A PICKED LAST STORY
How to overcome fear in frightening situations using science
Why fear holds us back and what we can do about it
Three weeks ago I crashed my mountain bike. I was navigating a sizeable drop into a steep switchback and carrying too much speed. As I entered the corner, I tried to scrub off speed. Braking hard, I was way off my line as the front wheel dug into some roots. Panicking slightly, I braked harder which brought the rear wheel into the air. At this point, I knew I was heading over the bars, so I “stepped off” and ejected myself to the side of the trail. Using gymnastic abilities that I didn’t know I possessed, I managed to land on my feet! Only to then slip on the steep muddy bank at the side of the trail and crash to the ground squarely on my backside.
It would have been funny if my Coccyx hadn’t slammed into a rocky outcrop. A bolt of pain ran down both my legs, followed immediately by going slightly numb. Which was terrifying, for a moment, I thought I’d done something far more serious. Once I got my breath back, I stood up and realised that, thankfully, I was merely bruised, embarrassed and pissed off.
I’m fine now, but I have been sore and stiff for a good 20 days. I have ridden a few times since; choosing to ride trails that are easier and that I know I can ride. However, I have been timid, cautious and slow. Partly because I was still in pain, but mainly because I was afraid!
I despise feeling too scared to do something I want to do. It’s incredibly frustrating when fear holds you back.
Everyone has experienced the feeling of fear at some point in their life. Many people seem to believe that fear and ability are linked. People often state that they cannot do the things they are afraid of. Perhaps you too have experienced the feeling of being too scared to do something? If you, like me, don’t want to be held back by fear, let’s go on a journey together to understand what makes us fearful and what we can do about it!
I should stress that — obviously — I am not a doctor, biologist or psychologist. I have included links to my sources where possible for you to explore if you wish. With that disclaimer out the way, let’s get stuck in.
What is fear?
Fear is one of our body’s fundamental reactions; it is an emotion that has evolved over millennia to protect us from perceived threats. We fear things that can hurt us and are hard-wired to avoid things we find frightening.
From an evolutionary standpoint, this has worked out pretty well for us as a species. However, our fear mechanisms can become overactive. We sometimes irrationally fear things that aren’t actually going to hurt us. Mountain biking does have an element of danger, and so being fearful isn’t entirely irrational. Still, it is frustrating when you want to progress.
Fear or rather overcoming fear can be extremely satisfying. Some of the chemicals involved in fear responses are also present in other emotions such as happiness and excitement. When we survive something that scares us, we often feel triumphant directly afterwards.
So, we understand what fear is, but where does it come from and how does the body react in situations where you are afraid?
Where does fear come from?
There is some debate as to whether fear is physiological or psychological. Some researchers believe anxiety is a physical response, something that all mammals feel and can be scientifically measured. Others believe that fear is a human construct that exists primarily in our minds.
In oversimplified terms, let’s explore how the various parts of the brain handle fear. The external stimuli presented to us is dealt with by the Thalamus, which receives impulses from your body’s sense receptors. The brain then sends sensory information to the Amygdala. The Amygdala is responsible for deciding how our bodies should respond and makes decisions using context in the form of memories from the Hippocampus.
Regardless of where anxiety comes from the effects of fear are incredibly tangible. We’ve all felt afraid at some point or another! Intriguingly, everyone has a unique sense of what they find scary. Similar to pain thresholds, fear is deeply personal and what scares one person does not scare another.
We learn to fear situations in which we have previously experienced pain or stress. This process is known as fear conditioning. We can also learn to fear by observing the behaviour of others, which is called social fear learning.
The concept of learned fear intrigues me. If we learn to fear, it must be possible to teach ourselves not to be afraid.
Once we become afraid of a situation, our brain attempts to protect us if we reencounter the same scenario. For example, suppose you slip over on icy ground. You’ll understandably feel some anxiety when next presented with a flight of frosty steps.
How fear affects you during sport
While being cautious when crossing an icy car park might be useful. In a sporting context, the effects of fear can have a negative impact.
