What is fear ? What does it actually means ? What distinguishes between fear and surprised expressions ? And Is fear good for us ?

 What is fear?

 Everyone is afraid of something , whether it's a spider , ghost or even a doll. We are afraid of many things and we should afraid of them , or should we?

Recognizing fear countenance of fear The countenance of fear is usually confused with surprise. While both of these expressions convey distinctly raised eyebrows, expressions in fear : eyebrows are straighter and more horizontal whereas in surprise they're raised and curved. The upper eyelid is additionally lifted higher in fear than in surprise, exposing more sclera (white of the eye). Ultimately, the lips are tensed and stretched in fear , but more open and slack in surprise. Vocal expression of fear When experiencing fear, one’s voice often features a higher pitch and more strained tone. One can also scream. Feeling  of fear include feeling cold and shortness of breath. It may also include sweating and trembling or tightening of muscles within the arms and legs. Posture of fear The posture of fear can either be one among mobilizing or immobilizing- freezing or moving away.

" The scream" by Edvard munch.

Source : common.wikimedia.org

The functionality of fear : 

 The universal function of fear is to avoid or limit harm. On the basis of  what we've understood and learned within the past about what can protect us in dangerous situations, we are capable of doing many things we wouldn’t typically be able, or willing, to try to to so as to prevent the threat. The immediate threat of harm focuses our attention, mobilizing us to deal with the danger. during this way, fear can actually save our lives by forcing us to react without having to believe it (e.g., jumping out of the way of a car coming at us). The preset actions of fear  may include fighting, flight and freezing. Responding to fear in ourselves While traditionally considered a “negative” emotion, fear actually serves a crucial role keep us safe. It can, however, also keep us feeling trapped and stop us from doing things we’d wish to . Whereas some people find fear nearly intolerable and avoid the emotion in the least costs, others experience pleasure from feeling fear and seek it out (i.e., watching a horror film). Responding to fear in others It takes a well-developed capacity for compassion to respect, feel sympathetic toward, and patiently reassure someone who is scared of something we aren't scared of (most folks dismiss such fears). We don't got to feel another person's fear to simply accept it and help them cope.

Several features of such an idea of “fear” are important to worry . First and foremost, it's a functional definition: fear may be a central state of an organism (Box 1). it's not identified with the conscious feeling of being afraid, nor with fear behaviors like screaming and deed . Both feelings and behavior can in fact be used as evidence for a central state of fear, but the evidence for the state isn't the state itself. Instead, fear as a central state is what causes the conscious experience (in some species and under some conditions) and what causes the fear behaviors (again, the small print depending to some extent on species and circumstances). Fear successively is caused by particular sets of stimuli (in a context-dependent way). Fear is what links sets of stimuli to patterns of behaviors. Unlike with reflexes, this link within the case of an emotion like fear is far more flexible (hence all the parenthetical qualifiers during this paragraph) and therefore the state can exist before and after the eliciting stimuli (decoupling the state of fear from the eliciting stimuli, unlike with reflexes).

This review urges a functional concept of fear, defining this emotion in terms of being caused by particular patterns of threat-related stimuli, and successively causing particular patterns of adaptive behaviors to avoid or deal with that threat. This immediately raises a crucial question: are we discovering “fear” through objective scientific investigation, or are we imputing it through our concept of “fear”? within the same way that studies in physics wouldn't divulge to us a cloth object category like “chairs”, neurobiological studies of fear won't carve out a state of “fear”. Instead, fear, like chairs, could be a psychologically constructed category (this in fact ultimately makes it no less biological) . the solution to the present worry depends on assuming that patterns seen by scientists, especially ethologists, also are patterns seen by evolution. Unlike distinguishing categories like “table” and “chair”, which also are functional, but entirely socially constructed, categories like “fear” and “disgust” correspond to functional categories that evolution has sculpted. Without this assumption of functional homology, it becomes impossible to review fear across species. this is often also the rationale why it might be nonsensical to assign “fear” (or the other emotion) to an alien species from another planet (unless we knew tons about its environment and therefore the mechanisms for evolution thereon planet, and these were sufficiently almost like the case on earth).

Fear of the unknown or irrational fear is caused by negative thinking (worry) which arises from anxiety amid a subjective sense of apprehension or dread.[16] Irrational fear shares a standard neural pathway with other fears, a pathway that engages the systema nervosum to mobilize bodily resources within the face of danger or threat. many of us are frightened of the "unknown". The irrational fear can diversify to several areas like the hereafter, subsequent ten years or maybe tomorrow. Chronic irrational fear has deleterious effects since the elicitor stimulus is usually absent or perceived from delusions. Such fear can create comorbidity with the mental disorder umbrella.[17] Being scared may cause people to experience anticipatory fear of what may lie ahead instead of planning and evaluating for an equivalent . for instance , "continuation of scholarly education" is perceived by many educators as a risk which will cause them fear and stress,[18] and that they would rather teach things they have been taught than go and do research. which will cause habits like laziness and procrastination.[citation needed].

Btw next blog is about " scary things" and why do we find them scary? 

Highly recommend to read that post it is linked with fear.