“I locked eyes with the conductor. He looked at me and his
face said ‘You’re about to die.’ It was the fear in his eye. I believed it.
There was fear in his eyes and I felt the fear. I hit the brakes and slid.
My car spun sideways. When I finally came to a stop the train
continued on and I could have reached out my window and touched
the train I was so close to it. I think I sat there for probably 20
minutes, then I put the car into gear and drove on.”“Where did you go?” I asked her.
“Oh...I went to the mall.”
Most people in a situation like this would have been
panicked. Lara’s ability to stay calm in a chaotic situation helped
her to avoid the train plowing into her car and to go calmly about
her day afterwards. There is a reason people say they are “paralyzed
with fear.” As we learned inChapter 2, the fight, flee, or freeze
response leads some people to freeze in fear. This would have
prevented Lara from acting.
After listening to Lara’s story, I wondered what a life with-
out fear might be like. I mean who reallywantsto be afraid? I came
across an episode of one of my favorite podcasts,Invisibilia,that
happened to focus on fear. According to their website,Invisibilia
“explores the intangible forces that shape human behaviors.
Things like ideas, beliefs, assumptions and emotions.” The pro-
gram’s name is Latin for “all the invisible things.” The fear episode
features a woman (they refer to her as SM to protect her identity)
who suffers from Urbach-Wiethe.^2
Urbach-Wiethe, also known as lipoid proteinosis or hyali-
nosis cutis, is a genetic condition characterized by both skin and
neurological lesions. It’s incredibly rare with fewer than 400
reported cases since it was first discovered by two medical doctors
(Erich Urbach and Camilo Wiethe) in the late 1920s.^3 Because of
a mutation of a particular chromosome there is a buildup of hyaline
(a transparent protein) in the body. The result is a variety of symp-
toms including dry and scarred skin, eyelid papules (little raised
bumps on the skin), a hoarse voice, scarring of the skin, and in some
cases, it can result in hardening of brain tissue as well. For SM,
Urbach Wiethe resulted in her amygdala becoming calcified. The
result is that SM is incapable of feeling fear.
In a rare interview,^4 SM describes in an extremely hoarse,
childlike voice, experiences that would cause profound horror in
most of us. Yet, she relates them in a shockingly matter-of-fact way.161 / Super Power or Super ProblemDownloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Access paid by the UCSF Library, on 11 Nov 2019 at 14:18:43, subject to the Cambridge