Fear: Part 1 - Understanding | Feelingawareness

Fear: Part 1 - Understanding

Fear is a biologic alarm mode. When territory, nesting, or physical boundaries are endangered, every animal is alerted by a jolt of fear which charges the system for an energetic reaction.

Anger is the warning mode—growling, baring teeth, and aggressive posturing. This is a boundary display and a death threat to convince the intruder to avoid a damaging fight.

Flight is the retreat mode—running, dodging, climbing, jumping. This high energy state occurs when an animal is startled or chooses to flee.

Fight is the battle mode—biting, hitting, scratching, and gouging. Fighting is full, physical, in-the-moment engagement that is often a state beyond fear or anger.

Freeze is the last-ditch escape mode, a unique shock state that occurs when an animal is overwhelmed by the danger. This is either a primitive attempt to “play dead” (and escape when the predator pauses) or to dissociate in order to escape the pain of impending death.

The Fear Spectrum

Fear exists on a spectrum. There is no definitive set of levels, but here are 10 signposts—from slight to extreme.

1) Suspicion
The subtle feeling that something could be dangerous or is approaching.

2) Caution
Carefulness in the belief that danger is possible.

3) Vigilance
High alertness in the belief that danger is likely.

4) Agitation
Highly charged, slightly chaotic state with the sense that danger is lurking.

5) Anxiety
More intense fear in anticipation of immediate danger.

6) Dread
Overwhelming feeling that danger is imminent.

7) Fright
The full body jolt at the arrival of attack/danger.

8) Panic
High energy, chaotic attempt to respond to the attack/danger.

9) Terror
Full system reaction to being hurt/killed by the attack/danger.

10) Shock/dissociation
Shift of consciousness away from the horror.

Since most of us don't expect or experience life-threatening dangers, this list may seem extreme. There are a few factors, however, where less obvious dangers can rise to these levels.

The Power of Childhood and Social Fear

Young brains are far from fully formed and cannot understand how the world works. Parents are intended to act as a protective shield from this dangerous mystery so children can feel safe, relax, and grow up healthy. If parents fail to do this, children can be thrown into the deepest levels of fear by things that are not actually a threat, such as an open bedroom door or a scary story. Parental neglect and absence also trigger the primitive fear of being outcast and dying in the wilderness. And if parents —who are many times the size and weight of children—abuse them, children are thrown into life-and-death fear over and over. They may be dragged up and down the fear spectrum just by the arrival of a drunken father.

As children get older, concerns over social rejection—an ancient trigger for tribal exile—often eclipse all other fears. Just as the neglect of young children brings up terror of being outcast, peer rejection carries the same primitive fear of desertion and death. Fears of public judgment, embarrassment, and humiliation will trigger the same ancient life-and-death fears in adults.

If we have experienced traumatic fears as children, our nervous system still carries them. When those old, high-level fears are activated, relatively innocuous present- day situations can feel terrible. Therefore, even though we may not be experiencing life-threatening danger, we may be triggered into feeling like we are.

When Fear Becomes a Problem

Although fear is a natural and useful survival mechanism, it can become excessive in many different ways and levels.

Fear can be at a low level—but steady—such as chronic caution, worry, hypervigilance, agitation, or what is called “free floating” anxiety and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. At times people are anxious but have no idea why.

Fear also covers a spectrum of focus from the inside to the outside—the personal to the social/universal. Self-based fears often show up as hypochondria, self doubt, self scrutiny, and fear of choice (making mistakes). Outside-focused fears appear as agoraphobia, varied phobias, and paranoia.

Social anxiety appears as the self under pressure from the outside world. This includes fears of attention and rejection, embarrassment, failure, humiliation, imposter syndrome and the like.

Fear often fuels chronic efforts to manage people and situations, manifesting as over control, Separation Anxiety, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder—which can attach to almost anything from cleanliness to household safety.

The high energy side of the spectrum includes startle behaviours, night terrors, panic attacks and Panic Disorders. There is also a covert level of fear where the internal state is high but the presentation is flat or quiet, as in freezing, blanking, shock, and dissociation.

Many people may not think they have fear issues because the presentation of their fear is not extreme, but these previous examples show that some level of fear is at the root of common problems.

Therapeutic Foundation

Recognition that fear is chronic, exhausting, exaggerated, or out of proportion to the situation is an important realization. It is this recognition that can convince people to investigate and resolve the origins of the fear through a therapeutic process.

Since fear issues operate with biochemical triggers within primitive brain structures, an intellectual understanding does not, itself, interrupt the reactivity. A person may finally understand that speaking up at work is no real danger but still have shallow breathing and a racing heart when a meeting starts. Calming down an over-reactive nervous system is a varied process that requires steadiness and dedication.

Bringing fear issues to therapy requires building safety and trust. A fearful nervous system is automatically cautious of everything and everyone, including the therapist. This requires the client to have as much decision-making power and control as possible. As a therapist, my questions or suggestions are optional—they can be safely chosen or rejected.

It's important to investigate topics and feelings gradually, without any pressure. It's usually best to avoid triggering strong feelings, as well as containing or slowing them down if they do come up. The nervous system needs to learn that it is not in danger of being overwhelmed. This builds the necessary trust and safety.

(continued in "Fear: Part 2 - The Bodybrain")