What is fear?

Snake

Most of us feel it, quit often. But what exactly is fear? How would you explain to someone?

Sir Osis of Liver.

When your sheriff's badge gets quivery.

That's fear.

Call Me Jimmy

baby don't help me, don't help me, no more

crockholm

Something....something.... Chuck Norris, chuck norris....something......something

Wulfie

retrogamefan wrote: »

Most of us feel it, quit often. But what exactly is fear? How would you explain to someone?

Fear is a burst or sustained release of adrenaline .

The Backwards Man

Being scared.

Zed Bank

Its like a piercing in the middle of your chest that elevates in intensity.

toastedpickles

crockholm wrote: »

Something....something.... Chuck Norris, chuck norris....something......something

Shhhhhh!!!

IamtheWalrus

Fear is a period in bed the Sunday night after a rough Saturday night.

Snake

IamtheWalrus wrote: »

Fear is a period in bed the Sunday night after a rough Saturday night.

Is that fear of the hangover or fear of the boyfriend of that young one you shifted coming back for you?

SEPT 23 1989

It's a rush of adrenalin you either harness. the power and fight or take flight

DazMarz

Fear is an emotion induced by a perceived threat which causes a change in brain and organ function and ultimately a change in behavior, such as running away, hiding or freezing from traumatic events. Fear may occur in response to a specific stimulus happening in the present, or to a future situation, which is perceived as risk to health or life, status, power, security, or in the case of humans wealth or anything held valuable. The fear response arises from the perception of danger leading to confrontation with or escape from/avoiding the threat (also known as the fight-or-flight response), which in extreme cases of fear (horror and terror) can be a freeze response or paralysis.

From Wikipedia

Snake

DazMarz wrote: »

Fear is an emotion induced by a perceived threat which causes a change in brain and organ function and ultimately a change in behavior, such as running away, hiding or freezing from traumatic events. Fear may occur in response to a specific stimulus happening in the present, or to a future situation, which is perceived as risk to health or life, status, power, security, or in the case of humans wealth or anything held valuable. The fear response arises from the perception of danger leading to confrontation with or escape from/avoiding the threat (also known as the fight-or-flight response), which in extreme cases of fear (horror and terror) can be a freeze response or paralysis.

From Wikipedia

Was more looking for your own idea of fear, how YOU would explain it.. Using the internet to research is cheating.

whirlpool

Fear is when your brain believes your survival is under threat.

matchthis

Forget everything and remember

Depends on the object and the subject.
You can be afraid of something that might happen, something that will happen, or something that might never happen, or something happening someone else might invoke more fear than the same thing happening you. I expect parents feel that kind of fear regularly. The spectrum is too wide to define simply.

Zed Bank

whirlpool wrote: »

Fear is when your brain believes your survival is under threat.

Every time I see a spider.

whirlpool

Candie wrote: »

Depends on the object and the subject.
You can be afraid of something that might happen, something that will happen, or something that might never happen, or something happening someone else might invoke more fear than the same thing happening you. I expect parents feel that kind of fear regularly. The spectrum is too wide to define simply.

I disagree. I think it can be defined very simply. (See my above post.)

Your emotional brain can't tell the difference between what is actually happening and what you are only imagining or thinking about happening. Not until your logical brain overrides it and tells it "no need to be afraid, it's not actually happening, it's only a thought" - at which point the fear will lessen. So fear is fear is fear. Your logical brain will be the decision maker regarding how strong the fear is and how long it lasts, based on how real the threat is.

This is my understanding of fear. Correct me if you know any better.

orangesoda

when you can actually smell the rush of adrenaline rushing through your body, hateful auld feeling

Stavros Murphy

When the unpredictable little lad goes "You think I'm funny? Do I amuse you? Am I some sort of clown?? Funny how??"

porsche959

matchthis wrote: »

Forget everything and remember

Ian Brown

mad muffin

You can't spell fear without pms

kowloon

I'm afraid of epinephrine.

Sarn

Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.

Aidric

Crawling in to bed after a 3 day all in binge with about 4 hours sleep recorded in those 3 days. Welcome to hell!

Xivilai

A precautionary nervous reaction to identified potential detriment?

I used a few big words to make it sound more credible

whirlpool

whirlpool wrote: »

I disagree. I think it can be defined very simply. (See my above post.)

I think it's more nuanced than just your survival under threat. You can be afraid by proxy of something happening someone else, or of something that doesn't threaten your well being or survival. You can be aware a fear is irrational and feel it anyway, and then there is a huge variation in the intensity you feel fear. It's like other human responses, like sorrow or elation, so I'd imagine it varies from person to person in the same way.

bodice ripper

Knowing you are not going to be able to cope with a situation.

Pa2k

Uncertainty about what you don't know

Xivilai

bodice ripper wrote: »

Knowing you are not going to be able to cope with a situation.

Well it kicks my definition's ass

bodice ripper

bodice ripper wrote: »

Knowing you are not going to be able to cope with a situation.

This is a great definition.

Smiling and laughing at the shapes and faces in the wind blown trees while coming up on a Hoffman's trip.

Then the faces turn ugly and evil and want to get you. You turn to your friend for support and their face has become that of an evil goblin beset on tearing you asunder. You run like a man possessed for several kilometres in a crazed attempt to get away and find somewhere to hide.

That's fear. That's the worst fear I've ever had. And it lasted several hours....

Xivilai

Candie wrote: »

This is a great definition.

I'm thinking it might be better again if it was "A sense that you may not cope with a situation"

I could be wrong

The Diabolical Monocle

Being on a nudist beach and seeing the Hawaiian tropics girls' bus pull up.

FurQyou

Fear is a chained dog upside your house.

It can be advantageous in some cases..

Alerting you to danger by barking at the things lined up outside your house waiting to come in and hurt or threaten you.

And that's fine.

But If you rely on the dog too much though.. He starts to grow more powerful.

Growing bigger and bigger... more violent with every threat averted.

You feed him and feed him and he just keeps getting bigger and more fierce.

Until one day you realise that you don't have a useful little guard dog anymore.

You have a giant, slavering wolf on your hands.

You can't reign him in and you can't control him.

He barks and snarls and gnashes his teeth at the slightest thing.. growing bigger and more fierce all the time.

Until eventually the little chain you used to keep your faithful guard dog chained up outside you house grows too weak, and snaps..

Then the wolf will advance on you.. an evil look in its eye.

You have fed it so much with your fear that it has grown into a monster.. A monster ready to consume you..

This is what I think of when I think of fear.

Bottom line, you let fear control your life and you're bound to lose it!