Introduction to Fear

There are many definitions and stages of fear, from simple startle reflex and phobia to blind running in terror and panic. To understand fear one must examine it in several contexts from fear of a small insect to vicious animals, Man, and of course imagination. Imagination often drives the mechanisms that trigger fear. Fear can be a life saver or a killer. Understanding fear and accepting it as an emotional response open a means of overcoming it. Fear is the emotional reaction to an actual and specific source of danger. Fear is a natural instinct; a defense mechanism, both physical and emotional. Fear is a scorpion of the brain having the power to paralyze; freezing the body in place or increasing adrenalin, stimulating the fight reflex and aggression. The ways fear can become an uncontrolled emotion often lead to unnecessary acts of violence. At the 1968 Democratic National Convention, police over-reacted to unruly crowd movement, resulting in massive police violence in what has come to be regarded unfavorably as a “police riot.” Police officers are cognizant of the dangers they face, yet the fear of those dangers must be pushed out of their consciousness, for fear makes people act irresponsibility and irrationally. The emotional anger and unstoppable violence has been witnessed in police officers reacting to a stressful situation that may not even be life threatening.