Some of the most important things fear takes from us don't look like losses at all. And I am not talking about the more obvious — and sometimes wonderfully specific — fears: spiders, balloons, flying, or even clothing buttons. Yes, there really is a phobia of buttons. Human brains are endlessly inventive. These are specific phobias, and modern psychology has developed highly effective ways of working with many of them, particularly through behavioural and cognitive behavioura

Why can you know that you’re safe and still feel anxious? The answer lies in the way the brain learns, predicts and protects — and in what helps it learn something new.