Anxiety and fear are fed more by the absence of belief than its presence. Cognitive psychologists often see psychological dysfunction as a matter of "irrational beliefs". And they point to evidence of such beliefs from self-report questionnaires that consist of forced-choice questions: do you believe ‘x’ or not? Problem is, the essence of “belief” is faith – certainty. Yet certainty is often a matter of degree: it's not either you have it or you don't - it's how much of it do you have. If an opinion is less than certain, it is not a belief.
What lets fear in is the uncertainty, not the belief.
Uncertainty without the compensation of belief - that ultimately it will work out, that there is a secure harbor, despite the present confusion – creates a vacuum that is filled by alarm.
“Bad things will happen” is not the language of fear. “Bad things might happen” is.