Unpleasant and Dangerous Experiences
Babies are a blank slate, just beginning to learn how to interact with the surrounding environment via movement – even before they emerge from the womb – because movement is essential for survival. They will need to be able to move to avoid danger, to find food, to reproduce, and to take care of their offspring later in life, among other reasons. What is also important for our survival is to not put ourselves in danger, and that seems to be an instinct that often develops much more quickly than our ability to move or do anything else.
If you ever find yourself in a “dangerous” situation – for example, your careless attempt to kick a ball has resulted in the over-stretching of certain muscles – your body will receive a signal from the special sensors within the affected muscles (muscle spindles), indicating that the movement you just performed should be avoided or modified. Your body will also let you know that you went a bit too far by producing a painful sensation near the area in question. Believe it or not, the pain signal doesn’t originate at the affected spot; it is actually a feedback signal produced by your brain and transmitted by the nervous system, usually in response to mechanical, chemical, or thermal stimuli that indicate abnormalities at particular regions of your body.
Ain’t that something?! But, wait, that's not all.
Our brain actually records these cases, storing them for future reference. Can you, for example, recall that time you fell off your bike and dove into the ground so hard you saw stars? How much time did it take you to get back on the bike again? Even if you got back on right away, you probably didn’t ride it as fast as you used to – and I bet there are people who never got back on again.
That acquired feeling of fear is our brain’s honest attempt at protecting us from endangering ourselves again. Even long after the unpleasant bruises and scratches fade from our memories, the fear holding us back from performing a potentially dangerous action may remain. It will be as real and as tangible as a physical obstacle.
Some people can’t explain why they’re afraid of dogs; they just are. Perhaps their brains know something that they don’t know or something they’ve forgotten. They don’t need a clear recollection of what happened a long time ago. That’s the beauty of our self-evolving and self-regulating defense systems with which our bodies are equipped. Isn’t it great to have a friend who warns – or even physically stops – you from repeating your mistakes or who helps you avoid harmful situations? Sure, I suppose, but, sometimes, it can be quite intrusive. Your body can be so overprotective that it will hold you back from enjoying yourself just to keep you safe.
A grand collection of subconscious, long-forgotten memories rules your world. From your early tip-overs, when you were mastering your first steps, to your recent muscle strains from rearranging the furniture, everything gets added to the collection of potential alarms and restrictions, so it’s no surprise that our playfulness decreases with age. It’s not that our bodies don’t enjoy movement anymore, they just consider that the calculated risk of harming yourself outweighs the mild excitement produced by the movement. We end up being limited by an invisible barrier consisting of uncontrolled and often unfounded worries.