Fear — A psychodynamic exploration

Originally broadcast on Radio-Canada, “À échelle humaine” , June 14, 2025.

Introduction

Fear is a universal emotion — sometimes protective, sometimes limiting. It can act as a signal, a defense, or even a hidden messenger of our inner life. In this Radio-Canada reflection, we explore fear not as something to be eliminated, but as a dynamic experience at the crossroads of body, desire, and meaning.

Understanding fear — between avoidance, drive, and confrontation

In our very first segment, we discussed the difference between fear (a reaction to an identifiable object), anguish (in the present, less identified to an object), and anxiety (anticipatory).

Although we focus here on fear, its borders with anxiety and anguish remain porous. Fear is often the voice of something deeper — an internal conflict, a repressed desire, or an unconscious fantasy.

Fear of failure, fear of being seen, fear of being alone, fear of being oneself — these reveal identity struggles often rooted in childhood or early experience. There is something frightening in the unknown, in difference, and in helplessness — themes that run through most of our fears.

A childhood fear of the dark, for instance, may evolve but leave behind an emotional imprint. It is not the fear itself that persists, but what it once represented: insecurity, loss of bearings, or the absence of another. Later in life, similar fears can resurface when triggered by loss, rupture, or change.

When fear hides desire

We can also be afraid of what attracts us. A fear may conceal a desire we have difficulty acknowledging — such as the wish to be seen, to take up space, to be heard.

Public speaking is a telling example: behind the fear of judgment may lie the longing for recognition. Artists often describe this paradoxical mixture of fear and desire in the creative process or in going on stage — even after years of performing, they continue to face this internal tension.

Our fears often oscillate between being obstacles and sources of drive.

Facing fear — listening rather than suppressing

To face fear doesn’t necessarily mean to defeat it. It can mean listening, unfolding its meaning, and understanding what it reveals about ourselves.

Sometimes, simply speaking about what frightens us can be an act of courage. The psyche has its own rhythm, and avoidance can be a necessary form of protection when fear overwhelms us. In other cases, confrontation is what allows transformation.

Everything depends on the role fear plays in a person’s psychic life.

The thrill of fear — when danger becomes play

Fear can also be exhilarating. Horror films, haunted houses, or roller coasters evoke both fear and excitement — a psychic charge that can be intoxicating. Children experiment with this in play, scaring one another to test their limits.

Some people love this blend of fear and exhilaration; others dislike it entirely. Each reaction deserves respect — it reflects one’s unique way of negotiating one’s relationship with transgression and limits.

When fear becomes paralyzing

When fear significantly limits one’s social or professional life, it may be time to seek professional help. The goal is not always to fight the fear, but to understand what it protects.

Some fears, paradoxically, can motivate the therapeutic — the fear of repeating a painful pattern or to have another panick attack, for example, can prompt one to seek change.

Collective fears and the mirror of society

Beyond individual experience, fears also emerge collectively, revealing the concerns of an era. The current ecological crisis, for example, evokes both personal anguish and collective anxiety about the future. Such fears belong to a shared imaginary. They can paralyze, but they can also mobilize and inspire engagement.

Some fears — such as the fear of transgression or breaking the law — are even necessary for social life, serving a structuring and ethical function.

Fear as a threshold for transformation

Our deepest fears are often intimate, shared only with those we trust. When we are heard and understood in our fears, especially in friendship or love, it strengthens the bond that unites us.

There is something almost identitary in our fears — they partly define us, though they need not determine who we are and become.

Relationships as spaces of transformation

Supportive and caring relationships can help us transcend fear — not by forcing us to confront it, but by allowing us to feel safe enough to explore it. The meeting with another’s difference (alterity), and with their own fears, can open new possibilities in our own psychic experience.

Conversely, being mocked or pushed to face a fear can be profoundly violent — both terrifying and invalidating.

Supporting someone who lives with fear

Before trying to help someone overcome their fear, it’s important to ask whether they actually want to. Whose discomfort are we addressing — theirs, or our own as witnesses? The wish to change must come from the person living with the fear.

That said, offering a space to talk, listen, or share one’s own experience can be deeply helpful. Take the example of parenthood — a stage that can awaken fears of change, responsibility, and the unknown. Speaking about these fears, across generations, can provide perspective and comfort.

Showing and speaking about one’s vulnerability can sometimes be more difficult depending on culture, generation, or gender. Yet it remains essential to create space for these conversations, as they allow each person to recognize both the specificity of their own fear and the shared experience it reveals with others. In this way, by engaging thought, knowledge, and lived experience, we can begin to transcend what might otherwise immobilize us.

🎧 Listen to the original French segment on Radio-Canada