What does fear mean to me?
Something I believe I should be afraid of or worry about but often rationally don’t need to be concerned about. Fear feels like something behind you with its eyes on your back, following you.
How does fear evolve and change from childhood to adulthood?
Fear can become more about larger scale issues as people age, for example where a child might fear the dark or something lurking under the bed, an adult might be more concerned with freak accidents or loss. Fears also become more revolved around things that could happen; something that is plausible, but unlikely to occur.
Is fear always about something tangible?
No, an abstract fear is often something which occurs as a distressing emotion directed at something non-tangible. This is the most common reason for a fear to be irrational. However it could also just be something so specific and obscure it doesn’t appear to hold much rational thinking. Abstract fears also sometimes have a very vague root cause, as opposed to being born out of pain or evil.
What are some common abstract fears?
Fear of going insane/ becoming mentally ill
Fears revolved around injuring yourself in very specific ways on blunt or harmless objects
Social fears, ie. saying something ‘stupid’ etc
Agoraphobia (fear of going outside/ becoming trapped)
When does fear become phobia?
When the anticipation, or anxiety, as well as the mental and physical response is so great that is it
debilitating and interferes with everyday life. Often when the same couple of fears are consistently repeated and the person becomes obsessive.
What rituals do I/ others put in place to deal with fears?
(Send out questionnaire to answer this)
What is the difference between a healthy fear and an irrational fear?
Healthy fears are directed at things that are at immediate or direct risk of occurring. For example, the fear of being mugged when walking alone at night/ being followed by suspicious persons. An irrational fear is something that is not at direct or immediate risk of happening, or may never happen.
How can intrusive thoughts become potentially dangerous? What is their effect on how the person perceives themselves/ how they imagine others perceive them?
List of personal fears/ intrusive thoughts.
How have these evolved? Have some disappeared with the growth of rational thinking?
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How do some artists depict fear? (with examples)
How can illustration depict fear and promote alleviation?
How can visual humour trivialise and therefore alleviate intrusive thoughts/ irrational fears?
How can style of drawing promote humour whilst still dealing with serious content in a respectful manner?
