Glossary

Short, plain-language definitions of the terms used across Bravelight.

Adrenaline

A hormone released under stress that speeds the heart and readies the body for action — the fuel behind the fight-or-flight surge.

Catastrophising

A thinking pattern that jumps straight to the worst possible outcome and treats it as the likely one.

Graded exposure

Facing a fear in small, ranked steps rather than all at once, so the nervous system learns the situation is survivable.

Parasympathetic response

The body's 'rest-and-digest' state that counters fight-or-flight — the calming system that slow breathing helps activate.

Premeditatio malorum

A Stoic practice of deliberately imagining what could go wrong, to reduce its power and prepare for it — the root of fear-setting.

Stretch zone

The space just beyond your comfort zone where a challenge is manageable enough to face and where growth actually happens.