Are there subconsious meanings behind the things your afraid of?

Question

I have some really weird fears, some that I stopped being affraid of, then started again. So, I was wondering if there are phsycological meanings behind certain fears? If you know of websites that have content about this links would be appriciated! thanks!

Answer 1

Yes, they can be. Here is a great entry I found online called: the psychotic imagination. Goes into great analysis of the conscious and subconscious, complexes, fears and driving forces in the mind:
http://www.amidatrust.com/article_psychoticimagination.html

I am sure you will find it interesting.

Answer 2

You'll have to define subconscious in this context.

I think that our fears are an expression of what we have experienced. If we've been burned, we may fear open flames or hot water. If we nearly drowned, perhaps we fear water to some degree.

To get hold of your fears, write them down. Then try to break down each individual fear into parts, almost a time line. What is the first thing you think of or realize you are reacting to when you become afraid? Of course, you can't do this during a "fear episode." I don't think I'd do this with someone else either. I believe that to be perfectly honest with yourself, you will have to find a nice private place to get your pencil and paper working for you.

Once you have identified the triggers for your fear, you may be able to redirect the response you are feeling to that trigger by "bypassing" the triggering thoughts and moving on to the part of the fear process you have itemized that is the finishing or ending part. Your observations and comments don't have to make sense to anyone but you, and no one else need see what you have written.

Example: Black dog. I'm starting to feel fear. I feel unprotected and vunerable. I feel that I can't protect myself. I feel that I must run. I understand that I can't run as fast as the dog. I know that the dog has legs no more than 12 inchs long. I know the dog has teeth that are really pretty small. I know that if I kick the dog, he will run away. I see that the dog is not coming towards me. I feel that I can put more space between the black dog and myself. I feel that the dog doesn't want to bite me. I feel relatively safe.

This is a very brief and simplified example and hopefully will give you a start in dealing with what you call your fears.

Answer 3

The subconscious meanings may also be long-ago experiences that you don't remember, maybe because you were too young when they happened. I know someone who is nervous around dogs, partly because a puppy jumped up on her and knocked her down when she was a baby. I also know someone who could never learn to swim more than a few strokes, and I suspect that it's because, when she was a toddler, she stepped into deep water that swept her off her feet. (Luckily someone was there to pull her out.)