How Does Our Brain React To Fear?

Introduction

When you think of October, you most likely think of Halloween, fall foods, and scary movies. I think this is the perfect month to write about how the brain reacts to fear, especially because it is known for being a spooky and mysterious month. I love October, and it is always filled with lots of great moments. There are times in this month that you can experience fear, such as going to haunted houses, scary movies, ghost stories, etc. If you are someone who does not get scared easily, then maybe you will think differently, but we all experience fear in our lives. During that moment when we are feeling frightened, you won't notice how your body is reacting or what is going on in your brain, just like you don't realize how long you doomscroll. Throughout October I was trying to think about all the things to write about, and this topic is what interested me the most, and I hope that you find it interesting too!

What Goes On In Our Brain

According to Northwestern Medicine, the amygdala (hopefully you remember a little bit about it from a previous blog post) gets activated and will alert the nervous system. This will put your body in essentially panic mode. As stated in the study, "Your body will release stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline." So far these 2 things are both something I have mentioned before, and another one is the fight or flight response. This is pretty self-explanatory since the name describes what it is, but just in case you did not read my other blog post that mentioned it, I will give a short description. How I remember the fight-or-flight response is that it is when you either run from a threat or you stand up to the threat. Also said by Northwestern Medicine, "When the amygdala senses fear, the cerebral cortex becomes impaired." For a little more context, say you are watching a scary movie; you might scream when there is a jump scare even though there is no actual threat. That is what can happen when your cerebral cortex is not working normally because one of its functions is clear judgement. If you enjoy scary movies, rollercoasters, haunted houses, and other thrilling activities, then you might understand when I say that these events can fuel your desire for more. During my first experience of going to a horror night event, I was so scared before and when I was there. However, after I went through my first haunted maze/house, I instantly wanted to do another one, and I felt more comfortable walking around where all the scare actors were. I was still scared, yet that did not stop me from going into more haunted houses, and every year I cannot wait for Halloween Horror Nights each October. Whereas an individual who does not like anything scary might be terrified if they go to any horror night event. What I am trying to explain is that there are people who enjoy fear, and there are others who try to avoid anything scary at all costs. Everyone has a different scare limit, and the brain's response to fear can be different among everyone.

Conclusion

To answer the question, "How does our brain react to fear?" some possible responses include the activation of the amygdala and our nervous system, the occurrence of the fight-or-flight response, the release of hormones, and impairment of the cerebral cortex. Once you start learning more about the brain, you can better picture how our brain reacts to different situations. I was able to kind of predict what the answer to this topic would be before doing any research because of how much I am continuing to learn with this blog. Moving on, I am writing this post on Halloween, and it will be posted on Halloween too. I hope that everyone has/had a good Halloween! It seemed as if October was such a long month, and now it is finally over. This was a more concise post than I usually do, and I had fun writing. Thank you to those who read my blog posts, and remember, you are not alone!

Works Cited

Northwestern Medicine. “5 Things You Never Knew about Fear.” Northwestern Medicine, www.nm.org/healthbeat/healthy-tips/emotional-health/5-things-you-never-knew-about-fear. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.