How fear affects the brain

"We don't passively forget that something is scary. We actively learn that it isn't anymore."
-Robert Sapolsky, Stanford neurobiologist and primatologist in his book Behave
This video is definitely an over-simplification of the concept of stress and fear... it's not meant to be exhaustive, only a few-minute long spark to deeper reflection and conversations.
I recommend any articles or books by Bessel Van Der Kolk, Stephen Porges and Bruce Perry if you want more about the neuroscience and physiology of resilience as follow-ups.
Here are the three 'techniques' to help us override a hyperresponsive fear system:
1) Bottom-Up Behaviors: diet, exercise, seeking social support, animals, nature
2) Regulation Rituals: mental rehearsing of adaptive responses (while visualizing the situation or person that triggers anxiety); meditation, noticing our breath and sensations in our body
3) Mindset: The way we perceive our own stress affects what our response will be: if we notice a sensation in our body that indicates stress but we acknowledge our body is preparing us to have more 'energy' and that we can survive and problem-solve our way through the challenge, the actual physiology in our body changes. This is in contrast to noticing sensations in our body and thinking something is wrong with us or that we can't handle what our body is doing - this type of fear triggers a different biological cascade of hormones that can keep us from using our problem-solving features and prefrontal cortex.
Get more ideas on how to deal with fear from this article:
stefaniefayefra...

[@StefanieFaye]

Here are the three 'techniques' to help us override a hyperresponsive fear system: 1) Bottom-Up Behaviors: diet, exercise, seeking social support, animals, nature 2) Regulation Rituals: mental rehearsing of adaptive responses (while visualizing the situation or person that triggers anxiety); meditation, noticing our breath and sensations in our body 3) Mindset: The way we perceive our own stress affects what our response will be: if we notice a sensation in our body that indicates stress but we acknowledge our body is preparing us to have more 'energy' and that we can survive and problem-solve our way through the challenge, the actual physiology in our body changes. This is in contrast to noticing sensations in our body and thinking something is wrong with us or that we can't handle what our body is doing - this type of fear triggers a different biological cascade of hormones that can keep us from using our problem-solving features and prefrontal cortex. There are several articles going deeper into these ideas at: stefaniefayefrank.com/blog/

[@Chiindigo]

Thankyou for this

[@StefanieFaye]

@@Chiindigo Thank you for watching!

[@zeph6439]

Fear and hope are truly empty things. Love always wins!

[@StefanieFaye]

❤️

[@ahmedichou6672]

Your video is very useful and well designed. According to its quality, it should obtain more views ! Anyway, thank you for your contribution !

[@StefanieFaye]

Thank you very much, Ahmed! I appreciate your encouragement :-)

[@am2012YT]

thank you for the effort you put into this video. It is very helpful and I am looking forward to seeing your next video.

[@StefanieFaye]

Thank you Ahmed! Yes - it did take a lot of effort, thank you for appreciating that :-) The next video on this topic will come out later this spring!

[@ladyci]

Great vid, where is the three techniques vid? Thx

[@baybudiono4477]

Hi there, just want you to know that this video has been so useful for me and my co-workers, so is to my training department in order to breakdown the classroom situation conflict ( I am a trainer for trainer). I really appreciate it, thank you so much !

[@StefanieFaye]

Thank you, Bay! I'm so glad you found it useful and thank you for taking the time to watch it! I hope you saw my comment below that the next video might not come out for a while, as I am currently working on writing material to address challenges for people facing toxic stress and adversity. Please let me know if you have further questions. I love that you were able to use the video to have new insights, even without me listing specific strategies - that is actually the approach I love to see, where people have a new way to look at behavior, and then use their own wisdom to figure out what they can do - sounds like you and your training department are very wise! Thank you for the important work you are doing. And thanks also for giving me encouragement, I really appreciate it! Another awesome place to get this type of information is the Harvard Center on the Developing Child - 'experience builds brain architecture', 'serve and return' and 'toxic stress' videos. They are amazing.

[@baybudiono4477]

Stefanie Faye Frank what a good and wise thinking of you too :) ... now I am getting more into it, since I found it also is related to self-healing and post-trauma training which are wonderful studies. Thank you for those reference...

[@StefanieFaye]

You're welcome, Bay! I hope all is well!

[@amdeko]

I will forever clap for others until it's my turn 🎉🎉

[@StefanieFaye]

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@sjr7276]

Hi, thanks for your contribution. I´ve been watching all of your videos and I´m so grateful for scientists like you who are willing to share their knowledge and experience in a simple way so we can actually understand, apply and grow. Is the next video available?

