Fear is a primal survival emotion and state of being. It upregulates the nervous system to act quickly in fight, flight, freeze mode. Fear is designed to protect us from imminent danger. Day to day our nervous system becomes upregulated (overstimulated) by stress: news, work, relationships, conflict, deadlines. Our system becomes primed by over secretion of cortisol, especially with chronic stress over a period of time. These stress states and their corresponding biochemicals keep our fear response, to varying degrees (ie worry) close to the surface and shut down our cerebral cortex. The cerebral cortex is responsible for reasoning, judgment, decision making. We become unable to think clearly nor see other perspectives, options, choices when the amygdala (brain’s fear center) becomes activated in response to a perceived threat. This primal part of the brain basically takes over cognitive function so we react (vs. respond with clarity and wisdom).
We are bombarded with messages of urgency constantly when we are using our phones, other technology. Images of terror/harm, hateful rhetoric, news click bait are at our fingertips and heighten our fear response. When we lack clarity we can easily be coerced, misled, controlled.
Learn to control your own cortex and manage stress with mind-body practices such as meditation, yoga, breath work. A 10 minute walk outside (listening to birds, other natural sounds) is a great way to walk back the stress response. It is essential we retrain the nervous system and are mindful of what messages, images, alerts we take in and receive. We can learn to relax on purpose to decrease our propensity for fear and increase the feel good chemicals endorphins, serotonin.