Our environment today seems to be living in unnecessary fear. Consequently, people do panic by buying or hoarding the supplies of hand sanitizers, toilet papers, spray disinfectants and any other items they can think of.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently declared that we are in a state of global pandemic related to the new Coronavirus disease, otherwise known as COVID-19.
In Psychiatry Nursing, nurses are taught that fear is not necessarily a bad thing. It is actually one of the built-in human survival instincts. It only becomes bad when too much fear paralyzes the necessary action, like not coming out of the house because of impending threat, not eating anymore and other usual activities that prevented us from continuing such routine.
Sometimes the fear can be so intense, it will push someone to the point of in-action.
Mary D. Moller, PhD, associate professor of the Pacific Lutheran University School of Nursing and director of Psychiatric Services at Northwest Center for Integrated Health, said fear is a feeling that is internal and is conscience. It arises when sensory systems in the brain have determined an external stimulus poses a threat.
Moller said the outputs of threat-detection circuits trigger a general increase in brain arousal and can result in altered-threat processing, which are fear and anxiety disorders.
She first explained Hans Selye’s three predictable stages the body uses to respond to stressors called General Adaptation Syndrome:
* Alarm. The first reaction to stress recognizes there’s a danger and prepares to deal with the threat. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and autonomic nervous system are activated. Primary stress hormones cortisol, adrenaline and non-adrenaline are released.
* Resistance. Homeostasis begins restoring balance and a period of recovery for repair and renewal takes place. Stress hormones may return to normal, but there may be reduced defenses and adaptive energy left.
* Exhaustion. At this phase, the stress has continued for some time. The body’s ability to resist is lost because its adaption energy supply is gone. This is often referred to as overload, burnout, adrenal fatigue, maladaptation, or dysfunction.
* Alterations to the HPA axis can cause several conditions such as chronic pain, fibromyalgia and insulin resistance, she said.
Also, fear affects the ability to learn. The brain’s capacity to retrieve previous learning is dependent on specific chemical states. Chemical alterations can distort perception of sensory information thus distorting storage.
“When the brain is hyper-aroused, storage may be incomplete and new information will be stored in nonverbal memory. This distorts the storage of sensory input and the retrieval of information will be affected,” Moller said.
Meanwhile, Christine Northrup – medical director of the University of Vermont Medical Center – said fear weakens your immune system and actually makes you far more susceptible to the viruses you fear you might catch.
She said fear also destroys your heart, gives you stomach problems like ulcer, affects fertility in both men and women, accelerates aging and causes premature death.
Ana Williams is the health columnist for The Graham Star.