Fear comes in many forms. Whether it’s the pre-exam jitters or a deathly dread of insects, fear can be an important factor in the way we interact with the world.
A healthy dose of fright is a natural part of any lifestyle. It can even be exciting—why else watch horror movies? But when fear starts to get in the way of everyday functioning, it becomes problematic. Psychologists group conditions resulting from overwhelming fear under a diagnostic class called anxiety disorders, which involve excessive apprehension and anxious behaviours.
Phobias are among the most common anxiety disorders. They involve an intense and irrational fear of an object or situation that does not actually present any kind of danger. Some of the most common phobias involve insects and animals, tight spaces (claustrophobia), heights (acrophobia), and water (hydrophobia)—but people can develop phobias for practically anything. Another type of phobic disorder is social phobia, which is the fear of social situations, meeting new people, and feeling embarrassed or humiliated in front of others.
The best treatment for phobias is exposure to the feared object or situation. Whether it’s snakes, balloons or public speaking, there’s no need for pills or extensive therapy. The most effective way to get over it is, well, to get over it. But it’s not as easy as it sounds. Individuals with phobias often experience panic attacks when they are exposed to their feared object, and in some cases suffer these attacks simply by thinking about it. Panic attacks are marked by an intense feeling of fear along with physiological reactions like trembling, palpitations, nausea, lightheadedness, and even a fear of dying.
Panic attacks are one way the body responds to a perceived threat. In general, this reaction mechanism is referred to as the fight-or-flight response. This response is regulated by the autonomic nervous system, which controls automatic and involuntary functions like heart rate and digestion. When a person encounters something that is frightening, the ANS responds by preparing physiologically to attack or flee. During a panic attack, a person’s heart rate goes up and digestion slows down so energy can be used for other, more immediate purposes.
Scientists who have studied the fight-or-flight response in animals have determined that the response has evolutionary significance. From the days when we faced the constant threat of becoming prey for a wide set of predators, humans adapted to deploy the body’s emergency resources as a means of survival. But in modern humans, this response is no longer beneficial, since most of the threats we encounter don’t require fighting or fleeing. In fact, the fight-or-flight response can work against us. It’s why your heart starts racing before writing an exam, or why your blood pressure goes up when you’re stressed out.
Along with the autonomic nervous system, a number of systems in the brain contribute to the feeling of fear. The amygdala is a key structure for processing emotions like fear and anger. Researchers have found that activity in the amygdala increases when patients are exposed to frightening objects or situations. However, while the amygdala generates the fear response, another structure of the brain located in the frontal lobes can limit it by suppressing activity in the amygdala. Without it, we wouldn’t be able to control our emotions or fears. How’s that for a reason to panic?
