Basics of the Nervous System

The nervous system is like an old phone operator working at light speed with no breaks, ever.  It works to connect parts of the body to each other and relay information through specialized nerve cells.

The nervous system is sub-divided down depending on conscious or unconscious functions of affected areas of the body.  Initially it is divided into the Central and Peripheral nervous systems.  The central consisting of the brain and spinal cord.  It contain the majority of the nervous system and only has one direct contact with the outside environment (olfactory epithelium).  The Peripheral system contains all the nerves not associated with brain or spinal cord they are almost always in contact with the outside environment and work to communicate with the brain and spine to the rest of the body.

How the Biology Works

So while fear is kick-started with the brain reacting to a threat how does it exert it's control over the rest of the body?  The answer is primarily hormones.  When the brain recognizes something frightening enough the pituitary gland starts activating.  From there a cascade of hormones run straight through the body to confront (or run away) from this problems.  These hormones are able to pass through the body so well because they are lipid soluble meaning that they just move through the cell wall will little to no resistance to react their reactors.  An effective method for an almost instantaneous body reaction.  

The body starts moving in the 'fear state' which includes increased blood pressure, blood sugar, and suppression of the immune system.

 All of this jump starts with the creation of glucose dramatically increasing the body's available energy.  This extra energy is what the body uses to fight or flight at an increased rate then what is normally available for a person.  Increased blood flow to the muscles is activated and diverts blood away from non-essential systems.  High blood sugar is the blood moving glucose and fats to gain energy.  Blood clotting is moved into high gear to prevent excessive blood loss in the event of an injury.  Finally, increased muscle tension provides extra speed and strength.

In layman's terms the body is diverting all it's attention away from systems like the immune system that are not immediately needed to save the body an trying to boost the places that can save it.  Really quite smart and thinking in three dimensions.

That Tight Feeling in Your Chest

Imagine this you're standing just outside the largest most important thing in your life.  Let that be a job interview, restaurant to propose to your partner, the gym on AP week.  You're heart beats fast, sweat appears, the tightness in your chest makes it harder to breathe.  Have you ever wondered why these things occur?  Is it your body telling you do not do this thing for death will come, as a sort of defense mechanism.

Well don't get your hopes up because it's not any of that.  All these symptoms are a byproduct of the mind's overreaction to stress, commonly known as anxiety.  Basically the mind is overriding the body functions as it starts to imagine that the result of the next action will result in a termination of self, or death.  A blank bullet to make a comparison, the sound of it is loud and terrifying but nothing will actually happen.  Sad how the complex organ that is the brain takes advantage over the best automatic survival mechanism human's have.  We all must make sacrifices for higher mental functions.

The amount stress people have is varied but the American Psychological Association has found that about 25% of Americans are experiencing high levels of stress (rating their stress level as 8 or more on a 10-point scale), while another 50% report moderate levels of stress (a score of 4 to 7 ).  That's a lot of false positives.  In modern America this can be tied to the newborn "fear culture".  There has been a lot of debate on whether a person can have a personality tied to high anxiety, but results are hard to come by with the rampant expansion of media.  With so much coverage in the day-to-day on horrific events or the worst possible conclusion people are influenced to have a glass half-empty mentality.

In conclusion, don't worry too much, it ruins your response to true fear.

Training in a Stress Heavy Environment

My internship/volunteering experience has concluded my training at the front desk today.  The training involved a lot of interaction with all kinds of people in various states of distress.  I often found myself becoming anxious or fearful when those I was suppose to help became worked up.  Going forward with my project on anxiety vs. fear I will be using my experience at the hospital to design an experiment to attempt to measure a person's anxiety when confronted with various stimuli.  As true fear is based on present danger the stimuli will try to simulate a perceived danger without any actual harm being done.   An example of one of the trials is that I will have someone look for a cellphone in a messy room.  The first time with no outside stimuli just with an instruction to look.  The second with a timer, third with a timer and the phone ringing, and finally the last trail will include a person frantically looking for the same phone.

My hope is that will this kind of experiment I would be able to see the different stimuli in action to change a person into a hyper aware state.  A heart rate test will be done before and after each trail to study change.

Fear as an Emotion

Fear is inherently a positive emotion.  Not in the sense that it creates a whole lot good vibes that allow's someone to be content, but in the sense that it keeps people alive.  When people commonly think about fear it is always in a negative light.  For example, I have a 'fear' of heights so I can't ride the roller coaster.  But common phobia's even in the most severe of cases are not fear's at all, they are all forms of anxiety disorders.

With the goal of my project focused around extreme fear in the environment I needed to look into what true fear was and it's differences from common anxiety.  Fear in a nutshell in the body's reaction to an immediate perceived danger.  It's almost involuntary, as the body will react regardless of how safe a person's previous mindset was.  In contrast with phobia's, people will agonize over the cause of their anxiety and mental stress will build up, but the biological fear response of hyperactivity will not kick in to 'save the body' from danger.  The fear response is commonly known as the 'fight-or-flight' response.  Where the body having perceived a clear and present danger will enter a state of hyperactivity in an attempt to preserve the system's life.  However, over the years it has been noted that along with fight and flight, fright and freeze are also reactions, but these are reacting to lesser dangers.   PTSD is one of the few examples of fear without a present danger it is the memory of fear causing the body to react in the same way.

When it comes down to it fear is an ancient survival mechanism that has survived into present-day.  I would like to think my ultimate survival and biologically enhanced ability to make decisions under pressure would be a positive emotion to keep.  The superhuman strength doesn't hurt either.

Introduction - Online Training

Hello,

I am Lucy and on this blog I will be detailing the steps of my research towards the barrier of extreme stress required for average humans to achieve superhuman feats.  

Currently in the first week of the project I have finalized my off-site training for my volunteer work at HonorHealth Hospital on Pinnacle Peak. A lot goes into actually obtaining even a volunteer position at the hospital it was required for me to get two TB tests and a flu shot. A TB or Tuberculosis skin test in an injection under the skin to check if a person has ever been exposed to tuberculosis. The test is done by putting a small amount of TB protein under the top layer of skin on the inner forearm. If the person had ever been exposed to the TB bacteria, their skin will react to the antigens by developing a firm red bump at the site within 2 days. While the test doesn't tell any specifics on whether a person currently has tuberculosis or how long since they had it a hospital full of immunocompromised individuals doesn't want to take any chances.

Along with these injections I have had to perform several hours of online training. This training has been mostly centered around HIPAA or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. HIPAA is a wide reaching act that protects the privacy of every patient at the hospital. It has very strict guidelines on who had the information of the patient and how that information can be moved around in every circumstance.

However, beyond HIPAA and the other legal details that accompany medical care online training stressed a single important detail. The patient means everything. I should do everything in my power stated and unstated to ensure a pleasant experience for the patient at the hospital. A major part of that is the removal of fear from the environment. I shall be looking more into that topic in the following days as my on-site training begins.

https://www.honorhealth.com/