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You will become an explorer
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into the mysteries of life
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Why are we attracted to one person
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and not another?
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What happens when we confront
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our darkest fears?
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Can we ever become young again?
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What are the limits of human endurance?
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Celebrate the power of the human spirit
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in its relentless pursuit of knowledge.
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The more we know,
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the more powerful we become.
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Explorations
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(narrator)
On Explorations
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Tervor tries to beat his fear of heights
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with a controversial therapy
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(man 1)
In that situation, we won't let you go
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(Trevor)
Please, please
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(narrator)
Jackie confronts her nightmare.
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(Jackie)
I'm terrified.
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(narrator)
a feather
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And we meet Ryan,
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who loves rollercoasters
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but is petrified of flying
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The human race
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has survived on Earth for many reasons.
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One of the most important
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is our ability to feel fear.
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A primitive emotion
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which prepares the body to run or fight
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in the face of danger.
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When a threat appears,
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the brains fear center,
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the amygdala
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snaps into action
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it sends signals to the adrenal glands
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triggering a massive release
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of adrenaline.
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Adrenaline speeds up the heart
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and makes us breathe deeply
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creating a surplus of oxygen rich blood
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which is diverted to our muscles
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now they're charged springs
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waiting for a decision:
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fight or flight?
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This powerful natural instinct
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is a life saver
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if you're confronted
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with a deadly threat.
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But what happens when it goes wrong
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and turns into a phobia?
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Jackie Kelly has had an irrational fear
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of birds and feathers
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for as long as she can remember
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(Jackie)
I went to see my doctor
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and I asked him
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if there-there was anybody
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that he could send me to.
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He looked at me as though I was crazy.
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(narrator)
Jackie's fear of birds
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stops her from doing many things
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with her young daughter.
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When Angelina wants to feed the ducks,
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she has to go with her grandmother.
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(Jackie)
Last year, when we were on holiday,
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um, in Tenerife
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I took Angelina to the beach.
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One pigeon landed
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it-it was probably about
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100 yards away from us
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but I couldn't stay
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I just upped and legged it.
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And it wasn't until I got past the hotel
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that I realized
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God, I've left my child on the beach
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she's only three,
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she's there on her own.
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Apart from being frightened
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of the birds and feathers
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my biggest fear is something happening
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to my daughter
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because of me.
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(narrator)
But just how intense is Jackie's fear,
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when she sees a feather?
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She's agreed to be wired up
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to a heart monitor,
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to find out.
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Her normal rate
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is about 80 beats per minute.
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(Jackie)
Oh God, no, no.
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(narrator)
But when she sees a feather,
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her heart goes haywire
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as adrenaline shoots through her body.
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(man 2)
Do you want help?
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Do you want help?
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(Jackie)
Yea.
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(man 2)
Yea?
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(Jackie)
Yea.
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(man 2)
Okay, can you put the screen up please?
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(narrator)
How can anyone be petrified
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by something as harmless as a feather?
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The answer probably lies
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with a traumatic experience
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Jackie suffered as a young child.
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On a visit to her grandmothers house,
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she found herself in a room
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with a trapped bird.
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(woman)
It was just going all around the house
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flying anywhere.
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It was scared.
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The bird was more scared than we was.
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But you was terrified.
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(narrator)
This trauma created powerful links
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in Jackie's brain,
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between feathers and danger.
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The resulting phobia
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threatens to condemn her
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to a life indoors,
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away from birds.
