Fear Sequence

Fear Sequence Image


Fear vs. Anxiety

 

I would like to clarify the distinction between fear and anxiety, Fear, part of the Afferent System, is a perception; a perception of threat. Anxiety, part of the Emotional Modulation System, is a response, often to fear. Anxiety occurs when there is emotional arousal and we do not know how to direct it, for example, the simultaneous arousal of both fight and flight. The greater the simultaneous conflicting emotional arousal, the greater the anxiety. Agitation is a state of conflicting motor arousal. As stated previously, ambivalence is a state of cognitive conflict. (See diagrams: Fear and Anxiety and Adaptive Sequence)

Fear and Anxiety Image