Kanisa George
BUNGEE JUMPING off the edge of Victoria Falls has always been at the top of my bucket list. So, too, has been skydiving, deep-sea diving and a long list of adrenaline-pumping feats. But after dangling 120 feet in the sky with only a leather belt across my waist, I'm reconsidering my relationship with heights.
I've never been afraid of heights, yet suddenly, the thought of free-falling scares me. And I'm not alone. There are tons of stories online of people who were once adrenaline junkies becoming acrophobic later in life. Or even becoming fearful of experiences that once strongly appealed to them, like moving to another city or travelling the world. Is it that the older we get, the more fearful we become?
From an evolutionary perspective, fear protects us from bodily, social and psychological harm. The fear mechanism keeps us out of harm's way and creates a map of references based on our experiences and the experiences of others that define harmful situations. When fear increases, anxiety and nervousness increase, creating a hodgepodge of negative, overwhelming emotions.
Several years ago, it was generally accepted that human brains of all ages reacted similarly to fear. Today, the results of several studies have challenged this assumption by showing a direct correlation between age and fear and anxiety.
A University of Haifa study found that fear increases as we get older, and this is directly linked to the way the brain works as we get older.
According to the study, this increased fear with age is related to the plasticity or flexibility of the brain's prefrontal cortex, the area responsible for complex cognitive behaviour. This is very different to the developing brain of a child or young adult whose prefrontal cortex is still developing.
When we experience a stressful or scary situation, the brain effectively tells us that we are in a frightening situation and must act or engage in what is known as the fight or flight mode.
At the end of the fearful encounter, an automatic cooling-down process or fear extinction begins in the prefrontal cortex that returns the body to its routine state.
The older we get, the more faulty this mechanism becomes, and we continue to experience reactions of fear even when the fear factor no longer exists, and we no longer need the mechanism, which can lead to anxiety and post-trauma.
The study clearly illustrates that compared to children, adults are usually more cautious regarding extreme or challenging activities because their brains delay the fear extinction mechanism. The more trauma we experience, the stronger our fear responses are. The more fearful we become, the deeper our anxiety grows and the less daring and outgoing we become. Anxiety can sometimes last for a short time and then pass when the fear elapses, but it can also last much longer and disrupt our life.
Sounds familiar? For me, it does, and maybe that explains my recent troubles with heights. While older adults are less likely to develop phobias as they typicall
