Fear, The Great Enemy

We all fear something and I'm certain my fears are different than yours. And even if we do fear the same thing, it's probably for two completely different reasons.

Over the weekend I found out why my husband fears amusement rides. Being an engineer, he fears mechanical failure of the system. Derailing of a car because of some mechanism not being properly maintained, which he is sure would result in instant death. I on the other hand have a different problem. See, I'm not fearful of rides like the octopus or the tilt-a-whirl, of which many people don't like the motion. I think it is the large scope of the roller coaster that I fear. Standing in line, I can't get a clear picture of what the ride is going to do to me. It's just too big. While the octopus is small, I clearly can see what it will do.

Regardless of what it is that we fear or why we fear it, what we all have in common is how our bodies respond to the stimulant that makes us fearful. Daniel Goleman in Emotional Intelligence calls it the biological signature of the emotion. We writers call it visceral feeling and this is how we must show emotion in our characters because every human understands or relates to these signature triggers.

From an evolutionary perspective, the biological changes we get from feeling an emotion prepares our bodies to respond in certain ways. When we feel fear, the behavior needed is protection and this can be achieved either by hiding or fleeing. First, the body freezes and fixates on the threat, giving us a moment to determine the best action. Is it to stand still, hide or is it to flee? This is why we might crouch, shrink, stiffen or freeze. Then our blood concentrates into the muscles that provide us with mobility so we can flee. Like the legs. Our heart pulses rapidly, our faces turn white.

The one biological instinct triggered by fear that has puzzled me is bowel excrement. Yes, you read that correctly. Defecation. But then I read somewhere that if we need to flee or to fight, our body considers digested food or drink to be "excess baggage." Okay. Maybe.