The Psychology Behind Fear

The Psychology Behind Fear Phobias Print The Psychology Behind Fear By Lisa Fritscher Lisa Fritscher is a freelance writer and editor with a deep interest in phobias and other mental health topics. Learn about our editorial policy Lisa Fritscher Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Steven Gans, MD on November 07, 2019 Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital. Learn about our Medical Review Board Steven Gans, MD on November 07, 2019 Jupiterimages / Getty Images More in Phobias Causes Symptoms and Diagnosis Treatment Types In This Article Table of Contents Expand Biochemical Reaction Emotional Response Causes of Fear Acclimation Psychology of Phobias Treating Phobias View All Back To Top Fear is a powerful and primitive human emotion. It alerts us to the presence of danger, and it was critical in keeping our ancestors alive. Fear can be divided into two responses: biochemical and emotional. The biochemical response is universal, while the emotional response is highly individual. Biochemical Reaction Fear is a natural emotion and a survival mechanism. When we confront a perceived threat, our bodies respond in specific ways. Physical reactions to fear include sweating, increased heart rate, and high adrenaline levels that make us extremely alert.?? This physical response is also known as the “fight or flight” response, in which your body prepares itself to either enter combat or run away. This biochemical reaction is likely an evolutionary development. Its an automatic response that is crucial to our survival. Emotional Response The emotional response to fear is highly personalized. Because fear involves some of the same chemical reactions in our brains that positive emotions like happiness and excitement do, feeling fear under certain circumstances can be seen as fun, like when you watch scary movies.?? Some people are adrenaline junkies, thriving on extreme sports and other fear-inducing thrill situations. Others have a negative reaction to the feeling of fear, avoiding fear-inducing situations at all costs. Although the physical reaction is the same, fear may be perceived as either positive or negative, depending on the person. Causes of Fear Fear is incredibly complex.?? Some fears may be a result of experiences or trauma, while others may represent a fear of something else entirely, such as a loss of control. Still, other fears may occur because they cause physical symptoms, such as being afraid of heights because they make you feel dizzy and sick to your stomach. Acclimation Repeated exposure to similar situations leads to familiarity. This dramatically reduces both the fear response and the resulting elation, leading adrenaline junkies to seek out new and bigger thrills. It also forms the basis of some phobia treatments, which depend on slowly minimizing the fear response by making it feel familiar.?? Psychology of Phobias One aspect of anxiety disorders can be a tendency to develop a fear of fear.?? Where most people tend to experience fear only during a situation that is perceived as scary or threatening, those who suffer from anxiety disorders may become afraid that they will experience a fear response. They perceive their fear responses as negative  and go out of their way to avoid those responses. A phobia is a twisting of the normal fear response. The fear is directed toward an object or situation that does not present a real danger. Though you recognize that the fear is unreasonable, you cant help the reaction. Over time, the fear tends to worsen as the fear of fear response takes hold. Treating Phobias Phobia treatments that are based on the psychology of fear tend to focus on techniques like systematic desensitization and flooding. Both techniques work with your body’s physiological and psychological responses to reduce fear. Systematic desensitization: In this treatment, youre gradually led through a series of exposure situations. For example, if you have a fear of snakes, you may spend the first session talking about snakes. Slowly, over subsequent sessions, you would be led through looking at pictures of snakes, playing with toy snakes, and eventually handling a live snake. This is usually accompanied by learning and applying new coping techniques to manage the fear response.??Flooding: This is a  type of exposure technique that can be quite successful. Its based on the premise that your phobia is a learned behavior and you need to unlearn it. In flooding, youre exposed to a vast quantity of the feared object or exposed to a feared situation for a prolonged amount of time in a safe, controlled environment until the fear diminishes. For instance, if youre afraid of planes, youd go on up in one anyway. The point is to get you past the overwhelming anxiety and potential panic to a place where you have to confront your fear and eventually realize that youre OK. This can help reinforce a positive reaction (youre not in danger) with a feared event (being in the sky on a plane), ultimately getting you past the fear.?? Its important that such confrontational approaches be undertaken only with the guidance of a trained mental health professional because these are potentially traumatic techniques. However, in some circumstances, they have an excellent rate of success if youre up for trying them.