As I understand it, fear is essentially a warning system to alert you that you are in danger, and encourage you to take action (the Fight or Flight reflex). That being the case, why is it so common for people to freeze up, faint, or become catatonic, when these responses prevent them from reacting to the threat, and places them in more danger?
Same applies to other animals. Fainting Goats, obviously, rabbits will sometimes suffer fatal heart attacks in response to fear, etc.
In: Biology
I’d like to know more about this too. I always thought that it’s just our lizard brains backfiring in today’s changed environment.
I used to struggle learning to backflip and to this day I think the only thing holding me back was fear. After I froze mid-air a few times and landed on my neck, I started to be afraid of being afraid. It was very bizarre realizing your fear could’ve killed you, but when you think about it, we weren’t made to backflip around.
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