Is FEAR a naural instinct in us or is it because of things we experience growing up?
Some people fear different things, most people fear the unknown and things of the afterlife. If someone had never seen a horror movie .. or read a scary book .. or been taught that ghosts are scary.. Would they be afraid of one? People have a fear of water if they can't swim... teach them to swim and the fear can go away. I had a fear of heights I forced myself to over come that fear by climbing around on cliffs. I think my fears were instilled in me by my mother ... she always told me don't get too close to the edge you will fall... or don't go out too deep you will drown.. hearing this constantly made me believe I would fall and I would drown. I still can't swim to perfection but I found I can float very well ... and I am no longer afraid of the water. But I just wonder if all other fears people have about various things could be overcame if they were willing to try to conquer them? Such as the fear of the paranormal.
I guess what I am trying to ask are our individual fears taught to us or are they natural?

We all have some sort of fear, alot of people keep it hidden inside themselves.
Some are from our parents, as kids, don't do this or that. And I beleive that some can come from a previous life.
I also beleive there is a huge difference between afraid and fear. To be afraid is something your not quite sure about, frear can freeze you on the spot.
Like I crack hubby up, I don't like spiders, but I can't kill them either. So even though I am afraid of them, I don't really have fear, I can catch them on some paper and send them free! LOL
So we all got some things we're afraid of and somethings that would totally freak us, but? Don't feel bad, that is called living
Hugs
Piggster

I'm afraid of spiders & am tired of hearing it called a phobia.When I lived in Colorado it didn't seem so dumb to be afraid of spiders...baby black widows are scary.The adult females release a nuerotoxin into the blood stream which slowly attacks the muscle system via the nerves which is excruciatingly painfull.You may not die from it ...However if a baby female gets you your chances of survival w/out treatment become slimmer.Seems like a good reason to be afraid to me.
Fear is healthy,it keeps us from doing things that will get us hurt or in trouble.I do believe that there is unecessary fear and unhealthy fear also.(mental disorders & nuerosis)
I was afraid of heights also,then I went skydiving...twice(aerial free fall-tandom).I loved it(but don't like to test fate too much)However I am still afraid of cliffs.Maybe because I know that one wrong move without a parachute could get you killed.
In answer to your question I believe that moms pass fears to thier children-yes,but nobody taught me to be afraid of cliffs.If you had no fears I don't think you would survive for long.
BTW Peg,I SQUASH EM!-lol!

[ October 16, 2003, 05:46 PM: Message edited by: hallowseve ]

Hi Everyone.
Heres my thoughts. I used to be deathly afraid
of birds. I would cross the street to avoid them.
In a pet shop, if a bird got free, You would
find me on the floor blubbering and in a state
of panic. No I never saw the movie "the birds"
I dont remember any incident. My mother didnt
have a fear. So then what? what caused it?
So my hubby decided to cure me and bought me
a cocatiel? It had its wings clipped and he would
let it out. and it would do bird things. Soon
it endeared itself to me. I was having a really
really bad day and was sitting on my bed crying,
when this bird came into the room climbed up my
leg to my chin and started to nuzzle me.
I couldnt believe it. We we're best friends after
that. But pweepers passed on.
Anywho, this is a mom instilled fear,
She would always put her knives away at night.
not one left out. Never a knife rack or anything.
She always said that if you leave your knives
out, someone could break in and kill you with
your own knives! For years I didnt leave knives
out. Then it dawned on me, if theyre going to
kill you, theyre going to bring their own!!!
Thats my story, I think it's a little of both.
But Good post!
Doreen

This is a good, thought provoking question. In my opinion, most people have a little of both types of fear -- natural and what is taught through various life experiences.
I grew up in a family where the paranormal was accepted. When I was old enough to ask questions about ghosts, my family did not dismiss my young curiousity. So for me, I did not experience a fear of ghosts, or the concept of death. I was taught from an early age that the spirit lives on, and death is a natural part of living. Don't get me wrong, I know there are things out there you just don't mess with. Ghosts are like the living. There are good ones, and bad ones that should be avoided.
Now, on the other hand, I have no fear of spiders; however, don't put a lizard near me. I don't do reptiles of any kind. Nasty critters, they give me the shivers just thinking about them. I've had no horrible, traumatic lizard experiences as a child, they just creep me out. Mice and rats freak me out also. Ick!!!

I also feel that fear comes in two different types, but I tend to think of them as learned and instinctive fears. Some scientists say that certain fears, such as fear of the dark, are caused by evolution and are a by-product of when humans were still living in caves, lighting little fires to keep the big animals with sharp teeth at bay. I don't know if I really believe this explaination, but it seems vaguely sensible (a miracle in the scientific world!).

The other fear I think about is learned fear. For example, when I was very young a small wolf spider somehow got caught in my hair and ended up biting me on the scalp. Although I never consciously remembered this incident until my mother told me only a couple of years ago, I had a huge, unreasonable fear of spiders. I also have a fear of heights that was brought upon by my (drunk and mean) grandfather throwing me down a flight of stairs at my mother when I was only 9 months old. All these things seem to make a big difference in the things people fear.

The annoying thing about all of this is that even though I know the cause of these kinds of fears, I can't manage to get rid of them. Go figure. And here I thought it would be like a ten-step program: "once you admit you have a problem, you're on your way to true recovery".

Carrie, what ever you do don't move to FL. Everywhere you step down here the grass moves with little and not so little lizards. Of course the biggest lizards we have are gators.. but they're more in the fresh water areas... occaisionally you will find one in brackish waters also.

From my many hours in seemingly endless Psychology classes I've come to the conclusion (along with everyone else ) that fears are part nature and part nuture. Some fears seem to be instinct, such as a fear of the dark. Others seem to be learned. My only huge fear is that of snakes, it almost goes as far as a phobia. When I see snakes even on television I feel absolutely dirty and my skin crawls. My fear stems from me stepping on a snake at 6 yrs old, ever since I can't stand the icky things. Makes me shiver just to think about them lol.