Fear - Diagnosing Fear

Diagnosing Fear

Fear is distinguished from the related emotional state of anxiety, which typically occurs without any certain or immediate external threat. Panic occurs when one is intimidated of a certain thing that reminds them of their fear, and experiencing an alarm response. There are many physiological changes in the body associated with fear, which can be summarized as the "fight or flight" response. An innate response for coping with danger, it works by accelerating the heart rate, dilating the blood vessels, and increasing muscle tension and breathing rate. As the name suggests, this primitive mechanism helps an organism survive by either running away or fighting off the danger. After the series of physiological changes, only then does the consciousness realize an emotion of fear.