First the hair stands up on the back of your neck, your palms start to sweat and a wave of nausea washes over you. Your entire body begins to tremble and your heart beats so loudly you can almost hear it. Fear.
Some people can go through life without ever having felt happiness or sadness, but fear is inescapable. What causes a person to be so afraid? Pain. Danger. Harm. The most simple known function of our brain is the ‘reptilian’ brain and is found in humans as well as all mammals and reptiles. This part of our brain controls our instinct and we could not survive without it. If not for our other ‘thinking’ and ‘emotional’ brains, humans would act and respond just like reptiles do. In humans, the fight or flight reflex is a mechanism in the body that enables people to react to situations, by preparing the body to fight or run away from the situation.
So, fear starts off as an instinctive, primitive response to help us to avoid threats, injuries or death. We all fear for our lives when are approached by a wild Lion or leopard. But beyond that, we can also fear things that are not dangerous or life threatening.
I have been thinking more and more about ‘’Fear’’ over the past year and I have been confused why it has been on my mind so much. I am scared to lose people close to me, I’m anxious for the coming matric year, I’m nervous every time I step on the rugby field.
On the 11th December 2016 my Grandmother passed away. I was devastated. Although she suffered for many years