Why We Experience Fear — And What To Do About It
What happens to the body when you're afraid, and how much fear is too much?
fizkes / Shutterstock Fear is a universal human emotion. Everyone feels afraid sometimes.
Whether it’s running up the stairs in the dark after you turn the lights off or pulling the sheets just a bit closer to your neck at night, we all experience fear and respond to it in both rational and irrational ways.
There are several common fears that we all share. Many of these get our heart rate up and give us goosebumps, but some can be genuinely problematic with the effects they trigger in certain situations.
It’s important to learn about the varying physical and emotional responses to fear so that you can identify if and when it becomes a problem.
What is fear?
By the most basic definition, fear is "an unpleasant, often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger."
From a psychological perspective, fear is both a biochemical and emotional response that alerts us to the presence of danger or threats so we can take action to protect ourselves.
What causes fear?
The body’s reaction to threats in the environment causes fear. The response begins in a part of the brain called the amygdala. This is where the fight or flight response activates and leads the chemical charge that prepares the body for action.
The physical responses then transfer the signal from the amygdala to the nervous system, which controls your body’s movement. The stress hormone cortisol is released. Blood pressure rises, and blood flow increases, along with an extra supply of glucose that’s shot into the musculoskeletal system.
“Our bodies and brains are designed to feel fear,” says LCSW and mindfulness teacher Nichole Moorman. “Healthy fear is a sign that something is off, different, or possibly dangerous. The cascade of changes in the body that accompany fear can fuel immediate or cautious action as we navigate threats and protect ourselves as needed.”
Common fear triggers include:
- darkness
- heights
- flying
- snakes, rodents, spiders, and other commonly creepy animals
- God
- rejection
- death
How Fear Helps Us
Fear helps us in genuinely dangerous situations, allowing the body to react naturally and automatically to any legitimate threats. Fear is a survival mechanism that’s been used by human beings to escape life-threatening circumstances and is leftover from our animal ancestors.
Moorman says, “We learn about what is dangerous or requires protection or caution during early childhood with our caregivers and micro-culture of our family, and then out into our communities, in school and beyond. Much of this learning, especially early on, but even into adulthood, is implicit, occurring outside our conscious attention.”
In today’s society, the issue lies in the fact that there aren’t many instances where we’re genuinely in danger, and fear can sometimes stand in the way of our everyday lives.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders and panic disorders are all conditions that can develop when the fear response is triggered often and irrationally.
Physical and Emotional Signs & Symptoms of Fear
Rapid heartbeat
This occurs due to your body’s increased blood pressure and blood flow. It’s the heart’s job to pump chemicals like adrenaline as quickly as possible so that you can physically react to the cause of your fear.
Shaking
Shaking can occur because extra blood and adrenaline are being pumped around your body, getting your muscles ready to act.
Goosebumps
Everyone can distinctly recall the feeling of the hair rising on the back of their neck when they’re scared. This is a reflex that evolved in our ancestors that caused their hair to stand up and make them look larger so that they could scare away predators.
Quickened breathing
This happens because your body is attempting to push more oxygen into the muscles so they can be more effective in the face of danger. Since your blood is pumping faster, and it carries the oxygen into the muscles, your breathing has to be faster to take in more oxygen.
Chest pain
Due to your quickened breathing and a high heart rate/blood pressure due to adrenaline and cortisol coursing through your body, many people experience chest pain.
Dizziness
When fear strikes, it often triggers people's fight or flight response. The rush of adrenaline can cause people to become dizzy and need to sit down.
Nausea
Anxiety is a natural response to fear. When anxious, the body prepares for fight or flight. The neurotransmitters get into the digestive tract which can upset one's stomach.
Hot flashes
Fear causes the body to release stress hormones which send blood to muscles and increase circulation. This can cause a person to suddenly become hot.
The Difference Between Fears And Phobias
While fear can manifest in response to a genuine threat, phobias arise when someone is afraid of something that’s mostly harmless, or unlikely to pose a real danger.
Phobias are thought to be irrational fears that don’t necessarily evolve due to any genuine need.
Somewhere around 12.5% of people experience phobias. The research is ongoing and the reasons are unknown. In general, experiencing a fearful event doesn’t contribute to the development of a phobia.
