Someone's reaction is wildly disproportionate to the situation actually in front of them.

Neuroception — Porges's term for the primitive brain's unconscious safety evaluation — reframes irrational behavior as a perception-circuit error, not a character flaw. The safety readout runs before consciousness gets a vote: "Neuroception takes place in the primitive parts of the brain, beyond our conscious awareness." This is the mechanism behind phobias, panic with no trigger, and trauma responses in safe rooms — and why telling someone "there's nothing to be afraid of" never works. Recalibrate the circuit and the behavior follows; lecture the mind and nothing moves.