Man : Losing (Fear in Life)
Fear of Life
Fear is a vital response to physical and emotional danger—if
we didn't feel it, we couldn't protect ourselves from legitimate threats. But
often we fear situations that are far from life-or-death, and thus hang back
for no good reason. Traumas
or bad experiences can trigger a fear response within us that is hard to quell.
Yet exposing
ourselves to our personal demons is the best way to move past them.
What is Fear?
A brain chain reaction starting
from a stressful stimulus in the brain and ends with the release of chemicals
that cause heart
to beat faster, fast breathing and energized the muscles,
known as the fight-or-flight response. The stimulus for this reaction could be
a spider,
a knife at your throat, an auditorium full of people waiting for you to speak
or the sudden thud of your front door.
The brain is a complex organ with more than 100
billion nerve cells.
It is an intricate network of
communications. These communications lead to our consciously thought and action,
while others produce autonomic responses. The fear response is almost
entirely autonomic.
Cells brain are constantly
transferring information and triggering responses, and one of them involved
fear.
Research has discovered that certain parts of the brain play central
roles in the process:
·
Thalamus - decides where to send
incoming sensory data (from eyes,
ears, mouth, skin)
·
Sensory cortex - interprets sensory data
·
Hippocampus - stores and retrieves
conscious memories; processes sets of stimuli to establish context
·
Amygdala - decodes emotions; determines
possible threat; stores fear memories
·
Hypothalamus - activates "fight or
flight" response
Creating Fear
The
process of creating fear takes place in the brain and is entirely unconscious involving
two paths:
a.
the low
road is quick and messy
b.
the high
road takes more time and delivers a more precise interpretation
of events.
Both
of the processes happens simultaneously.
a. Low
Road
The main principle of this response is “take no
chances." An example : If the wind cause the front door to your home to
suddenly knocks against the frame. The possible cause maybe the wind or a
burglar trying into your house.
The
mind human response :
The
low road shoots first and asks questions later. The process:
i.
The door knocking against the door frame is
the stimulus. As soon as you hear the sound and see the motion, your brain
sends this sensory data to the thalamus.
ii.
At this point, the thalamus doesn't know if
the signals it's receiving are signs of danger or not, but since they might be,
it forwards the information to the amygdala.
iii.
The amygdala receives the neural impulses
and takes action to protect you: It tells the hypothalamus to initiate the
fight-or-flight response that could save your life if what you're seeing and
hearing turns out to be an intruder.
b. High
Road
The high road is much more
careful and thoughtful. It is considering all of the options. The long process:
i.
When your eyes and ears
sense the sound and motion of the door, they relay this information to the
thalamus.
ii.
The
thalamus sends this information to the sensory cortex, where it is interpreted
for meaning. The sensory cortex determines that there is more than one possible
interpretation of the data and passes it along to the hippocampus to establish
context.
iii.
The hippocampus asks questions like,
"Have I seen this particular stimulus before? If so, what did it mean that
time? What other things are going on that might give me clues as to whether
this is a burglar or a wind storm?" The hippocampus might pick up on other
data being relayed through the high road, like the tapping of branches against
a window, a muffled howling sound outside and the clatter of patio furniture
flying about.
iv.
Taking into account this other information,
the hippocampus determines that the door action is most likely the result of
wind.
v.
It sends a message to the amygdala that
there is no danger, and the amygdala in turn tells the hypothalamus to shut off
the fight-or-flight response.
The sensory data regarding the door -- the stimulus --
is following both paths at the same time. But the high road takes longer than
the low road. That's why it take a moment or two of terror before you calm
down.
Regardless of which path we're talking about, all roads
lead to the hypothalamus.
This portion of the brain controls the ancient survival reaction called the
fight-or-flight response. In the next section, we'll take a closer look at the
fight-or-flight response.
Basic Fear
Five basic fears
are manufactured. Those five basic fears are:
a. Extinction –
fear
of annihilation, of ceasing to exist. This is a more fundamental way to express
it than just calling it the "fear of death". The idea of no longer being arouses
a primary existential
anxiety in all normal humans. Consider that panicky feeling you get
when you look over the edge of a high building.
b. Mutilation
–
fear
of losing any part of our precious bodily structure; the thought of having our
body's boundaries invaded, or of losing the integrity of any organ, body part,
or natural function. For example, anxiety about animals, such as bugs, spiders,
snakes, and other creepy things arises from fear of mutilation.
c. Loss of Autonomy –
fear
of being immobilized, paralyzed, restricted, enveloped, overwhelmed, entrapped,
imprisoned, smothered, or controlled by circumstances. In a physical form, it's
sometimes known as claustrophobia, but it also extends to social interactions
and relationships.
d. Separation
–
fear
of abandonment, rejection, and loss of connectedness - of becoming a non-person - not
wanted, respected, or valued by anyone else. The "silent treatment,"
when imposed by a group, can have a devastating psychological effect on the
targeted person.
e. Ego-death –
fear
of humiliation, shame, or any
other mechanism of profound self-disapproval that threatens the loss of integrity of the Self;
fear of the shattering or disintegration of one's constructed sense of
lovability, capability, and worthiness.
