forehead suggest? The fear of losing his mother, a loved one, was something too unimaginable to be put into words. A son went through an excruciating phase of fear, which tormented every bit of his soul.

          As his trembling hand, covered by grey hair, reached for the glass of water in the middle of the night; the old man at once knew the terrible fear due to his recurring nightmare. Afraid of being abandoned and sent off to an old age home by his son was how he would have defined fear.

        Have you ever seen a performer's face just before he enters the stage? Isn't there a striking similarity between the mental and physical states of a little child before his first bicycle ride and an adventurer before his first sky-dive? Or how pale a doting wife of a soldier turns, when she realizes that her husband is leaving for a war from which he may never return?

          Fear engulfs them,felt in the form of rapid breathing, pale, white faces, thumping of the heart against the chest and clenched fists. The mind is devoid of all thoughts, except for the worst one - "What if...?" A weird coldness spreads through the body, churning the insides.

          Just like any other emotion, fear demands to be felt. It is okay to be afraid. No one should be ashamed of this emotion because the absence of fear does not mean bravery. Bravery is accepting your fear, embracing it and moving forward, taking a leap of faith. After all, there are two ways to deal with your fear - Fight or Flight.