Fear of terrorism: real or not?
Since the Sept. 11 attacks on the Twin Towers in New York, terrorism has been something that cannot be ignored in this day and age. Since then we have already had dozens of attacks in Europe, so it is not so strange if you are afraid of terrorism. But is it a real fear or do you stay home for nothing if your fear of terrorism is very high? And are you instructing your friends and relatives about security for nothing until it gets down their throats
The influence of terror
Terrorism is incredibly influential. This is one of the reasons politicians clamor to do mostly what you always do because otherwise the terrorists "win."
The Sept. 11 attacks and those in Europe, for example, affect the financial markets, how much money you save, how you travel and how you think about your government[1]. (After an attack usually worse, because they couldn't guarantee security)
To restore trust in the government, it is important for the government to show that it is doing something against terrorism. This will also make fear disappear again[2].
As an individual, it can cause you to think about things you never thought about and you can get some emotions namely:
- Anger
- Anxiety
- Grief
These emotions are not exclusive. You can also get them in a combination.
In the Netherlands, about 70% of people, that is 7 out of 10, fear a terrorist attack[3].
Fear of terrorism and the news
Through the Internet, social media and the news, you know pretty quickly if there has been a terror attack somewhere. American researchers have found out that there is a correlation between how much news you take in that talks about these types of attacks and your sense that a terrorist attack may happen to yourself and others (why you care).
In addition, there is also a correlation that you worry about the safety of others, but strangely, there is no such correlation with fear for your own safety[4]. This is obviously very social, but also a bit illogical.
Fear of terrorism and personal factors
It has long been known that women are more fearful of crime than the statistics would suggest. Researchers have now also examined whether women are more fearful of terrorism, and it turns out that this is indeed the case. Women are more likely to avoid places where they fear a terrorist attack might occur and are more likely to seek out information in response to news about terrorism. Men, however, are less concerned with this[5].
Other research also shows that men are less pessimistic than women.
You can also react to terrorism with anger. As a result, you’re less concerned with taking precautions than when you’re afraid of terrorism[6].
Research on fear of terror and gender also shows that older people are less concerned about terror, but they do not think (unlike younger people) that the number of attacks is going to decrease. Researchers indicate that older people are probably less fearful because they know through their life experience that such an attack is a rare event and thus the chances of them being just in the wrong place at the wrong time are small.
If you know someone who has been so unfortunate as to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, the correlation of fear of terror from watching the news is also even stronger than if you don't know anyone who has ever encountered terrorism.
Why do fear and anger arise
This fear arises because terrorism demonstrates that a situation is not always under control and that, therefore, you cannot always control the situation. This makes you feel insecure, and that insecurity about control leads to fear.
Anger arises precisely because you can think of what you can do about the situation. Instead, you have certainty about how to regain control.
Overcoming fear of terrorism
To overcome your fear of terrorism, there are many things you can do. For example, you can improve your sense of control by learning about what to do when you witness/victimize a terrorist attack.
Knowing that you can call 911 can already reduce your feelings of anxiety.
According to authorities, it is important to be alert to suspicious situations, such as abandoned suitcases, and then call the police.
In addition, of course, it is helpful to get away from a place of attack as quickly as possible. Is this not possible? Hide or lie down on the ground[7].
Changing beliefs about terrorist attacks
In addition, you may hold beliefs about terrorism that are not grounded in reality. For example, the number of traffic fatalities in the Netherlands is much higher than the number of deaths caused by terrorism. If you stay indoors because of a fear of terrorism, you effectively can’t drive anymore either.
With hypnosis, you can identify what beliefs you have about terrorism. If they are incorrect, you can use hypnosis to get suggestions about them that will help you get correct beliefs.
The beliefs you hold can be found out with a Socratic conversation. In this conversation, the why question is repeated several times. Then logical beliefs are contrasted with non logical beliefs, such as:
"You are much more likely to get hurt in traffic than by a terrorist."
"Not all Muslims are terrorists."
"Not all right-wing people and rara left-wing people are terrorists."
"A suitcase is a suitcase."
These are just examples. Depending on your fears, a hypnosis expert may offer other suggestions in return.
Discovering cause beliefs
Something else you can do to suffer less from fear of terrorism so you dare to leave your house again and enjoy a day out on the town is to find out the cause of your fear.
Because terrorism has now been an issue since 2001 after it disappeared somewhat from Europe in the late 1980s, there are children who have had to deal with it or have seen it. For most people who were adolescents or older in 2001 they know where they were at the time they heard there was an attack in New York, but if you were younger than that your fear of terrorism may have crept in in a very different way.
In fact, many beliefs are formed in childhood, and 1 moment is enough to create a certain belief about how the world works and how you should react to it. One way to identify that childhood cause, which may not be very clear to you now, is with regression.
Regression is a hypnosis technique that takes you back to the moment when that event occurred. This is because hypnosis allows you to establish a kind of connection with your subconscious, which knows exactly when it happened. You then work through that moment. Perhaps you’ve inherited a fear from your parents, who warned you to stay away from large spaces, crowds, or people who aren’t part of “your group.” Fears can be passed down from parents to children in this way.
The hypnotherapist then helps you work through that moment in a way that changes your beliefs. Perhaps you now have a completely different relationship with your parents than you did back then, allowing you to better empathize with their motivations and determine whether they make sense to you or not. If they don’t make sense, you can use that moment to weaken the belief that you should be afraid of terrorism.
This allows you to live life again, enjoy nature, a festival, or a fun soccer game. Especially since, under hypnosis, you’ve also learned how to stay calm and do the right things if you do find yourself in an unfortunate situation.
Would you like to know exactly how hypnosis works and how it can help you find the right balance between real and irrational fears? Then come to a hypnosis workshop (also in Zwolle).
Do you want to learn right away how to help yourself or others with hypnosis? Then come to a seminar or sign up right away for one of our training programs (ask about online options if that suits you better).
[1] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1043986209335012
[2] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09546553.2019.1608951
[3] https://wattedoenbijterrorisme.nl/
[4] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0011128712452961
[5] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1043986209335012
[6] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-9280.01433
[7] https://crisisprodwe.azureedge.net/media/39635/nctv-infographic-wat-moet-ik-doen-bij-een-aanslag.pdf