The physical signs of fear are similar in most people. Muscle tension, pupils dilate, sweat forms on the body, and the skin turns pale. Inside the body the heart begins to beat faster and blood pressure rises. What makes us get scared really? That is what differs in the individual.
When a person feels fears, it’s a emotional reaction the brain is telling the body to defend. People can fear many things-movies, spiders, falling, other people, guns, etc. Fear can be a response of an event that happened to the individual or does not want to experience. An individual may avoid going down a dark alley for fear of being mugged. This individual may have been mugged before, knows someone who was, or has watched muggings in dark alleys.
Learned fear is from a past experience. The student who is fearful of giving a speech in class may have attempted a speech in the past and stumbled over their words. The class laughed at him and made he is fearful in front of class again. Now the student has feelings of anxiety and nervousness. His face turns pale and the stomach begins to turn.
So where does it begin? Located in the temporal lobe of the brain is the hippocampus. One of the three sections of the hippocampus is called the limbic system. This part of the brain is involved in regulating the motivating behaviors of the body-including fight or flight, feeding, and sexual behavior. This is also where the amygdala is located.
During a fearful situation, the need to stay and fight or to run away is felt. This is called fight or flight. This is another way of survival for the body. The limbic system evaluates what the body needs in the fearful situation-can this body defend against the big, scary bear or run away? The body assists in releasing adrenaline, which is the physical reactions of the body-the dilated pupils, racing heart beat, and burst of energy.
The term ‘adrenaline junkie’ refers to those individuals who see out fearful experiences to release adrenaline. These activities can include sky diving, roller coasters, and life or death situations. Adrenaline is released in these situations, causing the blood vessels to dilate and open up. This allows blood to reach the muscles quicker and oxygen to reach the lungs quicker. This can be deadly, however, due to the need to have bigger adrenaline-releasing experiences.
Adrenaline should not remain in the body after released. Physical activities can help to burn off the adrenaline. Think about it this way, when released, there is the burst of energy. If that energy is not utilized, the body stores it, resulting in insomnia and a nervous, jittery feeling.
What makes us get scared is a result of personal experience. Not everyone is afraid of spiders or falling. The body will defend itself the best way it can for survival. Hopefully, understanding where the fear comes from can help the individual overcome the fear.
It can be fun to be scared. That is why we enjoy scary movies and scary games. If you choose to watch a scary movie or play a scary game just remember it’s not real.