What fear can do to the body

‘Tis the season for a good scare!

The sensation of chills, goosebumps, partial-paralysis and gastrointestinal distress can all be symptoms of fright. But why does this happen?

Why does our body react to fear?

Dr. Asim Shah, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Baylor College of Medicine, said it all starts in the amygdala, the part of our brain that controls memory, decision-making and emotional responses, like fear. Shah described it as a small almond-shaped part of the brain in the limbic system.

“When the body senses fear, it triggers the fear response,” Shah said. “The fear response could be an increase in heart rate, increase in muscle tightness and sometimes GI problems.”

Adrenaline rushes into the nervous system, which makes a person who is scared also feel energized and excited. Stress hormones also are released during this process because the amygdala is fully activated.

Cortisol, a stress hormone, and adrenaline are both released when a person becomes frightened, Shah said. Both are fine in small amounts, but an excess of both chemicals can cause internal and external symptoms in the present and future.

“Excessive cortisol can cause health issues like lung disease, weight gain, emotional instability,” he said. “But a little bit of cortisol won’t hurt anything.”

Why does fear from watching a horror movie feel different?

The difference between feeling fear in “real life” versus through a screen is what Shah called the “anticipation of fear.” He said it’s like the spooky feeling that can come with celebrating Halloween.

“If you’re walking and someone comes out in front of you, it’s a completely unanticipated fear,” he said. “When it’s a movie, you expect it to happen. The fear element is going to be less when something is expected.”

Anxiety can cause different things to happen to the body, like goosebumps, but not everyone shows physical fear symptoms.

When a person is in a state of fear for an extended period, it can lead to severe post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety and further traumatic situations.

Long-term effects of consistent fear can include memory impairment and other cognitive issues, in addition to immune resistance. A person’s physical health can be affected the longer their body stays in a fear state.

How can people self-regulate their fear response?

Understanding how common long-term fear is can be helpful in handling its symptoms. Shah said the most common fear typically changes on an annual basis, and that 10 percent of Americans live in a state of long-term fear.

In the first few years of the pandemic, COVID-19 was a top fear of people surveyed in the U.S., Shah said. That fear has subsided for many now.

“Right now, the most common fear is economic fear with people worried about finances and about wars; the start of World War III,” he said. “With a changing world, these fears change.”

Fears can be regional, too. A person living in Detroit may have completely different fears and responses than a person living in Houston.

“After 9/11, there was a lot of fear of another attack like that. You can imagine whatever is happening in the world, there is fear related to that,” Shah said. “Fear is conditional, sometimes related to the news.”

A way to handle fear is for a person to first acknowledge that they are scared. And then, breathe. Breathing in and out slowly will reduce panic steadily but deep breathing may be challenging or hard in the immediate, Shah said.

Fear is associated with panic-driven anxiety so it’s important for the person to accept they are afraid, acknowledge what may have caused it to happen and face the fear if possible.

“We advise people to close their eyes and visualize a happy place (like the beach); this helps a lot of people,” he said.

Also, try to not watch the news too much.

By Julie Garcia