Fear in the Brain: the Neuroscience of Fear (w/ Kevin Sattler)

Fear is a familiar part of most of our lives, from being afraid of the dark or dreading public speaking, to possibly experiencing life-threatening situations where our sense of safety is challenged and even taken away. And yet often we move through life being influenced by these fears, and not knowing exactly what’s happening for us internally. 

Neuroscientist and fear memory specialist, Kevin Sattler, helps us unpack:

• What is fear, and why do we often stigmatize it?
• How do fear responses develop and encode themselves as memories in our brains and bodies?
• How do we make sense of our body feeling fear in everything from life threatening situations to public speaking?
• And, finally, what can we do about modulating our fear?

Kevin shares that fear is a biological survival mechanism, in which the memory of fearful triggers, as well as our emotions and response, is encoded in our brains to help us act quickly in future situations. Fear is largely learned, which, importantly, also means that it can be unlearned, as memories are flexible and can be influenced and re-written, whether intentionally or unintentionally. 
In order to overcome our inherent fears, we must differentiate between fears that serve us and those that don’t, become more aware of our experience of fear in triggering moments, and develop deliberate coping mechanisms to build internal confidence. In particular, Kevin emphasizes the importance of having a good support group, and how deep connection helps to create a sense of safety that reduces the intensity of our biological fear response. 
Join us for this far reaching conversation on the neuroscience of fear!

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