All it means is that when a person is in great fear and still deciding on what is wrong or write, not being sure of what he or she is doing, so therefore the fear of that person can make you fail and then you can probably start doubting yourself...this just an instance tho..but fear isn't a good thing to witness.
The forty-eight states of the U.S. in the center of North America are called the contiguous United States or officially the conterminous United States.