[@StefanieFaye]

Hi Sabrina! Thanks so much for watching! I may not have that next video up for a while, but I wrote an article that covers the same ideas I wanted to cover in that second video. I hope you'll get a chance to read it.. I know it's not quite as good as a. Iedo, but hopefully it can still help! Here's the link: stefaniefayefrank.com/before-growth-mindset/ Thank you again!!

[@TurnAroundJ]

@@StefanieFaye Very well written! I found it interesting, it helped quite a bit

[@StefanieFaye]

Thank you @turnaroundJ!

[@eqhedrick]

This is really great! Please caption your video so it can be used in class.

[@BusinessIdeas-s7e]

What happens in our brain when we decide to fight instead of fleeing?

[@StefanieFaye]

Sometimes this is related to our past patterns. If a version of 'fighting' instead of fleeing helped you survive or manage a situation in the past, this may be what your mind-brain-body resorts to as its default response when threatened in a current situation. It can also be related to what your caregivers reactions to events were and an unconscious 'learning' of these reactions that become part of your strategy to deal with situations now. And it can also relate to the degree of threat - something that seems impossible to 'fight' may result in a freeze or flight response.

[@barnaclescum7011]

thx for the vid im gonna use this for my science fair project 👍

[@StefanieFaye]

That's awesome! I'd love to hear about how it goes

[@AlliandWill]

Great info and explanation about what stress and fear does to us. Great channel! Subscribing!

[@jonchalfant3271]

Excellent video! My only question is this; which scenario would describe when a person experiences a threatening situation (any consequence of attrition being implied) & people consciously react without “fear symptoms”, but also exhibit abilities outside of typical human capacity? One example would be; MMA athletes/stunt performing entertainers regularly encounter situations where any normal person wouldn’t have the ability to react with highly intelligent decisions, like holding your breath in a choke hold or properly disarming when at gun point?

[@StefanieFaye]

What a fantastic question. I would say that exhibiting those types of ‘extraordinary’ human abilities is related to a very important word: Agency. Agency is in a way a belief that one has the power to figure their way out of any challenge. From a neural perspective, agency is the mind-brain-body system’s calculation that based on what a person’s existing neural and behavioral resources are, there is a high statistical probability of survival. A person who has already endured high levels of stress through training (Navy SEALS, MMA fighters, as examples) has accumulated a track record of having the neural and behavioral resources to survive a challenge - even something that could be physically damaging. Someone with high agency and in a life-threatening situation will respond in a way that is above the average human. Many emergency response personnel have this: they will be moved to act intelligently and in service to others in spite of danger. At that point, something very powerful happens: a person gets the benefit of adrenaline and blood flow to their skeletal muscles so that they can take action (rather than be immobilized). In the face of threat, the sympathetic system will likely be activated. But because the mind-brain-body holds associates threat or challenge with not only survival, but with a higher purpose, this will keep blood flowing to the features of the brain that are more flexible (for example, those coming from the frontal cortex). The brain's decisions are based on statistics that are based on a person's past. If a person does not have a sense of agency, (aka, helplessness or inadequacy), It means that from the mind-brain-body perspective, the statistical chance of surviving a challenge is low. This could happen for a few reasons, two that come to mind are: 1) a person has endured a lot of toxic stress and adversity, and did not have the social, neural and behavioural resources to come up with a solution. This is the case for a young infant being abused. If they do not get support and nurturing from someone during those times, they may not develop resources to build up a sense of agency in the future. ('learned helplessness'). 2) If a person has never faced any type of challenge (perhaps because their caregivers attempted to protect them from any form of failure or discomfort), they may also lack a sense of agency and will avoid situations that feel threatening (physically or mentally/socially/metaphorically) A person with low agency would freeze, run away or avoid any situations that they perceive as dangerous. Because they have low agency, they may perceive many situations as dangerous even if others dont' see them that way. This would mean that they might avoid a lot of new experiences because they are unsure that they can survive any of it. For example, someone may want to be a singer, but if they don't believe they will survive rejection, they will avoid singing in public. A person with high agency and in a non-life threatening but high stress situation (such as performing on stage) will have the benefit of stress hormones (which cause us to be highly alert and focused) but also able to use a more evolved system (called the ‘social engagement system’), which allows them to express emotion and connect socially with others. A person with low agency would freeze or avoid this type of stress. (inadequacy/low agency + stressful metaphorical danger). The more we can connect consciously with our awareness of having survived challenges, the more we are activating neural circuitry that associates challenges with features within our brain-body system that help us adapt and respond to challenges in ways that build a future we want to have. Even more powerful, is when we can figure out a way to take something challenging, negative, even tragic that has happened to us and connect with how our ability to survive that experience could somehow be used to help someone else who might be going through that or something similar. In my experience, that is when I see people have massive breakthroughs in their life.

