Fear Factor

Report I

Billy Black
03/27/01
 Fear

Fear is a controversial subject in analysis and experience. It is difficult to isolate

the objective and subjective properties of this sensory attack and thus any profile is a
generalization and not an individualization. The individual and its personal experience,
isolates its own variables. However, it is possible to profile fear based on physical
compositions and the generalized experience of this emotion.

Fear is one of many strong sensory attacks that seemingly happens automatically
and has the potential to override our normal state of being which can control our actions.
Fear is a reactor complex that is experienced on many levels of intensity. The levels of
experienced fear, produces a chemical reaction in the body, which alters the state of mind
and body.

Whether fear is a true emotion, an instinctive survival mechanism or a learned

characteristic is always open for debate; but theoretically, all could be viable
considerations. Fear can be an emotion because an emotion is defined as something that
is strongly felt, and it produces a physical change in composition of the body and affects
the attitude and mood of the host. It is also a survival mechanism due to the changes in
the body, which make the body more able to preserve its existence. And, it is also an
acquired trait due to the fact that as children, we do not see the dangers in life. They are
learned, one at a time. We are made aware of fears through experience, by seeing others
respond in fear to certain situations, and being told that we are stupid because that is
dangerous.

Regardless of how our fears become real to us, fear is a form of Stress. Stress and
Fear are interchangeable, however, the level of intensity depicts our perception of
everyday stress from pure fright. Many people experience stress everyday, but do not
consider it fear. To clarify this comparison, one must understand what happens when
stress is experienced. As fear can be considered an emotion, it falls under the same
format of other emotions. Fear, like love, can be experienced at varying degrees, such as
a love for art varies from a love for a partner, however, both are love, but the two are
differently classified based on the intensity of an emotional response.
 Intensity Levels of Fear

Fear can be segregated based on levels of intensity. It can be broken down into
four categories of 1) Stress, 2) Anxiety, 3) Fear (Fright) and 4) Panic. All levels of stress
are associated to loss or failure, which can be perceived as the loss of possessions, an
egotistical awareness or life itself.

Stress: as we know it, is basically a mild case of the fears. Daily stress, in
general, is experienced due to a fear of monetary loss, the loss of possessions or personal
attachments. Many people identify themselves with possessions, which they have
accumulated and these things, which that are attached, give them a sense of self. The
loss of a possession can be seen as a loss of a condition of life, but not life itself. Stress
can also cross the lower threshold of anxiety based on a loss of ego, which is considered
somewhat important but not a detriment to life itself.

With stress, the threat is not against our physical existence but our imaginary
existence, such as our social life or career. More specifically, it could be the survival of
our ego, the ego we are trying to create or maintain. For the most part, stress is related
to failure of meeting certain expectations that we have placed on ourselves or allowed
others to place on us, thus the imaginary death of something we think is a part of our life.
Stress is basically a self-inflicted conceptualization, and rest in our attempt to preserve a
condition of life, as opposed to actual life preservation.

For example, one can become stressed by trying to meet the demands of their
job, their family and their friends. It is the result of small or petty fears of not being
somewhere on time, making others happy, or standing up in front of a crowd and making
a speech. It is the stress of not making a deadline, work piling up, bills flooding in our
mailboxes or raising children. It can be the stress of doing housework to dealing with
traffic, all of which are imposed as <I have to do this, or else>. Stress can have a
detrimental effect on the body and can cause illness if not controlled. Stress is the easiest
form of fear to control and reduce. Many techniques from deep breathing, counting to
ten or brushing your hair repetitively can reduce stress. The key to it is to take a break
mentally and think about something else to get your mind off the problem, temporarily.
Though stress may be the easiest form of fear to control it is the hardest to avoid and
recognize.

