is classified as a Neurotic, in the less severe cases, or a Psychotic, where mental disorders actually result. Fear brings serious consequences in the life of an individual who “does not learn to meet and to deal with the prob lem. We are told that fear can result in an over-occupation with ourselves and our own feelings that will render us physically helpless or severely inhibited in this respect. A great many psychosomatic illnesses result from fears. Doctors Edward Weiss and 0. Spurgeon Engilish, in a book entitled Psychosomatic Medicine (W.. B. Saunders Co., Baltimore), state that "The Book" When I am tired, the Bible is my bed; Or in the dark, the Bible is my light. When I am hungry, it is vital bread; Or fearful, it is armor for the fight. When I am sick, 'tis healing medicine; Or lonely— thronging friends I find therein. Should I be lost, the Bible is my guide; Or naked, it is raiment rich and warm. Am I imprisoned, it ranges wide; Or tempest-tossed, a shelter from the storm. Would I adventure, 'tis a gallant sea; Or would I rest, it is a flowery lea. Does gloom oppress? The Bible is a sun. Or ugliness? It is a garden fair. Am I athirst? How cool its currents run! Or stifled? What a vivifying air! Since" thus thou givest of thyself to me. How should I give myself, great Book, to thee? “In spite of the enormous incidence of cardiovascular disease, the majority of patients who have symptoms referred to the heart region do not have evidence of organic disease.” When we fear or get angry, the su prarenal glands discharge adrenalin into the blood stream, causing the liver to release sugar into the blood stream, producing muscular energy. In the case of real fear, this factor can result in the extra measure of energy or strength
Pathway of Fear (continued) July or Memorial Day accidents. Com bine this picture with the fear of the atomic bomb, economic upheaval and total war, and perhaps you can appre ciate the impact of fear and anxiety in our day-to-day experience.” (Victory Over Fear, Coward-McCann, Inc., N. Y.) Dr. Bonaro W Overstreet, in stating ■the problem of fear today says: “Of all the emotional forces that pattern our individual and interpersonal behaviors, fear has the most, insidious power to make us do what we ought not to do and leave undone what we ought to do. Under its influence, and trying to escape its influence, we seem fated to give it a yet stronger hold on us.” (Understanding Fear, Harper Brothers, N. Y., 1951) Let us look for a moment at what fear is. Webster defines it as a painful emotion caused by alarm.” Psycholo gists tell us that “Fear is a general term. It covers fright, dismay, conster nation, panic, terror and horror.” (Ben der, Victory Over Fear, Coward-Mc- Cann, Inc., N. Y., p. 19) It is “The reaction of the body to a threat to its well-being.” There are two types of fear, we are told. Real fear is in response to a real- life situation. This kind of fear is ra tional, related to an experience as it is actually happening, such as an auto mobile accident. But there is also a fear that is un real, sometimes called anxiety and in other instances phobia. This is a fear of that which is intangible, unrelated to a specific threat and characterized by a feeling of danger from an unknown source. One psychologist has defined this second type of fear as “a painful uneasiness of mind over something in the future, something unknown, some thing we can’t flee from” (Lester L. Coleman, M. D.). We are told that pho bias sometimes develop from simple anxieties resulting in irrational, per sistent dread of a particular object or situation, a condition which can no longer be helped by reassurance or an appeal to wisdom. Such a person then
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