What is a phobia?

0:00 Welcome to Philosophy is not boring by kidopoly.com. I'm Mira. And I'm Finn. Before we start today, we want to send a big brave hello to Patrick, age 10, in Wellington, New Zealand, who listens to us every single night.

0:16 Hi Patrick! You actually sent us an awesome message asking all about phobias and how our brains handle fear. Which is exactly what we are exploring today. So this one is for you.

0:29 If you haven't already, tap follow wherever you're listening so you never miss an episode.

0:34 Okay, Mira, here is a weird question to kick things off. Have you ever wondered why we can be absolutely terrified of a tiny little spider in the bathtub? But we aren't scared of getting into a car every day, even though cars are way more dangerous.

0:51 It is strange when you actually stop to think about it, right? Like, how does our brain decide what is scary? And if you have a huge, paralyzing fear of something, is it permanently stuck in your brain, or can you unlearn it?

1:06 I really hope we can unlearn it, because I am not a fan of spiders. Well, let's find out. Well, what exactly is fear in the first place? Is it a mistake in our brain when our heart starts pounding?

1:20 Not at all. Fear is actually a brilliant, ancient survival instinct. Deep inside our brains, we have a tiny, almond-shaped part called the amygdala. You can think of it as your brain's fire alarm system.

1:35 Oh, so if a hungry lion jumps out of the bushes, the alarm rings and tells your body to get ready to run away fast.

1:43 Exactly! Your amygdala pumps you full of energy. Without fear, our ancestors wouldn't have survived very long. But sometimes that internal alarm gets way too loud. And it goes off when there isn't actually a life or death danger in front of you.

2:01 Like when someone is absolutely terrified of clowns at a birthday party. Or they start sweating just standing on a small ladder.

2:10 Right. When fear becomes super intense and completely irrational, we call it a phobia. It is basically a glitch where your brain learns to amplify a fear until it feels uncontrollable.

2:24 So if the brain learns a phobia, can it unlearn it? Or is it stuck in your head forever?

2:30 That is exactly what a psychiatrist named Joseph Wolp wanted to know in the 1950s. He was working with people who had crippling fears. What did he figure out? Did he just tell them to be brave? Not exactly. Wolp noticed that people with severe phobias try to just avoid whatever they were scared of. But avoiding things actually keeps the fear strong.

2:55 He wanted to find a gentle way to rewrite the brain's pathways.

3:00 But how do you rewrite a brain pathway? You can't just open up a skull and erase a memory. And you can't just tell someone to stop being scared.

3:09 No, you can't. But Woolpay discovered something amazing about how our bodies work. A biological rule called reciprocal inhibition.

3:19 Reciprocal what now? That sounds like a complicated math term.

3:24 Reciprocal inhibition. It is just a fancy way of saying that your nervous system cannot be deeply physically relaxed and completely terrified at the exact same time.

3:35 Wait, really? Like if my muscles are completely loose like Cook Spaghetti and I'm breathing slowly, I physically cannot feel panic.

3:44 Exactly. The two feelings just cannot coexist in your body. They cancel each other out. So Woolpay used this rule to invent a new treatment called systematic desensitization.

3:57 Systematic. So that means taking tiny steps, like going through a system.

4:03 Spot on! First, you teach the person how to get into a state of total deep relaxation. They practice breathing and loosening every muscle. Then, you introduce the absolute tiniest, least scary version of their fear.

4:21 So if they have a huge phobia of dogs, you definitely do not bring a huge, loud, barking dog into the room right away.

4:29 Right, that would just cause a panic. You might just start by having them look at a tiny cartoon picture of a puppy while they stay completely, totally relaxed. Their brain goes, wait a minute, I'm looking at a dog, but my body is calm.

4:46 Oh, so the brain is learning a brand new reaction. It learns that the dog means calm, not danger.

4:53 Exactly. And once they are totally fine with the picture, they move up one tiny step. Maybe looking at a video of a dog. Then looking at a real dog from a hundred feet away. By taking tiny, calm steps toward a fear, you are gently retraining your brain.