Anxiety: is a case of the fears that is stronger and causes noticeable affects in the
body. Increased heart rate, the sweats and jitters are all signs of anxiety. Anxiety is a
heightened sense of stress that is also perceptive and not an actual threat to life. One can
become anxious at some of the same events that cause others stress. Anxiety is like a
synthetic sensation of fear; <if it feels like fear it must be fear>, for in our world of
understanding we now know that what we perceive is not always what it actually is.
However, what we feel, feels like the real thing and the continuation of the persons
current perception of the situation will determine the following degree of the experienced
stress that could escalate to a self-induced fear. Anxiety is a sense of possible personal
harm, both egotistically and physically but it is not actually a threat to life.

An example of anxiety would be a child that likes to jump ditches on his bicycle.
If accidentally he gets hurt doing so, it could induce a sense of anxiety prior to his next
jump. Now he knows he can get hurt doing this, which was previously all fun and
games. Perhaps he sees the danger but wants to do it anyway. As he prepares for his
next jump, that incident flashes in his mind and his body changes to prepare for the
possibility of the accident previously experienced. This physical preparation creates
sensations that inhibit his control, tightens his muscles and could actually hold him back
from doing it. Even though he is going to do it, the remembrance of the accident will be
in the back of the mind. If this sensation escalates, while he pedals his Mongoose to the
ramp, his body may further become tense and restrict his movements, and could prevent
him from making a successful jump. If per chance he makes it, he will savor the rush;
however if he crashes again, the anxiety of this activity will be instilled in his mind as a
fear of getting hurt (personal harm). Thus a sense of fear is confirmed, accepted and the
program is downloaded.

Another example of anxiety, which many people experience, is the sensation of

what is known as stage fright. Walking up on stage is by no means a serious threat to
ones life, not unless they have enemies who want them dead before they open their
mouth. However, this anxiety induces feelings that are associated with fear. Stage fright
is only a perception of an egotistical detriment and not physical death. The intensity of
this anxiety is often blown out of proportion and construed as fear. If one begins to think
more about the situation and how they might mess up in front of many people, they
escalate their sense of anxiety to another self-induced fear. Anxiety is the gate to fear,
and the three F s of fear; the freeze, flee or fight response. If it heightens the person will
inevitably resort to one of the three F’s prematurely. However, the person may still be in
enough control to calm down before the fear becomes a strong delusion. By reasoning it
out, that this will not kill them, they could possibly reduce their anxiety to a level of
manageable stress and enjoy the high of telling many people at once what they think.

Fear (fright): is the feeling and sense of an actual, immediate danger or threat to
oneself, whereas the difference between anxiety and fear is that anxiety is considered a
delusional perception of a danger, and fear is a known danger, such as falling to ones
death. Fear is the perception of something, which we feel exceeds our current abilities to
successfully overcome or survive. The transition into fear is quick and powerful. Fear is
the doorway we pass through without logical thinking. It sets in quickly and the reaction
becomes less controlled and more automatic. Fear is the realization of a real threat, be it
a physical attack or the possibility of losing ones life. The fear of death is the most
common fear experienced by people, some like the thrill of action that sets in a feeling of
danger, such as skydiving to imaginary death by watching horror movies. However, this
underlying fear controls many people to religion, fame, fortune and sensual pleasures.
We feel the need to make our existence solid and as real as possible or we tend to cower
to salvation from the inevitable, possibly both.

Therefore, fear is indeed a survival mechanism that drives us, controls us, inhibits
us and essentially is a dominating emotion in our existence behind much of our actions.
Aside from the perception of inevitability, when one is face to face with a possible life-
threatening situation, fear grips the body and mind, and the person reverts to their
primitive mind. They possibly freeze and become immobile for lack of knowing what to
do, they will run and hide to avoid the threat, or they may have to face it and fight for
their life. When one experiences a threat to their existence, the body prepares itself to
survive and numb the pain of the possibility of harm. Fear increases awareness and
energy in order to better fight or flight to stay alive.

