“Fear leads to anger, anger leads to suffering…” The words of Master Yoda. Does fear always lead to anger? It is certainly a legitimate question. Surely the source of the fear would have a big relevance? Some people will predominantly respond to a fear situation with anger as it is seen as challenging what they see as a form of personal weakness. They get angry at the thing that makes them scared, almost whistling at the dark.
Fear is a natural response to a threat, whether that treat is real or imagined. It is a response that comes from the most basic part of our brain, the limbic or reptile brain. A lot of fears can be learned responses, and some are just triggers of self-preservation.
When dealing with fear a lot of people do get angry, though that anger is not always directed outwards. Sometimes, that anger is internalised and aimed at the self for being afraid of something, though this could easily become self-disgust or self contempt. Just as easily fear can become relief, excitement, grief, anguish, or delight. Once again we come to the cause of the fear.
Looking at a couple of scenarios: we have a person working for a large company that is not doing well in an economic downturn, instantly you get a mood of apprehension for the future. Being called to a one to one meeting with the management that apprehension can become fear. It is a response to a perceived threat to personal well-being. The situation can go one of two ways. The person is told that they have lost their job, they have been made redundant. The person may well react with anger, why have I been selected for redundancy, that could easily lead onto disgust over the way they have been treated and contempt for the ones making the decisions.
Perhaps the person has been told that they are going to be kept on when their colleagues have not. That can lead to a form of guild called survivors mourning.
Look also at the deceiver. Fear of discovery is one of the factors that makes a deception discoverable, followed by the emotion that is shown after the fear. What about that smile and flash of happiness we know as duping delight? The little flash of a smile when they think that their lie has been believed. Fear can elevate further if that lie has been discovered, leading to that flash of righteous anger, “how dare you challenge me?”
Fear can even lead to excitement. A roller coaster works on this very principle. People boarding that roller coaster right up until the first drop may be fearful. People will demonstrate a lot of the signs you expect to see in fear. The flight or fight response. Pallor caused by the blood running to the limbs and organs, increased heart rate and respiration, dilated pupils and even the sweats. Very quickly this changes to excitement, enjoying the ride and burning off all that adrenaline in excitement.
Fear can lead to practically every other emotion. Understanding the cause of that fear can give an understanding of what to expect next.
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