Fear

("Stress"-4)

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Function of Fear

Fear is an emotion we use to deal with danger .

For example: when faced with the threat of being killed, when danger threatens our physical existence , fear will help keep our body (our Level- A) alive. [1] ).

It should trigger a well-known reaction: flight or attack . [2] .

We share this reaction with animals, but it is more complex in humans.

Fear has both a physiological dimension (Level- A ), shared with the animal world, and a psychological dimension (our Level- C). [1] ) specific to humans.

The latter will have a more complex reaction that can "prevent" or "transform" the natural flight-attack response.

This is due, in humans, to the existence and influence of their Psyche (Level- C ), their Life in Society (our Level- G [1] ), their Cultural Life (our U- Level [1] )

A useful reaction to the 4 Levels A, C, G and U of a Person

Just like for a physical threat:

• Faced with strong emotional trauma, when it threatens our Psychic existence , fear will help keep our Psyche alive (Level- C ).

• Faced with an existential, societal and/or community threat , when it threatens our Social and/or Cultural existence , fear will contribute to keeping our Social and/or Cultural identity alive (Level G and/or Niv- U ).

Physiological mechanisms (at Level-A)

When faced with a perceived threat, the amygdala (limbic system) triggers a chain reaction. The adrenal glands release primarily adrenaline . [3] and the brain mainly noradrenaline [ 4] . These two hormones and neurotransmitters participate in the acceleration of the heart rate and prepare the body to flee or attack.

Attacking requires more sugar to be delivered to the fighting muscles. The red color of the blood shows through.

Fleeing requires an input of energy, but less than fighting, just enough to flee. Blood drains from the rest, which cools. We turn pale. We tremble to warm the chilled body.

Fear is therefore an emotion triggered to quickly mobilize resources to face danger or a physical challenge, which is why adrenaline is called the "stress hormone" or "emergency hormone. " It mobilizes energy for a rapid reaction.

Inhibition of action: a third reaction

Henri Laborit [5] enriched this model by introducing a third possible response, other than flight-attack, in the face of threat: inhibition of action.

When an individual can neither flee nor attack, they find themselves in a state of "paralysis," an inability to act that leads to profound psychological and physiological consequences (chronic stress, various pathologies). They resemble a rabbit frozen at night, dazzled by the headlights of a car. A non-resolving reaction, non-protective of life, almost suicidal and, in humans, almost neurotic.

Anguish

We will consider anxiety as a feeling associated with the emotion Fear. To understand the difference between anxiety and fear, between a feeling and an emotion, let us imagine entering a forest where, we are told, there is a wild animal. Throughout our journey we will be anxious . A feeling that can last a long time. But the moment we are faced with the wild animal we will be afraid . A brutal emotion , short-lived, with all the physiological consequences, flight, or attack, or paralysis.

And then what?

We have just begun to get to know the first of the four key emotions (fear, anger, grief, joy).

What will we discuss next? We will look at the fate of each key emotion that has been "charged," and the different ways, "in growth" and "in survival," of "discharging" the stress caused.

But before that, let's continue to get to know the other three key emotions, as we just did with Fear.

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Soon

The Next Episode: Anger .

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References

[1] See the series , an introduction to the Model-2L, on [ the Matrix-2L ] .

[2] Walter Bradford Cannon , The Wisdom of the Body , 1932, WW Norton & Company. The concept of flight or fight has its origins in the work of this physiologist.

[3] Adrenaline : a hormone and neurotransmitter, produced mainly by the adrenal glands, released into the body during situations of stress, fear or intense effort, to prepare the body to react quickly, causes: Acceleration of the heart rate / Increase in blood pressure / Dilation of the bronchi and pupils / Release of energy (increase in blood sugar level) / Temporary inhibition of digestion.

[4] Noradrenaline : a hormone and neurotransmitter, belongs to the catecholamine family like adrenaline and dopamine, produced mainly in the brain and by the nerve fibers of the sympathetic nervous system, but also in smaller quantities by the adrenal glands. Like adrenaline, it participates in the "fight or flight" response, but noradrenaline is more involved in the fine regulation of alertness, wakefulness, attention, memory and emotions. It causes vasoconstriction (reduction in the diameter of blood vessels), increases heart rate, the force of contraction of the heart and the release of glucose into the blood.

[5] Henri Laborit : French physician and neurobiologist. " The Inhibition of Action ", Masson, 1979, and " In Praise of Flight ", Robert Laffont, 1976.

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