Dopamine and Fear

Dangers come but dangers also go and when they do, the brain has an “all-clear” signal that teaches it to extinguish its fear.

Dopamine released in an area of the brain helps extinguish fear by activating reward-related neurons in the amygdala.

In simple words, if you are Dopamine deficient or living in a Dopamine deprived world such as now, you are always going to have fear related anxiety.

Parts of the brain drive the brain’s positive learning process during fear extinction, rather than simply suppressing fear.

Disruption of this part of the brain impairs the ability to unlearn fear - which means, you are always on edge, anxious or prone to panic attacks.

If Dopamine works well, calm is restored post a stressful/ fearful situation, but prolonged anxiety prevails or even post-traumatic stress disorder continues when it doesn’t.

++++ Dopamine is essential to initiate fear extinction. ++++