Fear by Gabby Ellrott

 "Fear? What Should a man fear? It's all chance, chance rules our lives. Not a man on Earth can see a day ahead, groping through the dark. Better to leave at random, best we can."

This is a quote from Oedipus the King that we had to reflect on in class. What I said about the quote was that it questioned what anyone should fear which I said were several things. But what it's saying is how our lives are lead by chance and that no one can see into the future. You have to accept that things will happen spontaneously and randomly, if you accept it, that will be the key to being prepared. 

             But what is fear? Psychologically, there are two different reactions fear creates in us. One, a biochemical reaction. So this would be our natural-born human instinct of survival. The human body's heart rate increases and adrenaline levels spike to increase our alertness. Other examples include getting ready to run or fight (in certain situations.) 

              Second, there is an emotional response which is always unique to the person. It could be because of how you were exposed or introduced to things as a child or maybe you had a negative experience with something you now have a fear of. The emotional response are still chemical reactions but located in our brains. There are some people who love fear so adrenaline type activities but others completely avoid it. The physical reaction remains the same although the feeling is opposite. 

              A specific branch of fear, are phobias. You could have none, one, or many but phobias are a different version of a normal fear response. Sometimes, whatever your phobia is of, evokes a fear and gives off a sense of danger when it could be harmless, even though you don't see it to be. Phobias can be treated which may seem impossible but sometimes you just need exposure. Several different techniques can be used to get rid of or reduce the fear of your phobia. These include desensitization which is a gradual series of exposure and flooding which is full on confronting your fear and putting yourself right into the situation. 

Fear is very psychologically complex and everyone experiences it differently but after looking at the science behind it, what is the quote really saying about fear and our lives?