5:12 That is actually brilliant. You don't have to be super tough. You just have to be super relaxed. Okay, that makes total sense for unlearning fear. But going back to my very first question, why are we so much more likely to develop phobias of spiders and heights rather than cars or electrical outlets?

5:32 Cars move fast and crash all the time.

5:36 It is such a good question, and that puzzle was solved in 1971 by a psychologist named Martin Seligman. He came up with an amazing theory called biological preparedness. What does that mean? Prepared for what exactly? Prepared to survive! Seligman realised that humans have been around for an incredibly long time.

6:01 And for most of human history, our ancestors had to survive in the wild.

6:06 Oh, I get it. And out in the wild, thousands of years ago, spiders, snakes, and falling off cliffs were real ancient threats.

6:17 Exactly. The early humans who were instantly terrified of snakes and spiders were the ones who survived and had kids. So, through evolution, our brains became genetically hardwired to learn those specific fears incredibly fast. We are literally born prepared to fear them.

6:37 Wait, so we are biologically prepared to fear ancient threats. But cars, guns, and electricity are modern inventions.

6:47 You got it! Our brains have not had millions of years to evolve an automatic fear of modern things. We know logically that a car is dangerous, but our amygdala doesn't have an ancient instinct to scream when we see one.

7:03 Wow, so our fears aren't just silly glitches or us being cowardly. They are literally ancient survival tools left over from our ancestors. The alarm is just ringing for the wrong century.

7:16 Yes! And combining Seligman's idea with Wolpie's treatment shows us something amazing and hopeful about being human. Fear isn't permanent, and it doesn't define who you are.

7:29 So if someone has a huge fear of the dark, or talking in front of the class, or going to the dentist, they aren't stuck with it forever.

7:38 Nope. Modern psychology proves that fear pathways can be gently rewired. You don't have to be controlled by your amygdala. Next time you feel afraid of something, you don't have to force yourself to be perfectly brave all at once.

7:55 Right. You can just take the absolute smallest step toward it, while taking deep breaths to stay relaxed.

8:02 Exactly. You just let your brain slowly learn that you are safe. It takes patience, but it works.

8:10 Okay, I have a mind-bending fun fact about this. Did you know that today, doctors use virtual reality to cure phobias?

8:18 Wait, really? Like wearing video game VR headsets in a doctor's office.

8:24 Yeah. Since the late 1990s, psychologists have used VR to treat things like a fear of flying. You can sit safely in a comfy chair, totally relaxed, while a headset makes you feel exactly like you are taking off in a plane.

8:38 That is brilliant! You get to practice reciprocal inhibition and retrain your brain without ever having to buy a plane ticket or leave the ground.

8:48 Technology is so cool. It's like hacking your own brain for bravery.

8:53 Alright, Finn, it is time for the quiz.

8:56 Are you ready? I am ready. Hit me with the questions.

9:00 First question. What is the tiny almond-shaped part of the brain that acts like our fear alarm? Next one. Which psychiatrist invented systematic desensitization in the 1950s? Question three. What is the fancy term for the fact that you cannot be deeply relaxed and terrified at the same time? Here's number four.

9:36 What psychologist came up with the idea of biological preparedness in 1971? Last question. Why are we more likely to have a phobia of snakes than cars? Great job, let's see how you did. The first answer is the amygdala. For question two, it was Joseph Wolp. Number three, the answer is reciprocal inhibition.

10:11 Question four, that was Martin Seligman. And the final answer is, because snakes are an ancient threat, our brains evolve to fear, while cars are too modern.

10:23 You know, I feel a lot better about fear now. It's just my ancient brain trying to protect me, and I can teach it not to worry so much.

10:31 Exactly. We can always learn new ways to be brave. If you loved exploring the brain with us today and feeling a little braver, please leave us a five-star review.

10:42 Yeah, just scroll down and tap the stars. It helps other people find the show so they can conquer their fears too.

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11:07 See you next time on Philosophy is not boring. Bye.