Editing Fear (section)

== Common triggers ==
[[File:"Fear" from Le Brun, Characters des passions, circa 1720. Wellcome L0010224.jpg|thumb|"Fear", from Charles le Brun: "Caractères des passions", {{Circa|1720}}]]

=== Phobias ===
{{see also|Phobia}}
According to surveys, some of the most common fears are of [[demon]]s and [[ghost]]s, the existence of [[evil]] powers, [[cockroach]]es, [[spider]]s, [[snake]]s, [[Acrophobia|heights]], [[water]], [[Claustrophobia|enclosed spaces]], [[tunnel]]s, [[bridge]]s, [[Hypodermic needle|needles]], [[social rejection]], [[failure]], [[Test (assessment)|examinations]], and [[public speaking]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/media/things-americans-fear-most-2015/|title=Things Americans fear most| vauthors = Welch A |date=October 15, 2015|work=CBS News|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160622001419/http://www.cbsnews.com/media/things-americans-fear-most-2015/|archive-date=June 22, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/10/30/clowns-are-twice-as-scary-to-democrats-as-they-are-to-republicans//|title=America's top fears: Public speaking, heights and bugs| vauthors = Ingraham C |date=October 30, 2014|newspaper=The Washington Post|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005055946/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/10/30/clowns-are-twice-as-scary-to-democrats-as-they-are-to-republicans/|archive-date=October 5, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/1891/snakes-top-list-americans-fears.aspx|title=Snakes Top List of American's Fears| vauthors = Brewer G |date=March 19, 2001|publisher=Gallup|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160714071803/http://www.gallup.com/poll/1891/snakes-top-list-americans-fears.aspx|archive-date=July 14, 2016}}</ref>

Regionally some may more so fear [[Terrorism|terrorist attacks]], [[Fear of death|death]], [[war]], [[Fear of crime|criminal]] or [[gang violence]], [[Fear of being alone|being alone]], the future, [[nuclear war]],<ref>[http://www.gallup.com/poll/15439/What-Frightens-Americas-Youth.aspx Gallup Poll: What Frightens America's Youth] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121100308/http://www.gallup.com/poll/15439/What-Frightens-Americas-Youth.aspx|date=2008-11-21}}, gallup.com (29 March 2005).</ref> [[Fear of flying|flying]], [[Coulrophobia|clowns]], [[Fear of intimacy|intimacy]], [[Fear of people|people]], and [[Driving phobia|driving]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/clickwhatmillion00tanc|title=Click: What millions of people are doing online and why it matters| vauthors = Tancer B |year=2008|publisher=Hyperion|isbn=978-1-4013-2304-2}}</ref>

===Uncertainty===
{{See also|Xenophobia|Neophobia}}
Fear of the unknown or '''irrational fear''' is caused by negative thinking ([[worry]]) which arises from [[anxiety (mood)|anxiety]] accompanied by a subjective sense of apprehension or dread.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Zerwekh J |title=Illustrated Study Guide for the NCLEX-RN® Exam|date=2013 |publisher=Mosby, Inc. |isbn=978-0-323-08232-7 |pages=178–179 |edition=8th |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zHpRYbGaQFcC&q=irrational%20unknown%20anxiety%20worry%20dread&pg=PA179 |access-date=7 July 2020}}</ref> Irrational fear shares a common neural pathway with other fears, a pathway that engages the nervous system to mobilize bodily resources in the face of danger or threat. Many people are scared of the "unknown". The irrational fear can branch out to many areas such as the hereafter, the next ten years or even tomorrow. Chronic irrational fear has deleterious effects since the elicitor stimulus is commonly absent or perceived from delusions. Such fear can create [[comorbidity]] with the [[anxiety disorder]] umbrella.<ref name="BarrettLewis2016">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bDBqDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA751|title=Handbook of Emotions| vauthors = Barrettn LF, Lewis M, Haviland-Jones JM |publisher=Guilford Publications|year=2016|isbn=978-1-4625-2534-8|pages=751–773|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170302032508/https://books.google.com/books?id=bDBqDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA751|archive-date=2017-03-02|url-status=live}}</ref> Being scared may cause people to experience [[Anticipation|anticipatory]] fear of what may lie ahead rather than planning and evaluating for the same. For example, "continuation of scholarly education" is perceived by many educators as a risk that may cause them fear and stress,<ref name="Burton">{{cite journal| vauthors = Burton LD |year=2011|title=Fear|journal=Journal of Research on Christian Education|volume=20|issue=2|pages=113–116|doi=10.1080/10656219.2011.592801|s2cid=216092318}}</ref> and they would rather teach things they've been taught than go and do research.{{citation needed|date=November 2017}}

The ambiguity of situations that tend to be uncertain and unpredictable can cause anxiety in addition to other psychological and physical problems in some populations; especially those who engage it constantly, for example, in war-ridden places or in places of conflict, terrorism, abuse, etc. Poor [[parenting]] that instills fear can also debilitate a child's psyche development or personality. For example, parents tell their children not to talk to strangers in order to protect them. In school, they would be motivated to not show fear in talking with strangers, but to be assertive and also aware of the risks and the environment in which it takes place. Ambiguous and mixed messages like this can affect their self-esteem and self-confidence. Researchers say talking to strangers is not something to be thwarted but allowed in a parent's presence if required.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Fox ER | title = Fear of the unknown | journal = The Western Journal of Medicine | volume = 146 | issue = 6 | pages = 759–760 | date = June 1987 | pmid = 18750277 | pmc = 1307488 | doi = 10.1108/17578043200800026 | s2cid = 72767139 }}</ref> Developing a sense of [[equanimity]] to handle various situations is often advocated as an antidote to irrational fear and as an essential skill by a number of ancient philosophies.

Fear of the unknown (FOTU) "may be a, or possibly the, fundamental fear" from early times when there were many threats to life.<ref name="Carleton2016">{{cite journal | vauthors = Carleton RN | title = Fear of the unknown: One fear to rule them all? | journal = Journal of Anxiety Disorders | volume = 41 | issue = June2016 | pages = 5–21 | date = June 2016 | pmid = 27067453 | doi = 10.1016/j.janxdis.2016.03.011 | doi-access = free }}</ref>