Many people are under the misconception that fear of falling pertains
only to the elderly; however, a study proved this fear also haunts
African American middle-aged adults (some as young as 50) with negative
repercussions to their health.
In fact, African American middle-aged adults admitted they were
so afraid of falling that they have become less active -- creating
a cycle that causes frailty and illness.
Fear Facts
The study involved nearly 1,000 African American participants --
some from a poor inner city neighborhood and some from a more prosperous
suburban community -- ranging in age from 49-65. Interviewers visited
the participants' homes where they asked questions and performed
simple health and activity screenings. Results showed:
-
The fear was higher among inner city residents, compared to
those from the suburbs.
-
Fear of falling and fear-related activity restriction were
common and not well explained by prior falls.
-
One in three participants were afraid of falling (making the
fear as common among African American middle-aged adults as
it is among the elderly).
-
The fear was already evident in participants between ages 49-55.
While researchers were unsure exactly why fear of falling was found
to be more prominent among inner city residents, one suspicion was
that the increased risk of environmental hazards, inadequate resources
and socioeconomic disadvantages in a poorer neighborhood might raise
the perception of fall risk among resident elders.
Journal
of Gerontology: Medical Sciences March 2005;60(3):355-60
Science
Blog May 9, 2005
Gary Craig's Comments:
Some people believe fear to be the basis of all negative emotions.
While this may or may not be true, along with other
negative emotions, fear can certainly be an underlying factor
in the cause of chronic disease.
Indeed, unresolved emotional issues such as fear cause "unrest"
in the human system and, as such, provide "fertile emotional
soil" in which the seeds of disease can sprout. This is clearly
evident on the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) Web site where
you can read countless articles linking unresolved emotional issues
with disease. Fortunately, EFT can resolve these emotional drags
on the system ... often rapidly ... and reduce this obvious contributor
to physical problems.
I find the above study on the fear of falling in cities to be
interesting. With 14 years of experience using EFT for various fears/phobias,
I find that, for many people, the fear of heights (and thus the
fear of falling) is confused with an emotional response to "converging
lines." This is often because when they look down off of a
tall building they see its "converging lines" that appear
to merge together toward street level. Thus, when people have a
fear response on top of a tall building, it is often because those
converging lines give them a feeling of being "sucked down."
They inevitably describe this as the fear of falling.
Since cities typically have tall buildings, it is no surprise
that this "fear of falling" is more prevalent in cities.
Interestingly, this response to converging lines can also occur
when one is at street level and looks up toward the tops of the
buildings. For a more detailed look at this phenomenon and how EFT
can resolve it, see Bonnie's
Fear of Stairs.
 |
Gary Craig is a pioneering developer of EFT, a profoundly effective
emotional/mental healing approach. Dr. Mercola attributes much of the
incredible and permanent patient successes at his clinic, The Optimal
Wellness Center, to the fact that EFT is used with every patient to address
all three levels of healing: mind, body and spirit. Of the thousands of
natural treatments Dr. Mercola has studied and used in his 20 years of
practicing medicine, he feels that EFT is the greatest healing technique
that exists.
Read
more about Gary Craig's EFT Course.
|
| 