Fire together, wire together: If you see something while simultaneously experiencing a physical reaction or feeling of fear, that image becomes linked to "fear" within your nervous system, forming a memory.

This is why some children who grow up around snakes don't associate the image of a snake with fear, and naturally, they aren't afraid of them.

If a memory of "fear" is formed when we are very young—before our language skills have fully developed—then within our nervous system, there is only the image of the fear linked to the physical sensation and reaction, without any linguistic understanding.

This can lead to situations where, as adults, we feel afraid of something but cannot explain why. Have you ever had an experience like that?