Response To Fear Research Paper

In this essay i will talk about why people have fears, and how to overcome them.

These are some things about fear. Fear is like an instinct, programmed into someone, you hear a sound, and boom, there it is. According to fears and phobias “When we sense danger, the brain reacts instantly, sending signals that activate the nervous system. This causes physical responses, such as a faster heartbeat, increase in breathing, and increase in blood pressure.” All of these lead to getting ready to fight or run. These are natural responses to fear, but if it becomes a phobia it gets much worse. Fear does not have to be something scary, you could hear a loud bang and get startled, which can lead to fear. According to fears and phobias “Some phobias develop when someone has a scary experience with a thing or a situation. A tiny brain structure called the amygdala keeps track of experiences that trigger strong emotions.” This shows that phobias can start off like that, but it is also very possible for a phobia to develop. This also tells what part of the brain stores scary/emotional experiences. A phobia/fear can also be safe for you. If you are afraid of heights and hug the wall when you are high up you could save yourself from falling off it. A phobia is not a sign of weakness or immaturity it is a response that the brain learned to attempt to protect

the person it belongs to (or the other way around).

The same thing goes for a fear. The difference between a fear and a phobia is that, A phobia is more extreme (someone with a fear of spiders might

panic, but someone with a phobia might faint), and generally a phobia is more specific. A fear can grow into a phobia if avoided and it gets worse.

Here are some ways on how you can counter fears and phobias. According to face your fears and scare the phobia out of your brain “...Researchers at Northwestern University have found that just one positive exposure to spiders had lasting effects in people with arachnophobia six months later.” This shows that you can help your fears by just one lesson of exposure therapy. In this particular session the patients touched a live tarantula with a paintbrush, a gloved hand, and eventually their bare hand. They did this for two hours, slowly working their way up to their bare hand. After the session the patients were feeling better, then they came back to the researchers at Northwestern University, six months later, and still felt OK about spiders. That evidence also shows that, contrary to the belief that it does not, facing your fears really does help with your fears or phobias. Also with the evidence exposure therapy is just one way to help with fears and phobias, you don’t need an expert to do it, you just need to slowly increase the pace of facing your fears. Along with that, a slow approach helps, don’t just barge in, say you are scared of the dark. You go into a place that can be dim, then turn the light off, wait a few minutes, then turn it on. Keep on doing this longer each time, until you are comfortable for a while in the dim light. Then move to a place that is a little darker and repeat the process over and over until you are comfortable in pitch-black for a long time. All of these things listed are ways that anyone can get over fears and phobias.

In conclusion, All of these facts are reasons why you have fears and phobias, and ways to face them.