We put on scary costumes and wander around in the dark. We sit in darkened theaters and watch unimaginable horrors on the screen. We visit "haunted houses" designed to cause our hearts to race and our skin to tingle. What makes us seek things that will provoke such a reaction? Here's a look at what fear does to our bodies.
IN THE BRAIN
The AMYGDALA is the body's central alarm system is the When a threat is perceived, it lets us react almost instantaneously.
The reaction begins with a sensory stimulus, say a strange shape or scary sound. Information captured by our senses is routed first to the THALAMUS. The thalamus sends an immediate signal to the amygdala.
The thalamus also sends a message to the appropriate SENSORY CORTEX, where the stimulus is evaluated.
If there is a threat, the amygdala is informed again and puts the body on red alert.
IN THE BODY
Your body's response to fear "is hard-wired, back to the days when wild animals were chasing us. Those people who had the stress-related response survived," says Dr. David Sheslow, chief psychologist at the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Del.
With the first signal of a threat, you stop, turn toward the source and freeze.
The HEART pumps faster and harder.
You generate more heat, so the body begins to SWEAT.
BLOOD PRESSURE rises.
SKIN becomes pale and cool as blood drains from capillaries near the skin's surface.
You get "GOOSE BUMPS."
Your STOMACH empties and the digestive system stops. This makes you queasy.
Your MOUTH becomes dry as saliva stops flowing.
The FACE becomes flushed as blood vessels dilate.
EYES dilate so vision becomes more acute. Your EYEBROWS raise.
Your BOWELS or BLADDER may empty.
MUSCLES get more glucose, thus giving the body more energy. More blood is also pumped into the muscles. They quiver with energy, which makes you tremble and your legs shake.
The BLOOD that is drained from other areas of your body is pumped into the muscles and other vital organs, preparing them for quick and powerful action.
All SENSES becomes sharper, so you are more aware of your surroundings and more information goes to your brain for processing.
It's time for flight or fight. "You're now prepared to defend against the threat or get out of the way when the threat arrives," Sheslow says.
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So why would you seek experiences that could provoke this reaction? Dr. Henry Shapiro puts it simply: "Some people enjoy being scared."
Shapiro, medical director of Developmental Pediatrics at All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, says the physiological reaction could be described as being excited. The responses to the scary event aren't all bad, he says. We can have the physical response without the accompanying sense of dread and anxiety.
"It's a stress reaction, but not all stress is distress," he says. "Some people don't feel distressed when they're frightened."
For those folks, getting scared is recreational. "They get pleasure from how they feel afterward. They don't have the same degree of unpleasant emotions" attached to the fearful event.
Sheslow says, "Knowing that you can be afraid can modify some of these reactions. I can be scared and I understand it. . . . I don't have to be panicky, I can be pleasantly afraid."
Shapiro suggests parents pay close attention to their children. If the child is easily frightened or has nightmares, avoid haunted houses and other potentially scary situations.
