The fear is an emotion that human beings share with practically all living beings, since it is a Defense mechanism that will allow us to survive all kinds of threatening situations. The difference between us and animals is that we are not only scared of real things, but we are also capable of being scared of what, not being real, is imagined by our mind. This is precisely what makes not all of us feel afraid of the same things and to the same degree but, Where is fear born?
In our brain we have an area called amygdala, where a large part of the information it receives from the outside is processed, consisting of smells, sounds, images, etc. The amygdala is directly connected to the spinal cord because its mission is to give us the ability to respond to a threat immediately, without the need for the frontal cortex, the rational part of our brain, to intervene in this process.
The signals that are emitted by the amygdala reach the hypothalamus, where a hormone is released which in turn releases cortisol
It is this activation of the amygdala that also leads us to feel fear or anguish before certain situations that, although in themselves do not carry risks, such as a social gathering, if they have caused us harm emotional. This experience is stored in the brain linked to emotions and when the amygdala detects a In the same situation, it sets in motion the entire stress mechanism to defend the subject from a situation of danger.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
