Blake Wilson

Fear is a sensation that plagues the mind of every individual. For some, it fills them with a thrill like no other; adrenaline pumping, mind-sharpening, sweat on their palms as they feel their primal self unveil. For others, fear is a fire in their body, uncomfortable and untamable. Whether it is enjoyable or uncomfortable, can fears be overcome? Yes, for several reasons. The brain creates pathways within itself to learn behaviors. These pathways can be severed just as easily as they can be formed. Since fears are a learned behavior, they can be unlearned just as easily. Fears are also whittled down and dulled as time passes, eventually reducing to nothingness. Often, fears are imagined and irrational, which are weak foundations. These weak foundations when confronted can be easily crumbled, freeing the mind from its feeble imprisoners. 

Fears can be created, fabricated, and learned. When the brain is forming it is like a ball of dough; easily impressionable and changed with one push. When a traumatic event occurs, the brain is pushed, establishing a fear or a defense mechanism regardless of the threat level that the event insinuated. A prime example of this is the White Rabbit experiment, “The poor child was made deathly afraid of white rabbits in the 1920’s… So we know that we can learn to fear” (Ringo, 3). White rabbits pose no threat to humans, but when this boy was tormented with white rabbits, his brain created a fear response mechanism because it felt threatened. Since fears can be created, they can be destroyed. If the boy were to confront white rabbits, the passageway of fear would get smaller and smaller as he slowly let his guard down. 

Fears are often imagined and irrational. In The Fall of the House of Usher, the narrator was surprised by the severity of the fears that Roderick conjugated. He thought Roderick was as insane and unrealistic as his fear of his sister and the house. The narrator felt no pressure or presence of what Roderick considered horrifying. However, as time passed, Roderick’s ideas began to creep in to him, prodding, poking, and penetrating his mind. When he tried to fall asleep, the imagined gloom and terror of his surroundings became very real. “Sleep came not near my couch… An irrepressible terror gradually pervaded my frame… on my very heart an incubus of utterly causeless alarm.” However, these fears are the weakest and most vulnerable ones, despite their immense presence in the mind of the beholder of them. They can also be forgotten and unlearned when confronted.

Fears are forgotten with time. At first, a fear is extreme and raging, impossible to see around or through. But, as time passes, they begin to shrink and shrivel as long as the host of them doesn’t fuel them, for that would lead to madness. In The Raven, the narrator is driven insane by a fear that would’ve been shrank with time. “As some of one gently tapping at my chamber door… Stood there wondering, fearing… Not a sound but the whispered word ‘Lenore?’” (Poe, 1-2). With the passing of Lenore, he began to imagine her knocking at his door. An unrealistic fear that would’ve subsided if he had pushed it out of his mind. Instead, he let it become rooted in his mind, grabbing the wheel and steering him into madness. But, with the passing of time and staying disciplined, fears like these would dismantle themselves.

Fear is the most powerful emotion in the brain, capable of controlling and imprisoning its host. However, fear can be overcome by pushing through it. Some may say fear is too engulfing, too powerful to defeat. Although it may feel that way, it can be defeated by someone brave enough to confront it. And if you are too afraid to face your fears, then face your fears while afraid.