EMOTIONS | FEAR | EXCITEMENT

Do You Know The Difference Between Fear and Excitement?

Feelings we all share

This article is inspired by a comment I made to Michele Maize’s story, Strength Is Something You See Through Someone’s Eyes. Read it here.

Excitement and fear are in fact closely intertwined in the brain. They share the same physiological reaction: the adrenaline that courses through the body when a person is scared is the same as when they are excited. The difference is not how the body reacts, but how the mind interprets the experience.

When experiencing fear your brain instructs your body to increase breathing and heart rate. Your pupils dilate. Palms become sweaty. You might experience chills, dry mouth, sweating, trembling, upset stomach and nausea. Chest discomfort.

These are the same reactions you might feel when excited.

Fear is our emotional reaction to something that seems dangerous.

After the amygdala sends a distress signal, the hypothalamus activates the sympathetic nervous system by sending signals through the autonomic nerves to the adrenal glands. These glands respond by pumping the hormone epinephrine (also known as adrenaline) into the bloodstream.

For me, a dangerous situation is one I feel out of control. Such as an amusement park ride.

2019 was the last time I was really afraid. And don’t laugh, it was on the Tilt‑a‑Whirl ride.

The ride consists of seven freely-spinning cars that hold three or four riders each, which are attached at fixed pivot points on a rotating platform. As the platform rotates, parts of the platform are raised and lowered, with the resulting centrifugal and gravitational forces on the revolving cars causing them to spin in different directions and at variable speeds. The weight of passengers in these cars (as well as the weight distribution) may intensify or dampen the spinning motion of the cars, adding to the unpredictable nature known as chaotic motion.

I have never been someone who loves amusement park rides. As you have now probably guessed, I have never and will never ride a roller-coaster.

This ride of fear happened while my daughter-in-law was visiting with my son and their child/my grandson. She talked me, her mother-in-law, into going down a water slide which just about scared me to death.

But after surviving the water slide, she tried talking me into the Ferris Wheel. I’ve never been on a Ferris Wheel since I’m afraid of heights.

So, I agreed to the Tilt‑a‑Whirl. No heights involved. Should be easy, I thought. And no, I had never been on it before.

My most adventurous ride has the Scrambler.

The Scrambler, Twist (in the UK), Twister, Cha Cha (in Australia), Sizzler, or Merry Mixer, is an amusement ride in which suspended riders spinning in cars experience centrifugal force, while spinning along two separate axes. Riders are seated in small carriages clustered together and connected by beams at the top to a central point. The clustered vehicles are spun in one direction, while the ride as a whole spins in the opposite direction.

I regretted my decision to get on the Tilt‑a‑Whirl as soon as it started spinning around and around and I couldn’t control it or stop it.

She laughed at my first few screams where I cried out for it to stop.

When I realized I couldn’t be saved, then I had to figure out how to endure and deal with my fear.

I have experienced vertigo. Not the fun spinning in a circle to get dizzy that I once enjoyed as a child. But dealing with vertigo helped me deal with the ride. I kept my focus downward, straight ahead on my feet, at the centre of the car.

It eased the spinning sensation. But my mind raced with chastising myself for not knowing better and getting myself into such a mess. I promised myself never ever again to be so foolish. Lesson learned.

I did not come off that ride any braver, only wiser.

Think about the last time you were excited about something. It might have been starting a new job. Getting a new car. Or meeting someone for the first time.

Excitement moves us closer to the situation.

Fear makes us pull back or run away. But inside, our bodies react the same.

Then there’s nervousness and anxiety.

The main difference between anxiety as a disorder, and nervousness or anxiety as an emotional response or symptom is the intensity. Living with an anxiety disorder often feels more intense and distressing than experiencing nervousness in a given situation.

We often feel uncomfortable and nervous in stressful situations: an exam, speaking in public, waiting for test results, a job interview, etc.

Nervousness usually goes away once you’ve gotten through the situation.

Every time I used to step in front of a crowd to speak, I was nervous. Over time, with lots of practice, I overcame that fear. I am more relaxed instructing a class than as a student. For me, it’s all about feeling in control of the situation

This led me to question if watching scary movies can help with overcoming fear.

My 9-year-old granddaughter loves scary movies. From what I’ve read online, anxious people might get better at handling their own anxiety by watching scary movies.

A practice run if you will for coping and dealing with your fear.

Horror entertainment can trigger the fight-or-flight response, which comes with a boost in adrenaline, endorphins, and dopamine. The brain can then process surroundings and conclude that the experience is not a genuine threat. This knowledge of personal safety is one reason horror fans habitually watch scary movies.

It all comes down to how we react based on our perception.

If you find yourself living in fear of something, but rationally you recognize that the fear isn’t justified, it may help you to try and reshape that feeling into something else, like excitement.

Also, remember that fear is useful to our survival. Without fear, we’d walk up to a wild animal or do other things that could end our life.

How I first learned of this connection between fear and excitement was in dealing with my past trauma.

I had come across Roland Bal online and purchased PDFs of The Trauma Essential Series.

Now I don’t know if this is his actual name, but I find it fascinating because I think of a rolling ball.

He had a private practice in Holland before moving to Spain where he does online courses in counseling, dealing with trauma and PTSD.

From the PDF Awakening-healing trauma and dissociation:

Excitement is the sensation of the new with the expectation of something positive occurring.

Fear is complex. It can relate to unexpressed anger, a rupture of boundaries due to abuse, neglect or be related to the memory of traumatic experience.

Fear also tends to become habitual without being able to consciously relate to its cause and this can be confusing, placing additional disorientation on one’s sense of psychological location.

He suggests taking a moment to notice the sensation in your body.

Fear tends to reside in the lower body. Become aware of what it feels like in your body, and how your mind responds to it.

Remember, when you say “I don’t want this” you have become more identified with it.

You can also redefine fear as excitement

When facing something you’re fearful about that holds no danger to you, choose to think about the feeling as excitement instead of fear. Name it excitement. Say it out loud.

You’re basically tricking yourself into associating your fear symptoms with their mirror image excitement symptoms. Your body and brain can’t really tell the difference, so the only thing that needs to change is your conscious use of language to describe the feeling to yourself (and others). Change the story you tell yourself, and over time when your physical reality continues to match this story (the symptoms match what you’re saying), you’ll start to believe it naturally.

To quote Wayne Dyer: Change your mind, change your life.