Fear is a natural response to threat, whether physical or psychological, and one of the two oldest emotions that appeared on Earth (the other is anger); because it has existed for more than 250 million years, it is well established within us. A certain amount of “nervousness” is healthy; those who lack it are liable to aspire to the Darwin award. Then there is a group of dangerous fellow citizens for whom Canadian psychologist Hare and Oxford professor Dutton would like to bring back the term “psychopaths,” who, although they have brains exactly like everyone else’s, do not have their fear centers connected with the awareness centers, and therefore do not experience this emotion (see e.g. http://blog.aktualne.cz/blogy/radkin-honzak.php?itemid=17940). In this group, as with no other group in terms of psychological deviations and disorders, this trait can be objectively demonstrated, and perhaps for that reason it was not included in the diagnostic manual, otherwise it would stick out there.
Emotion is a bodily process, which in the case of fear at a certain point triggers an alarm stress response, whose task is to prepare the organism for a fight (if after assessing the situation, anger should win) or for flight. The “charging up” of the organism is the same in both cases. The muscles tense, which we perceive as “tension,” and if they tense too much, the extensors and flexors begin to tug against each other and we get shaking from a mild tremor to the level of a proper rattling. Nutrient-rich blood flows to the muscles, and we need to remember that we only have five liters of blood in the body—that is not much, it is a pickling jar. When it flows to the muscles, the rest of the body is drained of blood; the skin pales, the internal organs pale as well, which we feel as discomfort in the stomach and especially dryness in the mouth. The kidneys work overtime and the result is repeated urges to urinate (for the diligent who want to note this: stress polyuria). We once had fur, which when puffed up enlarged the body outline and that was enough to intimidate the enemy. Today from this reaction what remains are strange feelings in the skin or goosebumps; rarely will we manage to reach such intensity of fear that our hair stands up in horror. The pupils dilate to improve peripheral vision, while the sexual organs of both men and women tend to shrink; there is no time for lovemaking now!
Emotion is translated into consciousness as a feeling. In this case, it has different shades and different intensity, from slight unease to a panic state. As anyone who has tried to do so in vain has found, anxiety cannot be suppressed. It must be handled cleverly: divert attention in a completely different direction, concentrate on a new topic, and once bodily reactions lessen, rationally consider whether that alarm was worth it.
We are equipped with varying doses of anxiety vigilance: from timid people to the most frightened. About one fifth of the population suffers from pathological anxiety occasionally or more often, where the intensity of their reaction by no means corresponds to the real situation but is a reaction to an internal trigger, to an “alarm center” that in their case regards as a reason for mobilization some event, situation, or thing that is insignificant to others and therefore incomprehensible.
American journalist Scott Stossel, who has taken on a whole load of pathological anxiety, wrote a thick book for The New York Times, My Life with Anxiety, which, thanks to its openness, depth of focus, perspective, and humor, quickly gained readers’ approval. To cope with his difficulties, he subjected the field of fear and anxiety to exhaustive research from antiquity to modern times, discussed all its forms from generalized anxiety and stage fright through phobias to dread and panic, reviewed all famous personalities and collected all the gossip about them, and with the same care devoted himself to treatment methods and their effectiveness. He even has the healthy nerve to criticize some contemporary theories without fear.
It is not necessary to read the text in one sitting, even though it is written in a way that invites you to do so. Given that the publication has over 400 pages in the Czech translation, it is possible to jump from one aspect to another, return, reread what has already been read in the connections obtained this way, and have truly intelligent entertainment for a long time.
Stossel leans toward those therapists and theorists who believe that the current era and our lifestyle paradoxically, with an increased degree of individual freedom and increased freedom of choice, contribute to the rise of pathological anxiety, because most people are not up to it. Fortunately, various Konvičkovs and Zemanes frighten us and, on the one hand, tell us what to do, but above all promise us bulletproof protection. The president has already fortified himself for a hundred million, so there is hardly a need to be afraid of him, even though... It reassures me that his wife got herself a levorvér.
Nevertheless, whoever wants to outsmart fear and anxiety on their own strength should buy the book. But let them hurry while it is still available; it is truly excellent. Helena Čížková’s translation is also excellent. Scott Stossel: My Life with Anxiety. Fear, terror, hope and the search for inner peace. dybbuk, Prague. 2015, ISBN 978-80-7438-123-2