The Complexity of Terror - The Human Body is an Amazing Machine

By the grace of nature, many creatures are born with a sense that tells them danger is near. Fear is a scintillating emotion that can cause us to feel things impossible without its aid. Adrenaline rushes and paralyzing moments of thought are included. For us humans, it may seem like it's strange, but fear's reactionary elements can be seen almost anywhere. So what happens in the brain when we feel fear and why? The first thing to dissect is the question which subconsciously must be answered before any action takes place.

The reason in which any entity feels fear is becuase they feel as if there is an impending danger. The next step in logic would be whether to confront this danger or flee. This factor is known as the "fight or flight" question. During this time, if the hazard approaching is potentially fatal, the body reroutes all of its energy to the brain, attempting to construct a safe, effective answer. This is the "_____ caught in the headlights" symptom. The paralysis is usually followed by an almost superhuman burst of energy due to the adrenaline rush to the muscles needed to fend off the agressor or run from it.

The heart begins to beat faster, allowing more blood to be channeled into the muscles. Paired with the adrenaline, it allows people to exert more and helps them perform the "impossible" feats heard of on the news. Lifting the car to free a pinned person or outrunning something when literally running for your life can be explained by these releases. The live or die situation is a powerful motivator that produces unbelievable results in something as frail as the human body.

There have been many attempts to understand fear in other creatures as well. One of the most noted experiments had a normally sedate rat being chased until cornered. The rat, once it had comprehended that its choice to flee was no longer available, reared up and aggressively stood its ground when the predator closed in. Physical attributes change as well, allowing the fearful creature to take in a greater sense of its surroundings. The pupils dialate, helping vision, the lungs expand for more air flow, the digestive system shuts down (we don't need it at that moment), our hairs stand up for extra sensitivity to touch and saliva decreases. All of these things happen involuntarily but are proven useful for our ancestors, thus we retained them.

Fear, at its heart, is not a "cowardly" emotion. When one gets scared easily, it merely means that they are more sensitive to dangerous situations. The rudimentary "fight or flight" choice brings the pridefully logical human mind back to the primordial stages in which we may have had to rely on instincts alone when traversing the ancient earth. Fear is a step in the preparation of another action, whether it's fighting for all your worth or it's running until your lungs feel like they're ablaze. For some people, it's a source of a "high". Haunted houses, thriller/horror movies and such are all examples of the addiction to the natural drug that's released into our bodies at the moment we feel threatened.