Living behind tall cement walls and barbed wire fences can be a fearful place for anyone experiencing prison for the first time. The body lets a person know when there is a threat and the impact fear has on a person’s health, according to a report published by The Center for Biosimilars.

The report said fear is a natural response to physical or psychological danger. Most of the constant fear people experience is the brain recognizing the danger and preparing a person for the best chance of survival.

“The potential effects of chronic fear on physical health include headaches turning into migraines, muscle aches turning into fibromyalgia, body aches turning into chronic pain, and difficulty breathing turning into asthma,” said Mary D. Moller, director of psychiatric services at Northwest Center for Integrated Health.

Somebody who gets locked up for committing a crime against a woman or a child may feel fearful for hours, weeks, or even years, depending on the culture created by the incarcerated population.

The Center for Biosimilars pointed out that holding onto fear for an extended period cannot only affect a person physically, but it can also play a large role in the emotional, environmental, and spiritual health of a person.

The report listed three predictable stages a person’s body experiences when responding to external events. The alarm, resistance, and exhaustion stages, also called the general adaptation syndrome triggers the sensory system and wakes up the brain.

During the alarm stage, the body identifies something external as a danger. The brain then activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal and the autonomic nervous system, noted the article. At the same time, the release of cortisone, adrenaline, and noradrenaline stress hormones allow the body to deal with the threat.

In the resistance stage, the body uses this period of recovery for repair while stress levels decrease, the report noted.

The third stage is exhaustion. This is the stage where stress has continued to signal the sensory system in the brain that danger is still imminent. This stage is also known as burnout, overload, or dysfunction.

Ever try to learn something or recall something from the past but can’t? Moller said fear makes the brain hyperactive causing distortion in how information is stored and retrieved.

“The brain’s capacity to retrieve previous learning is dependent on specific chemical states,” said Moller. “Chemical alterations can distort perception of sensory information thus distorting storage.”

There are many short and long-term physical, emotional, environmental, and spiritual consequences of chronic fear.

Emotionally, chronic fear creates a space for learned helplessness, mood swings, obsessive-compulsive thoughts, and disassociation from self, the article stated.

According to an article by Calm Clinic, the uncertainty that stems from constant fear can potentially keep a person from leaving a violent relationship or household, unable to leave from fear of associated dangers. Another consequence could be paranoia.

When it comes to spiritual consequences of chronic fear, those can range from a loss of trust in God, a person waiting for God to fix it, bitterness, and despair of perceived loss of spirituality.

“When fear becomes chronic, it suppresses our immune systems, making us more vulnerable to the effects of infections, but by targeting your stress levels, you can reduce the suppression of your immune system,” the Calm Clinic article said. 

To minimize the effects of chronic fear, try exercising to decrease the amount of adrenaline while promoting “feel good hormones” which are natural mood boosters. A regular sleeping schedule gives the body time to fight infections and boost the immune system, the article reported.

Calm Clinic recommended that meditation could ease stress, chronic pain, cancer, asthma, sleep problems, and depression.

“Fear serves an essential function, keeping us safe. This was particularly useful in the past when we often encountered predators. Though, nowadays, there isn’t the same level of risk,” the report stated. “Yet, millions of people around the world suffer from chronic fear/anxiety.”