553 PRIMAL FEAR ...

Did you ever think to differentiate between surface and primal fear?  Whereas surface fears may be reasoned with, primal fear is limbic in nature, meaning that one of three basic instincts gains control over the mind to such a degree that the thought processing center shuts down.  Once primal fear commands center stage, today's experience may be mistaken for one that took place sometime in the distant past, causing the mind to freeze, flee or fight as though yesteryear's trying times might extinguish one's hold on sanity if not life, itself, today.  Think a person is over reacting?  Drop surface judgments in favor of questioning why ... As in why did Annie, who'd longed for Joseph's embrace, instinctively beat this lovesick boy all around his head?

If you were to ask, Annie, today ... why that happened, she'd most likely pause before replying knowledgeably:  Our brains are pre-programmed to respond valiantly when attempting to save us from repeating experiences, which proved painful.  The more tortuous the pain the more vigorously does the defense system pounce before being trounced.

if you've never thought to differentiate between surface fear and primal fear, now might be the time to experiment with expanding narrow mind sets resulting from childhood's frightening experiences, which darken our perceptions of he or she or this or that ... indefinitely ... unknowingly ...