The Matter of the Mind by Ravi Valluri

Author:Ravi Valluri
Language: dan
Format: epub
Published: 2016-09-21T00:00:00+00:00

Overcome Fear

Lance Naik Mohan Goswami posthumously received the Ashok Chakra in 2016 for displaying unparalleled bravery while tackling terrorists in the Kupwara sector of Jammu and Kashmir. The award was accepted by his widow from the Supreme Commander of our armed forces, the President of India. It was indeed a poignant moment.

The army personnel had definitely conquered fear in pursuit of the ultras. There would have been no trace of fear in him. Our armed forces are trained in such a manner and are blessed with this quality of fearlessness. I recall my friend used to narrate the events at the National Defence Academy. He spoke of how the cadets jumped from a height of 20 feet into the swimming pool.

There is a telling passage in The Game Of Thrones by George Martin, ‘Bran thought about it. Can a man still be brave if he’s afraid? “That is the only time a man can be brave,” his father told him.’

Fear subsumes us essentially in four forms — through phobias, feelings, anxiety and emotions. Phobia is the Greek word for fear. It could be said that the fear of heights (acrophobia) or say the fear of dogs (cynophobia) or the fear of water (aquaphobia) or fear of darkness (acacachluphobia, nyctophobia, lygophobia), or any such fear produce symptoms such as a racing heart, shortness of breath, uneasiness, embarrassment caused to self and others or in form of discomfiture in chest. Phobias are persistent pathological emotions which are in response to specific objects or events. It is primarily externalised and can lead to panic attacks.

Fear can also arise from feelings. Feeling is an emotional state of reaction. It is a subjective reaction which is largely explainable. There is a sense of uneasiness and it gets released in dreams or in responses. Feelings towards our loved ones may undergo a change. Sentiments are never in a permanent state. We may have a perception that in a group activity our friends are ignoring us. It could be both veracious or untrue. Yet, our thoughts play a pivotal role in forming opinions and feelings. Thoughts can be positive or morbid. Morbid thoughts breed fearful feelings and we become victims to such thoughts.

Anxiety is another contributor to the accumulation of fear. It is normally internalised, largely unexplained and unconscious and there are bodily reaction to such anxiety attacks. Marcus Trescothick was one of the finest cricketers of England, but suffered anxiety attacks when he first toured the subcontinent and later when he travelled to other countries. He became a mental wreck and quit cricket. It was indeed a pathetic situation. ‘People tend to dwell more on negative things than on good things. So, the mind then becomes obsessed with negative things, with judgement, guilt and anxiety produced about the future,’ says Eckhart Tolle. This is inevitable when we either live in the past or in the future, but never in the present.

Such people suffer from panic attacks, lack of sleep, sweaty palms, shortness of breath, palpitation, inability to remain calm, have dry mouths and numb feet and hands.

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