The following block of text is from Mark, an intelligent, philosophical friend of mine:

One thing that suddenly struck me several years ago is this: ALL negative emotions all stem from one single one: fear.

Grief comes from having lost something or someone, and the fear that you know they will never come back.

Hatred comes from when someone does something bad to you, that you fear can never be fixed.

Envy comes from someone else having something you want, and the fear that you will never be able to get it yourself.

Jealousy comes from the fear that someone that you love will leave you.

When there’s no fear, there’s no negativity. If you have a partner that you trust implicitly, there’s no fear of them leaving, hence no need for jealousy.

To me it makes much sense on many levels, although the gist of his message is about handling jealousy in a relationship. You can even find further evidence:

• Vanity stems from the fear that people around you will not like you the way you are.
  
• Anxiety stems from the fear that you will be unable to confront any negative consequences.
  
• Indignation stems from the fear that you’re losing control over a situation where you think things should be done your way.

But where does fear, the seeming wellspring of almost all kinds of difficult emotions, come from? How to overcome fear? How to prevent fear from happening?

I believe fear warrants its own book.