Impact Of Fear And Anxiety By Louise Delagran

The mind is a fragile thing, it does not take much to alter its behavior to suit another. In this world, people want to belong, to fit in. The saying ‘safety in numbers’ is in our genetic code, our bodies truly believe if we do not stand out we cannot be targeted. This happens to prevent fear. Mindfulness instructor and author, Louise Delagran reveals how fear can affect a person’s mind. In her article “Impact of Fear and Anxiety” she discusses what happens to our bodies when our brain registers fear and how that reaction can take a toll over time. Fear can lead to pain, which leads to fear, which begins an endless cycle of misery. Shane O’Mara, author and neuroscientist, writes about how torture fails to gain useful/truthful information and

His agony grows so close to the breaking point that Winston’s mind overrides simple facts in order to save his body. He cries out, “Four! Five. Then there is the. Four. Anything you like to do. Stop it, stop the pain!” (Orwell 250). Winston is an educated man, he knows the difference between the numbers four and five, but he is in so much pain all he wants to do is say whatever his tormentor wants to hear to make it stop. He begs, crying out different numbers as his pain increases, trying to appease O’Brien. The answer he gives that the Party, through O’Brien desires, is “Anything you want”. They want Winston to say and think and do what they want, no matter the cost or the validity behind it, and he is willing to do so as long as he is spared the agony of the dial. Everyone deals with the threat of pain and fear differently, but the end result is often the same. Disorientation combined with either of the aforementioned traumas ties the bow on a broken down mind. While suffering both physically and mentally, the mind is quite vulnerable. This is the perfect opportunity to destroy a person’s mind and instead make them believe what they are

The Capital weaponizes Peeta’s fear in an attempt to tear apart the rebellion from the inside. Peeta’s memories are altered when he is drugged with venom that causes unspeakable pain and disorientation and then shown false memories that his mind accepts as true due to his current state. Unable to discern these fake memories from his real ones, Peeta nearly destroys every bond of friendship and love he has ever made, all because of the Capital. Destroying the psyche in order to control society is how tyrannical governments get people to lose touch with themselves. Fear and pain are strings tyrannical governments weave into nets to bind their citizens’ minds together to create the desired uniformity. A life of constant fear is not living it all, it is a desperate mind doing whatever it can to survive. Mixed with fear, torture results in lies and false information, the tormented party saying and doing whatever their tormentor desires to make the pain go away. When a person lives in these conditions for extended periods of time, their mind’s walls begin to break down, leaving gaps to be filled by whoever controls