Irrational Fears in Mental Illness Turn Around As We Recover

I find your articles on fear very interesting and for the most part obviously correct. Onto the rational fear, you say in this article that some fears are rational. In another article you say it is just a fear of fears that we fear. One of my instructors in rehab agree with this theory too. They said that all fears are learned and to prove I should cross the street without looking either direction. As you state "its a worry of what COULD happen."
So with this logic, why do you wear a seat belt or stop at red lights, why do you look both ways before you cross the street? Doesn't this make you live under the false notion of fear? I saw a phycological study in infants when placed on glass tables, would cry as if the fear/respect of heights is an natural perhaps rational fear. However; if this is actually irrational, then why do people working at extreme heights need fall protection gear? Why do police officers wear bullet proof vests? Why dowe need brakes on cars, or locks on our front doors? Why would we even pay our bills or buy food at the store; would not purchasing food in advanced be a irrational fear of starvation?

ps. My reply yesterday got me to thinking. Recovering is the best way to put it--not recovered but recovering--as the title of your blog says. I'm avoiding the abyss, but still dealing with some thorny issues. I've made some bad decisions in recent years and paying the price.

Natalie,
Thanks for the nice words. I relate to this blog, I guess because I see myself as recovered but always recovering, and your topics are interesting. :)

This is a topic that really hits home.I've had a fear of riding in cars and sometimes in open spaces for years already. It has changed & alternated my life in some ways.The doctors don't have a CURE for phobias.I was told either you FORCE yourself or AVOID it.That's the only answer they have come up with.

ps. Good topic!

My anxiety originated in childhood as a rational response to my parents' relationship and behavior toward my siblings and myself. When things were calm, at any moment one of my parents could say something that would spark a horrendous fight (screaming, swearing, threats, dishes smashing off the walls) that would last for hours. There was no hiding from the battle and the mortifying emotional abuse that came with it. So anxiety was a realistic, rational response to what inevitably was going to happen. It was also a way to prepare for and cope with my parents' frequent battles.
The problem is, the anxiety stayed with me when I became an adult. No longer under my parents' roof, I no longer needed to be vigilant and anxious, but I was. The threat was gone, but the ingrained anxiety remained and thus became irrational.
I still deal with anxiety. I've learned how to minimize it. I have anxiety-free moments, but I may never be completely rid of it. So, when it comes to anxiety, for me recovering from mental illness means continuing to cope with mental illness.
My parents have both passed on. Each also had an incredibly wonderful side, and I loved them both very much and still do. I've forgiven them. They were fallible, as all of us are. I was close to both of them in the latter stages of their lives.