Fear is a survival mechanism. Our brains are able to detect when there is a source of stress that might be a threat, it then activates a series of events that enable us to be ready to fight or escape. This reaction is scientifically known as “fight or flight.” When stress activates that part of the brain, known as amygdala region, it overrides conscious thought which allows the brain to contribute all of its energy into facing the threat.
Most people are scared of what can hurt them such as heights, wild animals, spiders, etc. One of our body’s response to fear, is to create chilling goosebumps, which makes the hair on your arms stand up. This is actually a mechanism that our ancestors adopted. They were covered in hair, so when they were
Deciding between the right decision or the wrong one begins with fear. Fear lives inside of everybody and some people enjoy it more than others. People are naturally attracted to fear, like in horror movies, dark literature, or haunted houses. Being afraid gives people the excitement they don’t normally get in their regular lives. People like to be afraid because of the raw adrenaline that pumps through their veins, the sound of their heartbeat going faster, and the feeling of pure excitement that comes with it.
Fear can control anyone. It can also control your life and affects your choices. My fear is heights. Every time when we have to go in a car garage or going millions of miles up a building my palms get sweaty, my heart starts racing, and start to have a panic attack. Some people have so much fear of something it can kill them. But my fear prevents me from going on a plane and riding current rides. I was never able to go to Florida or Hawaii because of fear of heights. But that is only one of my fears. Another fear that controls me is clowns. Clowns are devils in disguise cover with over use of makeup. They have this look on their face that I have no words to describe. They earn children’s trust just so they can come in the child’s home to kill
During the Salem witch trials, many lives that were taken due to a few people’s self defence. In the book, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, a group of girls caused a whole town to go array. This group of girls were caught naked, dancing and conjuring spirits. These girls were going to accept the blame and receive the whipping for what they did, but one of the girls, Abigail, was not about to go down. Abigail had the whole group of girls convinced that it would be best to lie and to not accept the beating. By doing this, they were put into the court and used to tell the judges whether or not the people whom were accused were truly witches. Though the girls had no way of telling if the accused were truly witches, they
Fear is a powerful human emotion. It can make you do things you wouldn’t normally do, like risk taking and bad choices. Fear can spike your adrenaline. For example if someone was to lift a car off a run over child, that would be caused by adrenaline, which is caused by fear. According to several studies done by physicians
Damasio (2000) claims that “emotions are physiological signals as a reaction to external stimuli, and feelings arise when the brain interprets stimuli” (as cited in Hannibal, 2012, p. 30). The part of the brain that unravels and decodes emotion and interprets the particular stimuli that are threatening to the organism is the amygdala (Dubuc, 2002). To go into more depth, Michael Davis (1992) wrote that the central nucleus of the amygdala has direct projections to hypothalmic and brain stem areas that are involved in the symptoms of fear (p. 355). This is significant, as it shows how the amygdala connects to other parts of the brain in order to do its processing of emotions, thus exemplifying how the emotion of fear would be processed by not just the amygdala but other parts of the central and peripheral nervous system as well.
According to the article by Schaffhausen, the brain has two basic requirements to learn a fear. The first one is the sensory systems, such as the visual system for a light or the tactile system for a shock. The second area is the amygdala as a critical region for fear conditioning. “The amygdala is a small, almond-shaped cluster of nuclei set deep in the temporal lobe that seems ideally positioned as the locus of fear learning. It receives input through its lateral nucleus from cortical areas and the thalamus, which is a key sensory relay station within the brain, and it sends output via its central nucleus to a variety of brain regions that are known to mediate fear responses, such as the hypothalamus.” (Schaffhausen.2005). The crucial role for the amygdala in fear conditioning that if it is destroyed, it will still show a fear response but fail to learn the association between the sensory systems, such as the light and the brain regions that are known to control fear responses. Consequently, the amygdala is a key structure for fear
When you meet something scary, sensory signal are sent by the brain to the thalamus. The thalamus, at the moment, cannot be sure if the signals received suggest danger. However, due to the possibility that it might be, it relays the information to the amygdala. The amygdala then takes protective measures, just in case, upon receiving the message from the thalamus. It tells the hypothalamus to initiate “self defense” mode .
It is Midnight July 1990 in a little neighborhood of Massachusetts. Shea McDonald, a teenage girl is coming back home from a party. She did not bother to lock up, and minutes after a burglar found that unlocked door. He entered in McDonald’s house with a mask and black clothing still stained with the blood of his last victim. As he walked into the dark hallway, he found Shea sleeping in her bed. She woke up feeling something cold on her neck; it was the blade of the attacker’s knife. After struggling and fighting for her life, she found a way out to another room. She immediately locked the door and called the police, but the killer escaped. This is a frightening instance of rational fear based on an imminent danger, but how many types of fears the living can experience?
Scared thoughts raced through as my arms and legs shook with each step I climbed higher. My sweaty palms making it hard to hold onto the pegs. I tried to stay positive and just think about the zip line that awaited me at the end of the high ropes course.
Researchers have found that several parts of the brain are involved in fear and anxiety. Researchers are also looking for ways in which stress and environmental factors may play a role.
S.T.E.M FEAR can be defined as the unpleasant emotions which deter an individual from engaging in activities in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering or Math. S.T.E.M. fear is believed to be one of the main causes of the gender disparity seen in STEM careers worldwide. This discrepancy has become a rising concern in the USA where woman account for half (50.8%) of the entire population. Studies show that although women currently account for half the population, their presences in STEM fields are minimal. Therefore, articles such as “Letting girls speak about science” and “The Impact of Robot Projects on Girls’ Attitudes toward Science and Engineering,” attempt to bring understanding to what factors contribute to the gender gap.
· Muscles in the hands and forearms- clench your fists as tightly as possible to tense your muscles in the hands and arms.
Fear of the future can be a positive feeling in your life. It's vital to change the way you contemplate your fear so you can recuperate your relationship to it. A great many people accept fear or annoyance as an "adverse feeling". It is definitely not. Your relationship to fear is perhaps negative, however not the fear itself. Fear is a choking feeling and makes us feel uncomfortable; however its motivation is to offer you direction and input.
Fear is one of the main reasons people are alive today. When threatened, the human body slows or shuts down functions that are unnecessary to our survival. The amygdala, the part of the brain that is the fear center, helps sharpen senses and pumps blood faster. Fear can also have negative impacts such as: physical health, memory, brain processing and reactivity, and mental health. “Fear is a human emotion that is triggered by a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism that signals our bodies to respond to danger with a fight or flight response. As such, it is an essential part of keeping us safe”(Impact of fear and anxiety)
Fear was originally part of human nature because it alerts us when we are in or close to danger. This was