The science of fear

Which we don't have to act on

Let’s be clear about something: Fear tells us to skip going down that dark road, to leave the party early, to buckle our seatbelt. Fear can save us.

Fear is also tied to feelings of pleasure. Once we decide we are safe, we quickly move to happy thoughts (including relief).

Fear starts in the amygdala, which hands off to the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, which help the brain interpret the perceived threat. The brain is now involved in a higher-level processing of context, which helps a person discern whether a perceived threat is real.

We decide if we’re safe through a decision-making process that occurs through cognitive shortcuts called "heuristics," which aren't fool-proof because of something called cognitive bias.

Given the complexities of this, you can understand how sometimes, for some people, fake fear gets interpreted as real, the kind you need to act on, the kind encouraged here:

Some people act as if they’re addicted to fear. Why?

•Fear is a distraction. 

•Fear produces something like a drug in our brains.

•Fear can connect us.

The best antidote to fear is information. If we know more about what we perceive as a threat, we can act with wisdom. When FDR said the only thing we have to fear is fear itself, he was completely right. Acknowledge it, and move the hell on.