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  • Most of us have experienced the rush of a big scare - the racing heart, sweating palms

  • and fast breathing. But could these symptoms really --BOO!!!! Scare ya? It’s a full body

  • experience, and it can even feel dangerous at times, but could you really be scared to

  • death?

  • Science suggests that today’s most commons fears stem from the things that most frequently

  • killed our ancestors. Animal phobias like arachnophobia, natural environment phobias

  • like the fear of heights, situational phobias like claustrophobia and blood-injection-injury

  • phobias like the fear of needles are the four most common categories today. And these make

  • sense as most have been relatively consistent threats throughout our evolution. As a result,

  • the genes preparing us to instinctively avoid them became more common, while genes that

  • did not faded away. Chances are, if you have one of these fears, you may have inherited

  • it from your parents.

  • Of course, day-to-day learning also helps shape your personal fears. At the end of the

  • day, it’s not the actual threat, but instead your perception of the threat that controls

  • the amount of fear you will feel.

  • So could it kill you? The short answer is yes. Not to scare you...of course! The chances

  • of being scared to death depend greatly on how healthy your heart is. When youre scared,

  • your Fight or Flight response is trigger and adrenaline is released, making the heart beat

  • quicker to pump more blood and oxygen to your muscles. As a result you become temporarily

  • stronger and faster. But something really scary can kick this into overdrive. Too much

  • and your heart simply can’t keep up, which could damage heart tissue and even stop it

  • from beating all together.

  • Hundreds of athletes have experienced a fatal rush of adrenaline as a result of simulated

  • threats during intense competition. And youre no safer in the stands - studies found the

  • number of heart attacks during World Cup Soccer matches more than doubled in countries and

  • cities where the home team was eliminated.

  • So should you lock yourself away in a closet to avoid all these fears? The truth is, while

  • scientists don’t know exactly who is most vulnerable, we do know that the incidence

  • is extremely low for people with healthy functioning hearts. More food for thought is thought itself.

  • It turns out that training ourselves to think differently about fears can actually reduce

  • the amount of adrenaline they produce.

  • But that’s not always easy - and some people have some pretty crazy fears. In fact, our

  • friend Matthew Santoro just released a video on 10 Extremely Bizarre Phobias People Actually

  • Have, which you should definitely check out! Perhaps you have a fear on that list! Matt

  • makes really amazing fact videos that are sure to blow your mind! Click on the screen

  • to see that video, or you can use the link in the description.

  • And of course, if you haven’t ordered our book yet - what are you waiting for? Well

  • be doing a bunch of giveaways with tons of prizes to those who have preordered, so get

  • your copy now if you don’t want to miss out! Asapscience.com/book. And subscribe for

  • more weekly science videos!

Most of us have experienced the rush of a big scare - the racing heart, sweating palms

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