Panic: When fear becomes too strong and the perception of death is perceived a
lost battle, the body prepares for the final attempt at life and is also prepared to die. The
system experiences a sensory and chemical overload to basically remove one from their
mind. When one has lost their mind, the body is preparing for two things, a final attack
or death transition. In a final burst of madness, the person is not in control. The fight or
action becomes extremely violent and uncontrolled; for it is its last attempt to survive
what ever it is up against. It gives all it has without forethought and it is prepared to die
at the same time. The energy surges but cannot be maintained long, any pain will not be
greatly felt and the life is not in its normal state of awareness. In panic, the threat has
exceeded the person’s capacity of rationalization and death is immanent. Many people
drown because of panic, even when they know how to swim. Many people get lost in the
wilderness, and if they panic, most likely they will not make it out alive. The reason
panicking often terminates its own body is because the person loses control and falls
victim to chemicals secreted into the body that affect the mind. As fear alters the mind
and body for heightened awareness and energy, if the person panics they have all the
awareness they need to know they are screwed and all the energy to make sure they are.
 Physical Properties of Fear,
The Effects on the Body and Mind

Now that we have a generalized idea as to the intensity levels of fear, it would be
appropriate to cover the physical effects in the body to clarify what is happening and
why. It is obvious that fear is a physical condition that manifest from a perceptive threat,
delusional or actual. In response to a perceived or real threat, the mind is not sure of the
outcome and the body prepares itself for surviving the situation. As the human brain has
many sections, the primitive (smaller) brain is known as the hypothalamus, which is
nestled under the cerebral cortex (larger brain). The smaller brain is basically our
instinctive brain and automatic control panel; our cerebral cortex is generally the house
of creative thinking.

When fear strikes, the hypothalamus kicks in. Whether the danger is perceived
by the cerebral cortex and thinks that going into the bosses office is life threatening, or an
actual confrontation with a grizzly bear jump starts it, the hypothalamus activates a
secretion of various chemicals in the body to prepare it for the conflict. Depending on
the perceptive severity of the danger, the body reacts at an appropriate level. The
purpose of this chemical infusion is to provide the extra awareness and energy to survive.

As mentioned previously, when stress (fear) occurs, our bodies mobilize into one
of the F's; freeze, flee or fight. This mobilization includes changes in the body such as
dilation of the pupils, for maximum visual perception, even in darkness. The arteries
constrict for maximum pressure to pump blood to the heart and muscles. Noting the
heart rate increases is load from one gallon of blood per minute to five gallons. Also, the
adrenal gland is activated to pump Cortisol in the body, which maintains pupil dilation
and artery constriction. Cortisol also stimulates the formation of epinephrine and
norepinephrine. The vessels to the heart enlarge to facilitate the return of blood and
metabolism of fat cells and glucose is processed for extra energy. And, the digestive
system shuts down in order to conserve energy for the mobilized fight or flight response.

Fear can aid us in survival (success) or inhibit us (failure). If it becomes too

strong, it can control the person and eliminate rational thinking and seal its own fate. At
any intensity, it is designed to help us survive, but if blown out of proportion it can make
our fears become a reality. Though we may not be able to control or overcome all of our
fears, it is evident that living in fear, is the worst mode of fear possible. Short burst of
fear such as that which is experienced before jumping from a perfectly good airplane to
physical combat, are natural experiences that can teach us and keep us alive. However, if
one panics in such a situation they become the victim of their own design and the
chemicals cause changes in the body that prevent it from being the intellectual creature it
was prior to the attack.

