In response to threats, we learn to avoid challenge and comply with external rules (instead of wondering how systems can be improved). We protect our feelings and restrict our thoughts to what’s safe.
Although emotions like fear and anxiety originate in your brain, they ultimately travel through your body and make your heart race and your stomach twist.
You have probably heard of ‘fight or flight’ responses to distressing situations. You may also be familiar with the tendency to ‘freeze’. But there is another response a person can have: ‘fawn’.
While it’s tempting to focus on what people can do to ‘stay safe’ or respond effectively to harassers, this is ultimately the wrong question to ask and puts responsibility victims.
You’re working out, feeling great – until your stomach starts to churn and you’re sidelined with a bout of nausea. Here’s what’s happening in your body and how to avoid this common effect of exercise.
Itchy skin? More aches and pains? Unusual rash? Headaches? Pimples? If you’ve been experiencing unusual physical symptoms recently, the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic may be the reason.
When we get nervous, a number of processes occur in the brain that are passed onto the stomach and affect the digestive process. This is a hangover from our hunter-gatherer days.
Visiting a haunted house or watching a horror movie can be terrifying and enjoyable at the same time. A sociologist explains the psychological benefits of being safely scared.