As a species, our fear response is key to our evolution and ingrained in our DNA. Recognising potential threats and reacting quickly – our inbuilt “fight or flight” response – has been key to our survival.
But fear is about more than keeping us alive. It can help build resilience and provide entertainment too. In fact, it has spawned an entire horror-related industry, from scary films and ghost walks to theme parks and Halloween costumes.
As 31 October approaches, fear is set to take centre stage again. But what exactly is fear? Where does it come from? And why are we so attracted to being scared?
Keep reading to find out.
Scary stories and carefully calibrated fear can build resilience
Stories are a vital part of the human experience.
Some Neanderthal cave paintings date back more than 64,000 years, while the earliest written story, the Epic of Gilgamesh, is from around 2000 BCE. Early cultures used oral storytelling to teach children important lessons and to warn against possible threats.
Many stories, like the ones we’re told as children, are based on our most primitive fears – the rhythmic tapping in the dark or the whispers from under the bed.
We watch horror films for entertainment and the ghost stories of authors like Charles Dickens, Henry James, and Shirley Jackson have never gone out of print. As well as entertainment, though, there could be another reason to indulge in stories of the ghostly or macabre this Halloween.
A 2020 study published by the National Library of Medicine looked at the psychological impact of Covid. It found that horror film fans were more psychologically resilient than those who avoided the genre.
Marc Malmdorf-Andersen, an associate professor at Denmark’s Aarhus University, recently explained to the Guardian why exposing yourself to horror films could build resilience. “Spending time in fictional realms can almost be thought of as an opportunity to draft up your own instruction book for worst-case scenarios,” he said. When the pandemic hit, horror fans had already “been exposed to similar scenarios… Recreational forms of fear can help improve emotion regulation and coping skills.”
Fear can be useful, then. But it can also be fun.
How the body reacts to fear helps to explain why we like to be scared
When we are scared or encounter a potential danger, a bundle of neurons in the brain – the amygdala – stimulates the hypothalamus. This, in turn, releases a flood of hormones, including adrenaline, and triggers our “fight-or-flight” response.
Adrenaline increases our heart rate and diverts blood to key muscles, while blood vessels dilate to give our organs oxygen and nutrients. Faster breathing helps to deliver fresh oxygen to the brain and glucose is produced too, providing energy. This is the body’s way of getting ready to fight or flee.
There are actually two brain pathways activated by fear. One is fast, putting us immediately on an action footing. The other is slower, firing information to the part of the brain associated with reasoning and memory. This area, the thalamus, searches the hippocampus for memories of similar previous threats to determine whether the danger is real.
In a controlled environment, like a cinema or haunted house theme park ride, we know that our momentary fear doesn’t represent a real imminent danger.
As long as the initial scare isn’t too intense, that leaves us free to enjoy the hit of adrenaline, while also soaking up the surge of feelgood chemicals that are released when our stored memory acknowledges that we are safe. This surge of relief – in the form of endorphins and dopamine – often leads to a feeling of euphoria.
It is this euphoric feeling that lovers of rollercoasters and horror films crave, and why scary pastimes continue to be so popular.
Successfully managing fear as play means finding just the right balance
Malmdorf-Andersen believes that fear (in the right setting) can be seen as a “form of play”. As children’s play is based around uncertainty, surprise, and making sense of new surroundings, so fear can move us just outside of our comfort zone.
This “sweet spot”, just beyond our normal physiological state is the perfect mix of fear and enjoyment. And this is exactly where Halloween – with its dressing up and trick-or-treating – sits.
Dr Charlotte Lawrenson of Bristol University, tells the Guardian, “Although we have an understanding of some aspects of neural fear networks and how they coordinate behaviour, there are still many unknowns.”
We do know, though, that fear is a key constituent of what makes us human. It’s part of evolution and our shared culture. It can make us more resilient and provide entertainment. So, if you intend to sit down with a ghost story or a horror movie this Halloween, remember it’s ok to scare yourself, just be sure to pitch your scares at just the right level.
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If you are fearful of any aspect of your long-term financial plans, please email hello@globeifa.co.uk or call us on 020 8891 0711 to discuss how Globe IFA’s expert financial advisors can help.