Why Do We Fear?
Fear or afraid, is a human response to handling the
world challenge for survival. Without it
we would be walking into oncoming traffic, stepping off of rooftops and
carelessly handling poisonous snakes.
In humans and in all animals, the purpose of fear is to promote survival of
mankind.
For humans, there are other factors involved in fear
beyond instinct. Human beings have the sometimes served with unfortunate gift
of anticipation
- anticipating terrible things that might
happen -- things we have heard about, read about or seen on TV. In flight, we feel
fearful in anticipation of a plane crash even though we haven’t been in a crash
plane before. It is an evolutionary benefit: During rain, anticipation of lightning
and we will remain under cover until the storm passed over. A response in
anticipation due to fear of our life.
Common
fears
According to surveys, there are
numerous common fears: ghosts, the existence of evil powers, cockroaches,
spiders,
snakes,
heights,
water,
enclosed
spaces, tunnels,
bridges,
needles, social
rejection, failure, examinations and public
speaking.
Though most arachnids are
harmless, a person with arachnophobia may still panic or feel uneasy
around one. Sometimes, even an object resembling
a spider can trigger a panic attack in an arachnophobic individual.
One of the most common fears in
humans is the fear of public speaking. Human feel comfortable
in informal speaking but when it comes public speaking, fear just enters into
our body: suspicious and conscious whether the words uttered are correct or
incorrect and be judge upon. A self-depiction fear, become self-conscious on
stage. Another common fear is the fear of pain. Fear of pain in a plausible
situation brings flinching, or cringing and suffering in the person. .
A Gallup Poll conducted in
2005 reveals the most common fears of teenagers in the United States. The top
10 list goes like this:
- Terrorist attacks
- Spiders
- Death
- Failure
- War
- Heights
- Crime/Violence
- Being alone
- The future
- Nuclear war
Overcoming Fear
Overcoming
fear doesn’t happen instantly or automatically. It is the
result of deliberate intention, and conscious action towards doing things that
scares you. As a result of overcoming your fears, you grow as a person, and
expand the possibilities that surround your life.
Tips
for dealing with everyday fears:
- It doesn't matter why you're scared.
Knowing why you've developed a particular fear
doesn't do much to help you overcome it, and it delays your progress in areas
that will actually help you become less afraid. Stop trying to figure it out.
Fear comes from the mind, finding logical solution is not common sense but belief
in you sense.
- Learn about the thing you fear.
Uncertainty is a huge component of fear:
Developing an understanding of what you're afraid of goes a long way toward
erasing that fear. Understanding fear may elevate and eliminate the phobia by
pinpointing the “sick- ness” of yourself.
- Train.
If there's something you're afraid to try
because it seems scary or difficult, start small and work in steps. Slowly
building familiarity with a scary subject makes it more manageable. A strong
and steady house starts from strong foundations. It takes time to build a solid
foundation but it must be done to have a perfect structure.
- Find someone who is not afraid.
If there's something you're afraid of, find
someone who is not afraid of that thing and spend time with that person. Take
her along when you try to conquer your fear -- it'll be much easier. A
companion, a soul mate, an alter mater of life, understanding human
vulnerability and trying to ease the burden. A true friends.
- Talk about it.
Sharing your fear out loud can make it
seem much less daunting. A voice from the heart will ease the burden of sorrow
and pain. It is natural act for human to talk of their “dis-ease”.
- Play mind games with yourself.
If you're afraid of speaking in front of
groups, it's probably because you think the audience is going to judge you. Try
imagining the audience members have the same “dis-ease”, uneasiness and same
fear. Imagine you are the expert, and
giving a motivational talk of your life about your life.
- Stop looking at the grand scheme.
Think only about each successive step. If
you're afraid of heights, don't think about being on the fortieth floor of a
building. Just think about getting your foot in the lobby. The first step is the important step. Like a
child having the first walk, stumbling and trying but persevered.
- Seek help.
Fear is not a simple emotion. If you're
having trouble overcoming your fear on your own, find a professional to help
you. There are lots of treatments for fear out there, and no good reason not to
try them under the guidance of someone with training and experience.
Excerpt and
narrations taken, with thanks from:
Wikipedia
science.howstuffworks.com
www.KarlAlbrecht.com
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