Living in fear by worrying about little things like, germs and disease, death and
crime, or numerous other possible perceptive dangers induces stress. And, this chemical
known as Cortisol (even in low stress) actually inhibits the production of new neurons
and shrinks the hippocampus (memory center of the brain). Perhaps the more we know,
the more we have to fear. Those who are constantly paranoid, are restricting neurological
growth. Perhaps this explains the increasing cases of Alzheimer. Possibly the paranoid
people and stressed ones are the ones getting it because their fear starved and shrunk their
brain! It may be an important consideration as to why some have a hard time
remembering things, it could be that the situation was stressful and our minds were
deprived or preoccupied with stressful thoughts. Since fear activates the limbic system,
which proportionately shuts down the cerebral cortex (center of creative activity), out
goes what separates the human genus from the beast.
 So What?
Now that we have an idea as to the levels of stress and how our bodies are
designed to respond to the varying intensity levels of fear, it must be altered from useless
knowledge to applicable understanding. At this point of understanding, we must learn to
perceive our fears accurately. We should determine what fears are at what level. The
fear of being on stage is actually anxiety and resides in my conceptual ego; it is not a
matter of life or death. My fear of losing my job is only my sense of responsibility to my
conditions of social status, which is stress. When we place our fears in their proper
perspective, it becomes easier to deal with them, as we should. It should help us
determine what level we are experiencing and thereby put us in the proper state of mind.
We should also be able to determine if this sensation is an outside influence, which we
feel is no longer needed as a part of the program or is it learned from our own experience,
which might have been processed inaccurately.

The complexities of the intensifications of fear, is determinant on the individual

and their perception of a perceived threat. As one could be a little stressed from being on
stage another could experience anxiety or even a self-absorbed fear. But the second
person could skydive without a second thought and the first panic and freak out in the
same situation. Also, the experiences of fear manifest different reactions in different
people. Some do their best to avoid one fear and fight another fear. Many people enjoy
the high of it. Some freeze in fear, some run in fear and others fight in fear. How this
response is determined is primarily based on learned characteristics. Such as a child that
sees its mother freak out over a mouse in the house will collect the information that this
is not good and they should be scared as well because this is a new experience.
However, the same person at an older age may have already established that there is no
reason to be afraid of a mouse and will laugh at anothers delusional fear. When we know
there is no reason to be afraid we find it hilarious when another is overcome by it.

The person that has a fear of being on stage, may have been given an inferiority
complex as a child by a peer, parent or teacher; which the impressionable child took it
that this moron actually seen a factual, personal flaw. The anxiety they feel is based on
this complex that they cannot do it because they worry how people will see them, not the
stage itself. It is a perception of a false danger that this could actually harm the person,
but it is only ego related. But, the ego is indeed a part of the person, needed for survival.
The stronger the ego, has established itself in real confidence over attempted vanity, the
stronger the will and ability to do, succeed and survive. No one is without an ego, even
selfless acts are selfish glorifications, it is not a fight against fears, and it is more of a
fight against our weaknesses that are implanted in our minds. If we give into our fears, it
can keep us from advancing past current states and inhibiting our fullest potential, much
like Christian dogma has held back the progression of civilization. Our fears, collective
fears and the perception of egotistical and bodily harm, can hold us back from what we
want to do and be. Therefore, it becomes evident that delusional fears and rational fears
should be distinguished from each other in order for a person to overcome delusions, and
maintain awareness of relevant self-preservation.

Basically, fear that is learned outside of personal experience is not solely based
on age but impressionability (weakness) of the mind. For example, another key fear
conditioner is the media. People like to feel fear, those who understand it to the extent of
surrealism theatrically portrayed on the screen experience the fear but do not claim it as
theirs, but to others of impressionability, especially as children it teaches us what to fear
and how we should respond. We adopt it as our own prerequisite for surviving since we
had no previous exposure to this sort of danger. Generally, in the movies, it is to respond
as a victim. Therefore, the being has learned and conditioned itself to a newly gained
false fear; which it feels it is potentially a victim.

