Avoid Fear and Fright for a Healthier Life
Fear and Fright
By Ken Lauher
Is Halloween one of your favorite holidays?
I’m a huge fan of it, myself. Candy, cool Halloween costumes, gathering with friends for Halloween parties… I love it all, except when people scare others.
A few years ago, I purchased this mask of a cool ghoul as part of my Halloween costume. But the mask wasn’t as frightening as it was for me to sit on the porch of my friend’s house handing out candy.
Why was that scary?
Women came by and handed me their babies to take a picture. My costume didn’t scare the infants and toddlers, who were too young to know any better, but I couldn’t see a thing! I had a real fear I would drop someone’s baby.
The Emotional Effects of Fright
The emotion we feel when our friends jump out from behind the bushes at us on Halloween yelling, “Boo!” is characterized as “fright.” It’s the same chills we get when we watch a scary movie and view the scene where the evil killer jumps out at the girl entering the basement.
Fright is distinguished from fear by its sudden, unexpected nature. Fright shocks the system, alarms the spirit, and causes your chi or life energy to scatter. Since the heart houses the spirit, fright, particularly in its initial stage, primarily injures the heart.
That’s why the “good” scares we give our friends on Halloween could actually cause a heart attack in someone with a weak heart. It’s why pregnant women and people with heart conditions are warned not to ride roller coasters.
