PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF FEAR ON THE HUMAN BODY A Personal Letter from Drs. Brenda and Erik Slovin... Fear As A Response For Survival Fear is one of the body’s strongest natural self-preservation mechanisms. A powerful basic emotion, fear is a response for survival, an alarm sounding like a blaring horn in the presence of danger. However, what are some of the physiological effects of fear on the human body? Can overwhelming, irrational fear adversely affect your health? According to a popular online search tracking feature, topics relating to fear were queried more than 300,000 times during the month of February 2006 alone. This figure does not represent a one-time only aberration, but rather a growing deep-seated obsession, with fear of the unknown playing a central role. So why do we have such a fear of the unknown? It seems that today’s tumultuous world events have created a climate in which fear lurks around every corner and multiplies daily. Open any newspaper or watch any television news report and your senses are bombarded with terrifying events and reports of looming disaster. Terrorist attacks … war … senseless violence … hurricanes … bird flu … pandemic disease. Physiological Effects Of Fear Fear is known to trigger unreasonable psychological reactions as well as produce harmful physiological effects on the human body. For example, the myriad of health issues related to phobias, stress and anxiety include serious conditions such as depression, alcoholism and substance abuse. List Of Phobias And Their Meanings Here is a very brief, yet interesting, list of some phobias and their meanings:
• Acrophobia, Altophobia - Fear of heights. How Do People Get Phobias? Some people can trace their phobia back to a frightening childhood event which may have caused a panic attack at the time. But it is not always so clear to someone why they suffer from a specific phobia, or where that phobia comes from. It is estimated that approximately four to five percent of the U.S. population suffers from one or more clinically significant phobias in any given year. Someone who was raised by anxious parents may themselves be more inclined to see the world as a dangerous place and to become anxious. This tendency to be anxious makes them more likely to react to life’s difficulties more negatively. The average age of onset for social phobia is between 15 and 20 years of age, although it can often begin in childhood. Research shows that social phobia may be hereditary and appears to occur in equal proportions between women and men. Men, however, seem to be more willing to seek treatment for social phobia than women. So How Do You Cure A Phobia? While there is no “magic pill” to cure phobias, there are some steps you can take to help overcome those irrational, paralyzing fears. Face your fear. One of the most successful approaches is through behavior therapy. In behavior therapy, you confront the feared object or situation in a carefully controlled manner. As you slowly realize that none of the terrifying consequences that you fear actually came to pass, you learn to control the physical reactions of that fear-driven phobia. Learn to relax. Another successful approach is called counter-conditioning. This approach trains you to substitute a relaxation response for the fear response experienced during a panic attack or when faced with a phobia.Counter-conditioning is generally used to very gradually introduce the feared object of your phobia in a step-by-step manner known as systematic desensitization. Remember to breathe! The fear that causes panic attacks and drives phobias also triggers shallow breathing. Short, shallow breaths actually heighten anxiety, so remember to breathe. Try this simple breathing exercise. Sit down and take a slow, deep breath with your eyes closed and your hands resting naturally on top of your thighs. Feel your breath rise up through your entire body, pushing the tension and anxiety out and away from you. Now slowly exhale and then repeat this exercise two more times. Breathing exercises like this one can help to short-circuit fear’s hold on your body and your mind. Fear does not have to rule your life with an iron fist. You can take control of fear’s psychological and physiological effects on your body and your mind. Begin today to step outside your comfort zone and realize that the world is not just frightening and full of danger. It is also a beautiful, wondrous place filled with joy, laughter and fulfillment. .............................................................. |