How does fear affect your soul?

Fear is a basic emotion that can be real or imagined. You see danger, pain or harm coming your way. 

The feeling of fear, one of the seven instinctive emotions, has been hard wired into your brain as an evolutionary survival mechanism. Think what would happen if you were face to face with a wild beast, what it would take for you to deal with the danger. 

Fear in your soul, rather than a physical threat, is a reaction to the imagined dangers in your way, such as hell in the after-life or exclusion from your social group, depending on your unique religious beliefs, cultural experiences and character. 

Fear in your soul can trigger instinctive physiological reactions in your body and mind, the fight, flight or freeze’ reaction. It is through the filter of your soul, your belief systems and experiences, that you can regulate some of the fears in your mind and body. Whether you believe in the eternal life of the soul after the end of human existence or simply see the soul, in a more secular way as the belief system and experience that is unique to you, it will affect how intensely you respond to fear. Even Einstein, a renowned scientist with a belief that the soul cannot exist without a body, recognized an aspect of the soul: “The valuation of life and all its nobler expressions can only come out of the soul’s yearning toward its own destiny. Every attempt to reduce ethics to scientific formulas must fail.“

Everyone has an instinctive reaction to fear but it is also individual to your soul 

Fear for some can incite a ‘pleasurable’ emotional experience whereas for others the same experience can be verging on the terrifying. In the context of socio-moral guidelines in society, some get excited by the fear of being caught breaking the rules whereas for others it is an extremely stressful experience. For example, cheating on your partner or stealing are guidelines in a significant amount of religious and social belief systems and an action that will install fear in some, as a warning system to stay safe and not act. Whereas for some people the fear involved in breaking the rules is simply a thrill. How deeply you feel fear is felt is a function of your soul, the unique belief systems, religious and cultural experiences that you have. 

Some religions drive fear in your soul as a motivator to action

In the western Christian doctrines, much of the teachings preach a fear of eternal damnation in Hell, possibly triggering emotional reaction of fear in the minds and bodies of their congregations as they react to the images, in the belief that their eternal soul will be lost. Over centuries, religious stories have used the fear of condemnation, as a driver for believers to act within the moral guidelines, thus keeping social cohesion. 

Moral Fear in your soul can be healthy until it is a phobia

Fear has evolved to keep you safe, also morally safe. When the threat in your soul becomes overwhelming, it becomes a phobia. Phobias are seen as an exaggerated or unrealistic sense of danger about a situation and can affect your quality of life. 

In fear, your mind, filtered through your soul, is thinking instinctively 

When the instinctive emotion of fear is activated so is instinctive thinking in your mind. The cerebral cortex, where logical reasoned thinking happens, takes second place to the amygdala.  In his book ‘Thinking Fast and Slow’, Daniel Kahneman describes the two types of  thinking‘ as ‘system 1’, the instinctive thinking from the amygdala and ‘System 2’, the system for our logical thinking in the cortex. He notes:  “System 1 has more influence on behavior when System 2 is busy” . Often, when life situations become uncontrollable or inexplicable, people turn to their belief systems or appeal to a higher force, such as religion. 

In fear, your moral judgement can be impaired

As your instinctive thought process takes over in a state of fear, it becomes difficult for your mind to think reasonably or assess the situation to make clear judgements. This applies particularly to the imaginary triggers for fear and depends on the belief systems in your soul. 

Depending on your soul, in fear, your mind freezes or over reacts 

When you are in a state of fear, you may find that your mind goes blank, you are unable to think or assess the situation. Depending on your personal character/experiences, the opposite may happen, your mind is racing with thoughts. 

The soul can affect the four reactions to fear

How you react to fear is not only individual to how your body works but also to the individual way you think and the belief systems in your soul.  

• Fight: facing any perceived threat aggressively. This reaction can happen when you think your mind thinks you can overpower the threat. 
• Flight: running away from the danger. Similar to fighting, you believe that you can overcome the threat by running away. 
• Freeze: unable to move or act against a threat. When you think that neither running or fighting are an option, an avoidance or freezing strategy takes over. 
• Please: immediately acting to try to please to avoid any conflict. This reaction in your mind often happens when you have experienced previous negative situations and want to keep the peace. 

Instinctive emotions are like the weather, beyond your conscious control. For a balanced life, the first step is to understand human instinctive emotions, how they work and practical steps to take in order to avoid situations that are destructive to emotional wellbeing. Not every instinctive emotion that is acted on has positive consequences. Sometimes, it may be best to take shelter from the storm, for example, if you in a situation of heightened fear without a clear threat to life, it may be best to take time out to allow your body and mind to return to a regular state. Understanding your fear reactions is a first step, if you are feeling that this emotion is becoming overwhelming to your life, it is important to seek professional help.