Everyone knows what it’s like to be afraid.
A snake slithers unexpectedly across the path ahead, and your body automatically responds. You spring backward should it strike. Your heart pounds, muscles tense, breath quickens. You begin to perspire. All attention is on the snake.
This is the fear response, says Dr. Christa McIntyre-Rodriguez, head of the undergraduate neuroscience program at the University of Texas at Dallas.
It’s a primitive, physiological and emotional response to something perceived as immediately dangerous, she says. Fear focuses our attention and prepares us to act, making it essential to protecting us from threats to our survival — threats like a poisonous snake or an out-of-control car speeding toward us.
But sometimes, fear is unwarranted — say, when you peer closer at the snake and realize it’s just a rubber hose. Other times, fear remains longer than it should, as in the case of post-traumatic stress disorder.
How exactly do our brains process fear? What’s the difference between fear and anxiety? And how can we prevent either from unnecessarily overwhelming us?
We talked with three experts to find out.
[For more of this story go to http://www.dallasnews.com/lifestyles/health-and-fitness/health/20141027-fear-on-the-brain-why-were-afraid-and-how-to-prevent-fear-from-overwhelming-us.ece]
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