Fear
A response to perceived danger which — unlike anxiety — is directed at something concrete.
How it shows up
Fear has an object: a dog, heights, an exam, a conversation. Anxiety doesn’t. The distinction matters, because fear can be worked with directly, by approaching what you avoid step by step.
What we do with it in therapy
Avoidance lowers fear in the short term and strengthens it in the long term. So we work in small, manageable steps towards what seems impossible to you — never by force and always at your pace.
See also
Panic attack
A sudden wave of bodily distress that peaks within minutes and passes — although during it, it seems it won't.
The four horsemen
Four ways of communicating which, in Gottman's research, most strongly predict a relationship breaking down: criticism, contempt, defensiveness and stonewalling.
Infidelity
A breach of the agreement about exclusivity, which destroys the foundation of predictability in a relationship.
