learning to control fear

An interesting series of articles concerning some cutting edge psychology research. I'd love to be fearless. It's kind of disconcerting to realize how deeply ingrained these responses are in our psyche.

Can We Cure Fear?
Scientific American

We naturally view any risk we witness as a personal threat--even when it is on the opposite side of the globe and we see it only on TV. Is popping a pill the answer?

By Marc Siegel

Excerpted with permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (www.wiley.com), from False Alarm: The Truth about the Epidemic of Fear. Copyright ?2005 by Marc Siegel.

In early 2004 my daughter, Rebecca, was taking a bath. She was almost three years old. When the tub's Jacuzzi device turned on, she became petried. I raced to her side, to find her standing straight up, bright red from crying.

For months afterward, she abhorred baths. As a physician who has studied the neurobiology of fear, I knew that the prefrontal cortex of her young brain had just finished wiring its "safety center," where analytical reasoning can overcome primitive emotions. I tried to appeal to her newly working brain center to suppress the worry that this tub would always bring the scary bubbles, but her body's innate response was too strong. By starting with showers and diverting the focus of her attention from the tub, I was gradually able to return her to baths. But to this day she is wary of bubbles.

Why is fear so intractable? And what can we do about it? Therapy has provided succor for many people; others have relied on the strength they get from their faith or other support networks. But in a world where we regularly witness hair-raising events--such as the aftermath of suicide bomber attacks in full color on our living-room televisions, on Web sites and on newspapers' front pages--is such verbal support enough? Answering a perceived need, fear-blunting medications are coming onto the scene. Could we--should we--all simply pop pills to ease our anxieties?

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