Tag: dc comics

audreycritter:

unpretty:

i know that generally when it comes to scarecrow’s fear toxin/gas/whatever the favored interpretation is scary hallucinogen/really bad trip with a lot of “oh no everything is monsters” BUT LIKE personally i think it would be interesting if he just bypasses all of that and skips right to triggering the physiological mechanisms of fear. like if he’s isolated the part of irukandji syndrome that causes feelings of impending doom, or found a drug that kicks the

amygdala

into high gear to trigger panic attacks (i know that i am oversimplifying this but it’s comic book logic so whatever). so instead of

EVERYTHING LOOKS LIKE MONSTERS TRYING TO KILL ME AND THAT’S TERRIFYING

it’s

I DON’T KNOW WHY I’M SO SURE YOU’RE ALL TRYING TO KILL ME BUT THE WORST PART IS THE ANTICIPATION, MY WHOLE WORLD IS JUMPSCARES NOW

but tbh my reasons are mostly self-indulgent because i would find it hilarious if batman got gassed and then kicked crane’s ass anyway, leaving crane under the impression that batman is immune to fear, but actually batman is just already hypervigilant and prone to catastrophic thinking and has a lot of practice dealing with panic attacks

I love this AND I’ve also toyed with the idea of toxin triggering deeper, more psychological fears. And this makes a lot of sense for trauma survivors with coping mechanisms because that kind of trauma actually has a physical effect on the brain– the reason trauma survivors can seem so on edge is not some vague, little understood thing. It’s that their brain’s neural pathways have been rewired to keep them in a near constant state of fight or flight. So, without coping mechanisms (and even with them, but better managed), basically EVERYTHING is considered by the brain to be a threat. Someone hugs you? Your heart pounds because WHO KNOWS. Someone starts music in the other room? Your hands are sweating and you want to bolt because MAYBE IT’S DANGEROUS. 

Learning to train yourself down from these reactions actually rewires neural pathways, again, but takes a lot of effort. And the exhaustion from dealing with the extremely high stress levels your body is mass-producing as part of the fight or flight process tends to make people seem: detached, overwired, or hyper-calm until they explode, or ALL THREE depending on the time/day/company. 

So, this DEFINITELY makes sense for Bruce Wayne. 

And if you personally are completely wiped out after a trip to the grocery store or a dinner with friends or a party or a class at school, and you’re a survivor of trauma or abuse, this might be why: your brain might actually be telling your body that you are in a life or death situation every single time a minute thing in your environment shifts and your body just cannot keep up.