Because of man's psychological and biological makeup; living in a terrifying chaotic world and experiencing uncertainty with nature, his life is filled with anxiety ,his mind , body , interpersonal relationships,socioeconomics ,culture ,religion , politics, and nature is associated with inordinate anxiety, stress, tension and conflict . Man is constantly and often unaware of his imbalances and quickly employs rationalization,denial and activity to restore homeostasis..It's the limbic system, with its set of brain structures involved in emotional processing,learning ,memory and motivation .
For homo sapiens, frailty begins with the birth trauma adroitly described by Freud and Rank. This first traumatic experience sets the stage for conditioning future anxiety ,worry and disequilibrium. Simply put, anxiety is related to a threat to one's gratification of ego and physiological needs . It’s a fear or warning and is a cue for impending pain and/or danger. Pleasure and pain found in the limbic system, have been described as major motivations and fear has been skillfully used by authoritarians in controlling and manipulating their flock.
The helpless ,dependent and fragile infant is at the mercy of the caretaker for its feeding ,being cared for ,receiving security, comfort and love.This helpless infant cannot meet its needs independently which results as a major threat to its well -being. It’s an imbalance accompanied by tension and anxiety .
The only significant response of that infant is crying which is not always effective. And ,crying does not reduce that anxiety and tension directly but becomes “associated,’ conditioned ,with the caretaker. This job is a herculean task and with other unsuccessful parenting experiences results in a sense of danger and uncertainty .
That uncertainty is embedded ,remembered and conditioned along with the anticipation of helplessness, powerlessness, frustration, punishment, and discomfort. Erikson called this psychosocial stage -a sense of mistrusting others. It's important for that helpless infant to reduce the painful experiences of anxiety which can only be met or not met by the actions of another with conditioning consequences of fear,anxiety and helplessness.
Anxiety,tension and worry seems to be frequently perceived and experienced with various degrees and intensities. The ego’s goal is to reduce or minimize that anxiety. With development, goal seeking becomes available and is associated with tension, psychic energy, perception, thinking, remembering, feeling, and expectations. Goal attainment might be related to an ego need , physiological desire or an intention . And that desire might either have a positive or negative appeal in various degrees, which can be categorized as being weak, medium or strong.
Man needs to feel secure in his self-esteem. However, those who are striving to be loved or approved of( anxiety) often go to any lengths to have that wish fulfilled,with the goal of reducing that threat . Those , for instance, who feel, or have the conviction of being unlovable (anxiety), spend an inordinate amount of psychic energy in an attempt to protect their self-esteem. However, that desire for affection may arouse fear of dependency and therefore create an emotional struggle. They might unconsciously block awareness of this psychological state and /or disregard every evidence of perceived affection by insisting that the others are unkind and mistreating them in some ways. With this being said, a separation might trigger a state of anxiety or tension, but their unconscious conviction of not being worthy of love interferes with the goal of reducing that anxiety effectively .Their options might include giving in and not taking steps toward self assertion. Those whose anxious strivings are dominated by the wish for success , power or possession have a tendency to shut themselves off from people and to be independent of them
As can be seen, it’s not always easy to reduce the tension because there are barriers, roadblocks, hazards and other conditions interfering with goal attainment. Sometimes barriers can be demolished or easily avoided. Other times they are so strong and formidable that one has to figure out new ways to solve that problem. This means it's up to the ego to reduce that tension or anxiety with energy that imparts a value, creates a formidable force and coping with the barriers that interfere with completing that task
Often with anxiety, ego needs and goal attainment do not always result with all positives. When I was in my early 60s, I made a decision to run the Western States 100. Just thinking about that goal was anxiety producing . I was determined to complete that event because of its challenge which means it had a strong goal valence .Initially, I contacted friends that completed the event and gathered reading materials as well. Thinking, planning, training and goal setting came into play. I did not want to become a Jonah syndrome fatality and allow too much anxiety to interfere with goal attainment ..
Up to that point I had competed four years in Ride & Tie competitions ,had training runs of at least 25 miles and competed in one 50 K. I had to learn about running a 50 mile qualifying event; different training regimens; appropriate running gear, nutrition ,electrolyte balance hydration, pacers ,cut off times; crew , aid stations as well as the barriers and obstacles such as heat ,elevation change, animals,and running in the dark. Needless to say, there were many subgoals and developing new and different strategies along the way all with the presence of tension and anxiety. Paying attention to the dialogue between my ears was important and I made sure to reframe with positives, i.e. one step in front of the other and calculating miles completed were just two examples.
Many ego needs were experienced during that important time in my life. For example, there was achievement, affiliation ,aggression , autonomy ,dominance ,exhibition and succorance. Also, the ego need of abasement was present. I had to deal with and accept the possibility of failure as well as seeking and enjoying pain. In essence, anxiety and fear is associated with competition, setting high standards and excelling in sports.
Because our species experiences ongoing anxiety and it’s a driving force with multiple outcomes, it’s beneficial for the identification of such. The easiest way to determine the presence of anxiety is to pay attention to one’s breathing. Are the inhales(relaxation} long ,deep and slow and the exhales, letting out that tension deep,slow and easy ? It's easy to check by being in the here and now.
To Be Continued
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