So What Is The Function Of Fear?

Fear is one of the six basic emotions (joy, sadness, disgust, anger, fear, surprise) that Charles Darwin described in 1872. It is expressed in very different ways: bulging eyes, trembling mouth, and a feeling of bewilderment. But what is the use of fear?

Although we all experience this emotion throughout our lives, many of us are unclear as to what its function is – if it exists – and what message it wants to convey to us. What would become of us if there was no fear? Is a life without this emotion possible? 

Fear plays an important role

All emotions have a purpose. For example, anger helps to set limits, surprise to recognize and discover, joy encourages sharing, disgust to reject, sadness to reflect… Fear helps us protect ourselves from danger.

According to the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy, fear is an agonizing disorder of the mind due to real or imagined risk or harm. The word derives from the Latin metus , which has a similar meaning. In short, fear is an inherited biological response that allows the development of a defensive reaction to danger.

• It is a genetic endowment – shaped by centuries of evolution – that enables us – by means of rapid and automatic responses – to protect ourselves from threatening situations and potential dangers. It allows our survival.
• It is an intense unpleasant sensation caused by the perception of danger (real or imagined). It manifests itself in all animals when faced with a threatening situation.

Fear helps to structure an adaptive schema. It constitutes a survival and defense mechanism which has emerged to allow the individual to react quickly and effectively in the face of unfavorable situations. In this sense, fear is a normal emotion and beneficial for the survival not only of an individual but of the species.

A fear can be considered normal when its intensity corresponds to the dimension of the threat. In other words, when the fear-generating object has characteristics that could threaten the person’s life.

The relationship between the brain and fear

The maximum expression of fear is terror. But in the territory of pathological fears, the intensity of the fear attack has no relation to the danger that the object can generate. This is the case with animal phobias, when people who suffer from them panic in the presence of a bird or a dog, for example. In addition, fear is linked to anxiety.

Fear is also a subjective sensation that leads us to develop certain behaviors and a complex physiological response. For example, during life-threatening emergencies, an alarm response is triggered that appears to be programmed in all animals, including humans. This is called a fight or flight response.

The circuit begins with the perception of a stimulus by the senses, say hearing or sight. It passes to the thalamus, which is a relay station where a cognitive assessment takes place, which determines whether the stimulus carries a risk or not.

If there is a risk, the amygdala – the cerebral alarm – and the hypothalamic pituitary axis are activated. This activation stimulates the adrenal gland, causing a significant adrenaline rush in extreme situations. The goal is to mobilize the individual to trigger a reaction that allows him to overcome the situation.

Fear alerts various systems

Fear activates the cardiovascular system, causing the blood vessels to constrict. This, in turn, increases blood pressure and decreases blood flow to the extremities. The excess blood is redirected to the skeletal muscles, where it remains available for vital organs that may be needed in an emergency.

People often turn pale due to decreased blood flow to the skin. Chills and piloerection, heat-conserving reactions occur when blood vessels are constricted.

These defensive reactions can also produce heatstroke or coldstroke, often experienced when the fear is extreme. In addition, breathing becomes faster and generally deeper in order to provide the oxygen necessary for the rapid circulation of the blood.

The increase in blood pressure brings oxygen to the brain. This stimulates cognitive processes and sensory functions that make it possible to be on alert and think faster in an emergency.

• For its part, the liver releases a greater quantity of glucos e into the bloodstream. It gives energy to various muscles and fundamental organs, such as the brain.
• The pupils are dilated, possibly to allow a better view of the situation.
• The ear is sharp to detect danger. 
• Digestive activity is suspended. This reduces the flow of saliva.
• In the short term, waste disposal and elimination of digestive processes further prepare the body for concentrated action, hence the urge to urinate, defecate or even vomit.

Fight, flight or stop

The action of flight or combat is important. Thousands of years ago – when people lived in conditions of extreme primitivism – those who reacted strongly were more likely to survive dangers than those who had weak responses.

Man – in his job as a hunter to bring food to his clan – was under constant threat from animals. A problem that exercised the cerebral amygdala on a daily basis.

Running away is a way to avoid danger, even if facing it is part of the defense. The prelude to both reactions is paralysis, which involves the entire cognitive and neurophysiological process described. This is the time to prepare to adopt a strategy for action.

Paralyzing silence, as behavior before action, causes us to sharpen our sight and hearing. It’s those times when you feel your own heartbeat quicken, your breathing sharp, and your muscles tense.

While one of the functions of fear is to promote immediate and decisive action, such as flight or confrontation, the facial expression caused by fear serves to warn others that there is an imminent threat. This increases the chances of survival of other people in the environment.

Therefore, one should not deny the fear. It is a precious emotion essential to survival. So much so that this is what has allowed us, from the first hominids to us to adapt to life, to defend ourselves from risks and to survive in extreme situations.

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