Fear is often thought of as a negative emotion but is actually a natural protective response to perceived threats or danger. It helps us survive. When we experience a situation that causes fear, it becomes stored in our brain as a fear memory. These fear memories prevent us from touching a hot stove after being burned or from stepping onto a busy street.

What about fear memories that take over? Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is caused by severe acute or chronic stress that disrupts the learning process designed to suppress fear memories. These memories then begin to negatively affect a person’s quality of life.

Typically, our fear memories can be suppressed through extinction learning. The original memory or fear isn’t forgotten, but a new memory is formed and suppresses the original fear memory. However, extinction learning can become tricky in situations that involve traumatic memories.