Typically when were are afraid, our heart beats faster, and our muscles feel weak. We find it hard to concentrate, and we can feel dizzy or frozen to the spot. Our muscles become extremely tense. These feelings prevent us from performing at our best when most sports require us to stay relaxed and loose. Of course, a small amount of fear can be beneficial. As adrenaline flows and blood rushes to our muscles, a reasonable level of anxiety brings us into a ready state, preparing us for action.
What I want to avoid is the more extreme levels of fear that paralyse us and prevent us from performing to our best. With that in mind, let’s explore what the science says about overcoming fear.
How do you do overcome fear and do something that scares you?
The crux of overcoming fear and pushing through something that scares us is to regulate our emotions successfully.
The first technique I found for moving past fear is called extinction. While that sounds dramatic, “extinction of fear” simply involves repeatedly experiencing a previously negative event without the adverse effect. For example, if a dog had bitten you as a child, you might be afraid of dogs. Spending time with well trained, mild-mannered dogs would help you to be less fearful of all dogs.
Extinction does not replace the original fear; both responses exist together and how you respond is mainly due to the context in which you receive a stimulus. The more frequently a positive outcome is experienced, the stronger the conditioning becomes.
The next technique is called active coping. Active coping is effectively avoiding the circumstances that make us feel afraid. I think most of us can relate to this. For example, the mere idea of karaoke makes me sweat, so I avoid it at all costs! That’s all good and well for something that you have no desire to do, but when you are trying to do something that scares you, active coping isn’t an option!
The third technique is cognitive emotion regulation which uses the power of thought to alter and regulate our emotions. The goal of cognitive emotion regulation is to either change our interpretation of an event or to focus our attention on a less fearful aspect of the situation. The fantastic thing about our brains is that we’re able to manipulate our appraisal of a challenge and change our emotional response.
The final technique is relatively new and quite intriguing; it’s called reconsolidation. Every time we retrieve a memory, the underlying impression in our mind becomes malleable for a short time before a consolidation process happens and the memory becomes permanent again. The reconsolidation process provides a window of time to disrupt the memory.
Unfortunately, the only way to disrupt a memory is by using medication. In lab conditions, researchers have shown that Propranolol can impair the reconsolidation of fear memories. Techniques like this can help people suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Which is incredible, but seeing as we cannot be popping pills trailside, this doesn’t help!
Let’s look at ways we can turn the science into actionable steps.
How do you apply these techniques?
The two techniques that I think are worth trying to use, particularly in a mountain biking context, are fear extinction and cognitive emotion regulation.
First, to overcome our fears, we need to repeatedly do the things we find scary in a safe way until they are no longer frightening.
This type of fear extinction works because familiar things become boring. The formal name for this process is habituation. Habituation occurs due to the strength of responses of our nervous system decreasing after repeated exposure to the same prompts.
In the past, if I encountered something that scared me and had a negative experience, I would too quickly write it off as impossible. I would avoid repeating the situation and build resentment at my perceived inability. I want to change this, my plan — both on the bike and off — is to break challenges that cause me anxiety down into smaller parts that I can repeat in a controlled way. In a trail context, I’ll repeat sections until they no longer scare me. (I’m still not doing karaoke, ever.)
Changing how you interpret a situation that causes you anxiety, I think, is more complicated. In the past, on a mountain bike, I have attacked myself for being afraid. I have forced myself to try, pushed myself too far beyond my skill barrier and then had a crash and reinforced my fears.
In the future, I plan to take more time to walk trails and allow time to ride tricky sections repeatedly. My goal is to break things down into more manageable chunks rather than one scary whole. In this Pinkbike video, it’s interesting to watch Enduro Word Series #1 rank Jessie Melamed pause on tricky parts of the trail and analyse them. At one point he brings the bike with him to the edge of a challenging section because that makes it “look more doable”. I’d argue this is a creative form of emotion regulation; he’s actively reassessing the trail to create a new narrative.
In summary, I want to control my emotions better, accept that fear is natural and gradually progress with less pressure on myself. I’m trying to remember that I should embrace fear and that I should push my limits but in a safe and controlled way.