[@mariafausti3128]

thank you for this! this really helped and I'll use this information and credit you on my school presentation :)

[@StefanieFaye]

Thank you so much! I'm so glad you liked it and that it helped with your school presentation :-) Hopefully you'll get a chance to see my TEDx talk this December - I'll post an update on when it is online!

[@samandjenna]

Hi is the next video available? I would find it really helpful to share with young people who are really struggling with anxiety in the UK?

[@StefanieFaye]

Hi! Thank you for asking and for taking the time to watch the video! I will be working on it this summer... currently taking some time to write a book which is a high priority for getting this messaging out to as many people as I can!

[@StefanieFaye]

In the mean time, I recommend any books or videos from the following people: Gabor Mate, Rick Hanson, Dan Siegel, Daniel Goleman, Kelly McGonigal, Norman Doidge, Bruce Perry. Also the podcast from Guru Singh - he brings in significant, leading edge concepts from neurobiology and science.

[@wassoun7934]

Amazing thank you very much 👍🌹🌹🌹

[@StefanieFaye]

Thank you so much! And thank you for your encouraging feedback :-)

[@vaibhavprabhu04]

Greetings.. very nicely made..quite informative

[@StefanieFaye]

Thank you for taking the time to watch and comment! I'm glad you liked it :-)

[@angelinasouren]

In your description, it should say Bessel van der Kolk 😊

[@StefanieFaye]

Oh thanks! Will correct it

[@StefanieFaye]

Auto correct chose kerk over kolk lol 😅

[@angelinasouren]

@@StefanieFaye Ha! 😂 I had a similar conversation just a few days ago, also on KZbin. The autocorrections and predictions often mess up my writing too. 😎

[@pallavimehta9445]

Next part? Where is it?

[@ccnambo]

Please share where to find the video with the 3 steps that override the amygdala?

[@rossalonzo5437]

Thank you for this video that we can share with students to help them gain some insights.

[@freshbreeze6180]

Hey is the next video out? Can't wait to watch it. thanks a billion for putting in the effort to make this video I really appreciate what you contribute to the world.

[@StefanieFaye]

Hi! Oh, thank you very much for watching - I'm so glad you liked it! The next one will be out in a couple months.. a few things are on the schedule first and then it will be ready! Thank you again for your kind words - I really appreciate it :-) :-)

[@mollyk.bozeman5287]

@@StefanieFaye is it out now?

[@pritamshil5765]

Ma'am, I have a question _ Whenever a sexual thought arises in my mind, do I always have a conscious choice? Wheather to go for it or not? Wheather to act on it or not?

[@smccfly4074]

Where is "the next video" to watch after this one?

[@StefanieFaye]

The best next video to watch after this one is the science of courage: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q6i8imuui71pq9k

[@smccfly4074]

@@StefanieFaye Thank you!

[@simplybuyer1]

Hi Stefanie, Please can you help and advise me. I suffer with death anxiety. I visual death thoughts and scenarios of my parents and that they will die one day. I have suffered for 9 months now - this was caused by a rumor that my father may have died in March 2020.

[@re3ccre3cc40]

ok

[@flyingpotatoe1299]

Does these negative effects on your brain include fearful situations such as riding rollercoasters?

[@StefanieFaye]

Great question! It has a lot to do with a person's previous experiences and their 'thresholds' of that kind of stimulus. It is also related to a person's sense of 'agency' - whether they believe they can handle certain levels of stress and challenge. All of those things are affected by the reactions and emotion-regulation abilities of our caregivers and people who surround us when we are young. Our reaction of fear to something is based off of two key things: a direct experience with it or being near someone who was afraid of it. So one person may feel the feelings of the roller coaster and feel it as 'excitement', while another person, based on their previous experiences with adrenaline and related hormones might experience the feelings from the roller coaster as overwhelming.

[@nobodyknowschase]

hi hi ho ho ho thx for vid

[@StefanieFaye]

Thank you CJ!

[@PhuSuHuynh]

I love this

[@StefanieFaye]

Thank you!

[@dt7916]

👏👍😎

[@Exvinite]

POV: your here because of your school councilor