FEAR

 

Imagine being hold at gunpoint with nowhere to run?  Somebody with fully brain functionality would be scared out of their mind, figure of speech.  It would be so terrifying that it would not be easy to forget.  People get traumatized going through that horrific experience.  Fear is naturally needed in our system to show our emotions and protect us from life-threatening situations.  Without fear being an important mechanism in our body, we would be in danger if we would have a close encounter with a venomous snake, a fast car coming your way.  We, as human being, have the fear mechanism in our system to help us survive, but some people do not. 

Have you ever heard of Urbach-Wiethe disease?  This is a neurological disease that affects the amygdala region in our brain.  The amygdala regulates anxiety and fear in our body.  This disease is an unusual genetic disorder that slowly destroys the amygdala. Without the amygdala properly functioning fear is revoked from the system, and the person does not understand or feel what fear is. 

There is a women, SM, who has been studied by many scientists who has been diagnosed with Urbach-Wiethe disease.  She is not afraid of anything what normal people would be afraid of, no spiders, snakes, scary movies, and anything that can be frightful for us. 

Some might think without fear, there would no reason to be scared of anything and live a life without worries, but think about it without fear you would never know when your life is in danger just like the women, S.M., it can be such a risk not understanding the situation of not reacting with an emotion to avoid danger. 

I personally believe that fear, even though it is not a good emotion, helps us to stay alive and alert throughout our life.  I prefer of reacting from getting away of a spider or snake than just be there and see what could happen, the farther the better for me.