What makes f e a r scary

Seeing as we all see fear differently, how does it affect how we see each other? On the other hand, in real life scary scenarios, fear can cause us to isolate and even turn on each other, says Bader. We have found a strong relationship between fear of crime and lack of trust of others and a lower willingness to help someone who is broken down on the side of the road. Yet, Kerr points out how fear can be a bonding experience, too.

But learning more about why we feel it and what our triggers are can only help us figure out how to better face our fears — and not let them get the best of us.

Want more tips like these? Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram. The baby cries, and mom comes over to soothe him or her, helping the baby feel safe and OK again. There, that's better! Now, with the help of mom, the baby has just experienced calming down after feeling afraid — something that every person needs to learn as they grow up.

Nice job, baby! Bigger kids hear that loud clanging and say, "No big deal. It's just my brother making noise again. The best way to get over a fear is to get more information about it. As kids get older, they understand more and start seeing the difference between real and pretend. So when William's imagination leads him to think of witches and werewolves, he can tell himself, "Wait a minute. They're only pretend.

I don't need to worry about them. The same goes for the dark. A kid's imagination can start playing tricks when the lights go out. What's under my bed? Is that a burglar I hear? With the help of a parent, kids can get more comfortable in the dark. Using a nightlight or shining a flashlight under the bed to see that there's nothing there can help fight that fear. You might say, but burglars can be real, what then? True, but you can feel safer knowing that the door is locked and a parent is nearby to keep an eye out for any problems.

In other words, get snuggled in and get some sleep! This leads to bodily changes that prepare us to be more efficient in a danger: The brain becomes hyperalert, pupils dilate, the bronchi dilate and breathing accelerates. Heart rate and blood pressure rise. Blood flow and stream of glucose to the skeletal muscles increase.

Organs not vital in survival such as the gastrointestinal system slow down. A part of the brain called the hippocampus is closely connected with the amygdala. The hippocampus and prefrontal cortex help the brain interpret the perceived threat. They are involved in a higher-level processing of context, which helps a person know whether a perceived threat is real. For instance, seeing a lion in the wild can trigger a strong fear reaction, but the response to a view of the same lion at a zoo is more of curiosity and thinking that the lion is cute.

This is because the hippocampus and the frontal cortex process contextual information, and inhibitory pathways dampen the amygdala fear response and its downstream results. Similar to other animals, we very often learn fear through personal experiences, such as being attacked by an aggressive dog, or observing other humans being attacked by an aggressive dog.

However, an evolutionarily unique and fascinating way of learning in humans is through instruction — we learn from the spoken words or written notes! In her research, subjects are shown a photograph of another person's face with a frightened look.

A standard library of stimuli to elicit fear activity uses actors to make facial gestures that communicate fearfulness. In the fMRI research, the reaction to fear-inducing stimuli shows up in the amygdala , an almond-size mass beneath the temporal lobe also known as the brain's fear center.

Hirsch says the amygdala is the first responder to threatening stimuli. The fMRI scanner tracks the change in blood flow to the amygdala. The photograph of a fearful face elicits a greater amount of blood flow and a higher signal during the scanning period than a neutral face photograph.

Critics of fMRI-based research point out that it is not always clear what the flow of blood in a brain region means. But Hirsch dismisses naysayers. Hirsch notes that the amygdala responds to more than just facial expressions. Fear is as basic a human process as breathing or digestion, yet science's ability to completely understand and describe it remains elusive.