Fear is an unpleasant feeling of perceived risk or danger, real or not.

Fear also can be

described as a feeling of extreme dislike to some conditions/objects, such as: fear of
darkness, fear of ghosts, etc. It is one of the basic emotions.
Fear inside a person has different degrees and varies from one person to another (see also
phobia). If not properly handled, fear can lead to social problems. People who experience
intense fear have been known to commit irrational and/or dangerous acts. Fear is a
distressing emotion aroused by a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring
in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger. In short, fear is the
ability to recognize danger and flee from it or fight, also known as the Fight or Flight
response.
The most common physical reactions of fear include: Rapid heart rate, Increased blood
pressure, Tightening of muscles, Sharpened or redirected senses, Dilation of the pupils (to
let in more light), Increased sweating
In the real world, fear can be acquired by a frightening traumatic accident. For example, if a
child falls into a well and struggles to get out, he or she may develop a fear of wells, heights
(acrophobia), enclosed spaces (claustrophobia), or water (aquaphobia).

Psychosis is a temporary mental state. A person experiences a psychotic state for a while,
then they come out of it. No one is born psychotic. Psychosis is not a personality trait.
Psychosis (from the Greek "psyche", for mind/soul, and "-osis", for abnormal condition)
means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state
often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality". People suffering from psychosis
are described as psychotic. Psychosis is given to the more severe forms of psychiatric
disorder, during which hallucinations and delusions and impaired insight may occur. People
with psychosis may have one or more of the following: hallucinations, delusions, or a thought
disorder.

Causes of psychosis include the following:

* brain tumors * drug abuse amphetamines, cocaine, marijuana, alcohol among others
* brain damage * schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder
* bipolar disorder (manic depression) * severe clinical depression
* severe psychosocial stress * sleep deprivation
* some focal epileptic disorders especially if the temporal lobe is affected
* exposure to some traumatic event (violent death, etc.)
* abrupt or over-rapid withdrawal from certain recreational or prescribed drugs
Sample article (will help clarify meaning of fear-psychosis in student’s minds)

Fear psychosis grips Rajajinagar RTO after third

staffer dies
| DNA : Daily News & Analysis; Mumbai, Aug 12, 2010 | by RB, Santosh
Kumar, | BN, Mohan Kumar

Deaths of three assistant regional transport officers (ARTOs) in a span of less than eight months, has created
fear psychosis in the Rajajinagar Regional Transport Office (RTO). The scared staffers have now decided to
perform a series of homas to exorcise their office space of evil spirits.

Confirming this, regional transport officer J Jnanendra Kumar said that ARTO Krishnamurhty (59) died on
Wednesday morning in a private hospital.

He said earlier on December 11, 2009 ARTO Sheikhji, 58, had died of cardiac arrest and his successor
Shekharappa, 56, died in March 2010 due to cardiac arrest. Krishnamurthy, a native of Channapatna,�
assumed charge in April. He reportedly peformed homas and even changed his office room.