The Difference Between Fear And Anxiety
Although fear and anxiety feel very similar, there is one clear distinction between anxiety and fear. Fear is a reaction to a singular specific, real dangerous object or situation.
Anxiety is unfocused fear and can be very excessive. Anxiety may be triggered by numerous stimuli, but fear is only triggered by one thing (what the person is scared of).
6 Common Fears
1. Agoraphobia
Under 2% of U.S. adults experience agoraphobia. This is categorized by the fear of open spaces, crowds, unfamiliar places, and public transportation.
Oftentimes, panic disorder can cause agoraphobia to develop. Otherwise, it can occur as an unexplained phobia.
2. Fear of heights
Acrophobia, or the fear of heights, affects around 5% of the population. People with this phobia overestimate the height of tall buildings while viewing them from street level. Even the thought of standing atop high surfaces can trigger a fear response.
3. Arachnophobia
Arachnophobia, or the fear of spiders, affects nearly 3-15% of people. It also encompasses the fear of spider-related objects, particularly spiderwebs.
If the thought of creepy crawlers with eight legs and countless eyes haunts your dreams, then you’re probably arachnophobic.
4. Claustrophobia
Up to 12.5% of the population is afraid of enclosed spaces, or sufferers from claustrophobia. Fear can make it difficult to engage in daily life. Some can experience panic attacks when faced with situations like waiting in elevators or otherwise feeling trapped.
5. Fear of flying
Also called aerophobia, somewhere around 40% of people are at least mildly anxious when it comes to flying. And 60% of people who are afraid of flying experience generalized anxiety during a flight. A small number, under 5%, have a clinical phobia and experience crippling anxiety.
6. Public speaking
This one is so common that up to 77% of the population experiences fear when it comes to talking in front of a crowd. It’s so common that there are well-known coping strategies like picturing your audience naked.
How To Handle Fears
The first thing to remember is that fear is caused by automatic biological processes.
Fear was developed as a mechanism to get us out of trouble, fast. Whether by freezing or running from danger, we’re designed to find our way to safety when the situation requires it.
By shifting the brain’s focus to its more logical centers, you can sometimes override the automatic circuitry and train yourself to think more rationally. When the cerebral cortex is engaged, for instance, the brain can more clearly assess whether what’s threatening you is dangerous or not.
The ability to logically determine what’s a genuine threat and what isn’t can allow you to manage your fears and handle their effects on your daily life.
Focus on and deepen your breathing. Calming down and breathing can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which counteracts the fight or flight response. There are several breathing techniques and mindfulness exercises that can help you tap into this process.
How to Know When to Seek Treatment
These are complex human emotions we’re dealing with, but as with most anything else, as soon as it begins to interfere with your ability to function then you need to look into professional solutions to overcome fear.
If you can’t provide for yourself in terms of food or income due to fear, that’s a serious issue that needs to be addressed. Things to note are whether or not your fear inhibits you from going outside, going to work, getting out of bed, or seeing friends and family.
Conditions can develop in response to the fear that may worsen its effects and contribute new ones into the fray. Panic disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder could both develop in response to an acute fear or trauma. Generalized anxiety disorder can also affect those who experience regular sensations of fear, whether rationally or not.
These are serious conditions that require professionals to evaluate and treat and could be remedied through therapy and medication.
“Our systems just adapt [to fear] the best they can,” Moorman says, “and through no fault of our own, we can develop habits and beliefs that fuel irrational fear or fear reactions that no longer serve us. If we don't have tools to bring attention to what's not working and to adapt, anxiety can hijack our nervous systems and start running the show.”
List Of Helpful Resources
There are several helpful resources available to assist you in finding the right treatment for you or to simply point you in the right direction if your fear isn’t yet interfering with daily life.
A few good resources to consider include:
- The National Institute of Mental Health Guide for Locating Help
- NIH Overview of Psychotherapies
- Mayo Clinic Guide to Panic Disorder
Kevin Lankes, MFA, is an editor and author. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Here Comes Everyone, Pigeon Pages, Owl Hollow Press, The Huffington Post, The Riverdale Press, and more.