When assessing fears, actual life threatening situations, such as a confrontation

with a grizzly bear, the fear is an immediate response. It is the same as being surprised.
The surge is immediate and the body changes in a second. When this occurs, it becomes
more difficult to maintain control and think clearly in the big brain. But to increase our
chance of survival, one should be prepared. This is the most difficult to deal with but it
is not impossible. As with any other level of stress, the mind must be redirected and
maintain its creative facilities. If one focuses on the immediate problem and neglects to
take in the big picture they will overlook viable chances for survival. Like the rock at
your foot, the fact that your standing on your hind legs is a sign of a fight to a bear, or the
bag on your back has food in it and the bear is hungry. However, if you neglect to think
and run instinctively you have forgotten that a bear can run twice as fast as a human,
especially on uneven terrain. Remember, you are afraid of the bear because you have
learned and know what it can do to you, an innocent child does not know a bear will kill
it, it wants only to touch it. The fear is learned and you fear that you have an opponent
that is greater than you. Indeed, it may be physically, but not mentally! Keep your head
or the bear will have it. This applies to any instant situation of a surge in the fear factor.
 Conclusion to REPORT I
In closing this report, when it comes to our understanding of things that affect us,
there is no conclusion or universal truth, nothing is final. However, it becomes obvious
that our fears are not always our own, they were handed down to us, the fears that could
be assumed as ours would be classified as those lessons learned from actual experience.
But even experience has its own variables, our perception might blow it out of proportion
or we could harp on it. Even if we tried to overcome it, it can still have a hold on the
mind and keep us from putting forth our best effort to do the thing we fear, and thereby
confirming the fear deeper in the mind. The objective is not to be overcome by our fears
and attempt to control them using our bigger brain.

We can metaphorically sum it up at this point; if fear were liken to death, then
stress would be living with the knowledge that indeed one day we will die. Anxiety
would be the perception that we are not feeling good; we might be getting sick or have
contracted a bad disease. Fear (fright) would be coming face to face with death and
panic would be the last momentous energy spasm of your struggling fight (assuming you
did) before the reaper severed you from this existence. Though this is metaphorical, I am
sure each of us know the different levels of intensities, some personally, and some may
have just been witnessed and implanted in our minds for us. The most important point in
any situation would be to determine if the thoughts in your head are true to you or were
they taken as truth because you have not attempted to develop your own mind because of
your fears. Even if they are true to you, are they viable to the personal experience, your
personal development or do they hinder you. Do some fears need to be taken care of or
do others need to be analyzed so you can have some control of them. Perhaps, you do
not need to overcome some fears, some may be logical conclusions of danger and they
may give you the awareness and energy needed preserve you life.

Report I is designed to provide a generalized understanding of what and how fear

manifest itself in our individual being, you will need to research your own life to
personalize this material for your own use, but maybe it offers something for your use.
Fear is a large subject with many variables that manifest based on the individual.
Although, we can all attest that fear is indeed a viable state of being that has its pros and
cons, it can be used to survive and grow, and it can be used against others. It can also
prevent us from survival and growth, and used against us. Now that we generally know
what fear might be on a physical level, it would be relevant, fun and worth while to
explore fear in greater detail on its applications. How it can be used for success and
failure, and how we can use our fears to further our growth, and also using other peoples
fear against them for our gain.
 In the world, there are the predators (perpetrators) and prey (victims). At times
we are predators and other times we are prey, in the Reports on Fear, I will attempt to
better the odds of not becoming prey. The following reports are designed for the
predators; those who seek to survive under the laws of existence and self-preservation,
and not the laws of manmade delusions. Some of the information contained herein may
be construed as immoral and unethical, by some. This information is for those who find
use in them, and may or may not be correct, it is determinant upon the reader to decide if
it is of any value. Keep this information as your own, and only share it with others you
trust with it for it may be used against you. In the wrong hands it can be dangerous for
power trippers and inexperienced users. It’s a super thrill pill with side effects, some
may have an allergic reaction to it.

All comments, questions, suggestions or criticisms may be directed to

blackscraft@yahoo.com . The following Fear Factor reports, are compiled in an attempt
to determine how fear can be used to ones advantage and used against us. Also, I will
attempt to analyze and present a workable structure that we may apply to use the fears of
others to our own advantage and how to recognize and prevent others from controlling us
through fear.

End: Fear Factor - Section I

Billy Black