Review: First Mapping of Extinguishing Fear in Humans

Researchers have for the first time mapped the extinguishing of fear responses in humans — and discovered that it is contextually dependent.

Fear is a topic that comes up often in my daily business be that in life coaching or business coaching but also as a general theme for coaches and those in the developmental space. This is because the effects of fear are dramatic either on cognitive processes, how it blocks and inhibits individuals and businesses, and how it impacts human wellbeing. It is also commonly discussed in psychology and neuroscience journals because of the negative and dramatic impacts of conditions such as PTSD and anxiety on individuals and society.

We also know — and this dates back to the legendary Skinner — that fear can be conditioned. We can build associations with a stimulus that generates an emotional response, in this case, fear. This can therefore lead to an “irrational” fear anchored on a specific stimulus.

In the case of PTSD this can lead to a debilitating condition in which fear is constantly and regularly activated with all the negative impacts that this entails.

But the good news is that we also know that fear can be extinguished. This is achieved…