Fear, Dread and Anxiety
Level I
Fear arises as a primitive reaction before sudden, threatening phenomena such as the forces of nature, catastrophes, physical pain, sudden death, or the authority of
power. This type of reaction shows that reflection is totally absent, or is very weak. The individual is either immobilized by his fear through a paralyzing concern with his survival, or acts only to protect himself, regardless if it means harm to others.
Level II
Fears and anxieties arise from lack of directive dynamisms. Fears are not defined but take the form of fears of closed or open spaces, or are occasioned by cyclicity of moods, feelings of helplessness, loneliness, or an indeterminate fear of death (ambivalences). Fluctuation of feelings of inferiority and superiority, or feelings of shame before others give rise to anxiety. We observe coexistence and cooperation of fear and depression. The environment has strong influence as a source and shaper of anxiety (second factor). In a different way, the presence of others may induce weak manifestation of altruistic behavior. Self-control and self-awareness are totally absent or weak. There may be alternation of fear and short-lived courage (ambitendency). With positive progress of unilevel disintegration one can observe an increase in the role of psychological factors, such as beginnings of reflection, even precursor forms of subject-object in oneself, attempts at control of fears and anxieties, also some growth of sensitivity to fears experienced by others.
Level III
Beginnings of alterocentric and altruistic anxieties. Appearance of existential fears and of fear of death. In reflection on their origins and nature we observe beginnings of control of fears of lower levels and of transforming them into fears of higher level (hierarchization). Unmotivated fears and apprehensions also appear but combined with reflection.
Astonishment works through surprise as to the origin of fear and upon reflection, surprise that one should be afraid, and at other times, clear realization that one ought to be afraid.
Disquietude is manifested as a concern about the level of states of fear, for instance, by suddenly realizing that one may fear more the loss of one’s health than of a loved person. Such disquietude, as a rule, raises the developmental level of fear. Under the influence of this dynamism fear loses its biopsychological cohesiveness. It becomes subject to criticism, self-awareness and self-control. The temperamental and egocentric component of states of fear is being reduced. One becomes anxious over the fact that fear has often a paralyzing effect suppressing existential experience.
Feelings of inferiority toward oneself introduce differentiation between lower and higher levels of fear, and lead to significant analysis, disintegration, even pushing out of primitive states of fear to the margin, and slowly working out a transition toward altruistic fears. Disquietude over primitive types of fear and
affective memory of such primitive fears causes a feeling of inferiority toward one-self, thereby creating the need to move to higher anxieties, such as the existential. Feelings of shame and guilt play a considerable role in overcoming fears of lower level, their primitive dynamic and primitive symptoms. As a result, the altruistic elements of fear can be more freely expressed: fear for others, the feeling and need to help others in their states of anxiety; fear is now much stronger.
Dissatisfaction with oneself establishes a line of demarcation between primitive fear resulting from instinct of self-preservation or selfishness and fears of a more alterocentric character. Primitive fears are thus transcended through strong discontent with them. Dissatisfaction leads to constant readiness to counteract the pressure of primitive fears. It acts prophylactically against being seized and controlled by a primitive state of fear.
Positive maladjustment, besides being an attitude of discontent with primitive states of fear, engenders the formation of methods by which to counteract such fears. Primitive states of fear are brought under control while alterocentric elements begin to play a bigger role. It was known to the ancient Greeks that the object of fear is fear itself (Tillich, 1967). In the experience of fear one can face it deliberately and attempt nothing to prevent its intensification. One may be tempted to consider that by getting up, going out for a walk, talking to someone in the family, or by other actions one could shake off the fear, but instead one may let it grow, develop before one’s eyes in order to face it to the end, so that fear would be overcome by looking straight at it, by a kind of passive awareness. At other times one can fight fear by the above methods of active dispersion. Another method is practice of a form of “mental indignation”, or “mental shouting”, as a kind of impatience with oneself for letting oneself yield to fear as something less human.
Creative instinct brings new contents into states of fear. The “new” can be expressed on the hand by attitudes of curiosity toward fear (introduction of elements of analysis and intuition), and on the other it may express an urge for active transformation of experienced fear to other kinds of fear, usually of higher level, as for instance, into alterocentric and existential fears, and thus gain control of primitive states of fear. The element of curiosity brings complexity into the experience of fear and leads to the discovery of its new dimensions, such as anxiety, dread, or terror, even agony. My patients expressed it in many different ways, as for instance: “I have fear of my fear, but I let it grow, I let it try me, whether it will weaken my self-awareness, whether it will be stronger than me, or whether I will know more about it when I catch it in its weakness”. Many have experienced a kind of saturation with fear which leads to an altruistic transformation. Killing fear for oneself makes room for a new kind of fear -- a fear for the sake of others. The content of fear is expressed in painting (e.g. Goya), literature (e.g. Kafka), or music, especially in modern music (e.g. Penderecki). One observes
the beginning of a positive attitude toward fear, or even its friendly acceptance (e.g. Kierkegaard).
Identification and Empathy express identification with the fears and anxieties experienced by others and an empathic willingness and readiness to help them by either attenuating or removing their fear or by helping them to see its significance in their development.
Level IV
Altruistic anxieties, including moral anxieties in respect to others, begin to develop. There are anxieties in face of one’s own imperfection or inadequacy, empathic anxieties in regard to the death of others, existential anxieties over difficulties of reaching empirically to transcendental experience.
Self-awareness and Self-control have strong alterocentric components, therefore, in states of fear they do not allow the individual to be overcome with concern for his own self-preservation, or be reduced to thinking only about his own safety. These dynamisms are responsible for the abandonment of the primitive level of fear and the development of alterocentric fear characterized by identification with others and active desire to help others in their fears and anxieties. In addition, the individual develops a friendly, accepting attitude to anxieties of a higher level, those which are alterocentric and existential.
Subject-object in oneself acts to control and weaken fears of lower level through an objective scrutiny. The state of fear, the object of fear and its source are examined with penetration. Fears and anxieties experienced by others are understood more clearly not only in terms of those one has experienced oneself but also as experiences of extreme and intriguing subjectivity of others.
Third factor affirms and selects those fears and anxieties which are altruistic, existential, or even cosmic, and rejects fears which are selfish, temperamental, or psychosomatic.
Inner psychic transformation operates closely with subject-object in oneself and with third factor in changing states of fear by clearing them of everything that is not alterocentric, social, or existential. This is achieved by repeated objective testing of fear tensions at a lower level for increase in sensitivity to concern for others and for the direction of one’s own and their development. Lower levels of fear are thereby sensitized to more evolved concerns and transformed to fears of a higher level. In consequence primitive fears are inhibited and eventually entirely eliminated.
Education-of-oneself and Autopsychotherapy supplement the transformative work carried out by all other dynamisms. The result is an intuitive readiness for action and giving of oneself to the needs of others who are burdened by fears which they cannot overcome. The problems of fear and the distress of anxiety are
dealt with in the context of personal development as a whole. At this level of development only in exceptional cases there may be a need to develop a systematic program of dealing with one’s anxieties and fears, because rarely do they become debilitating. This would come more readily from excess of empathic sensitivity to the fears experienced by others and their existential despair than from any other source.
Identification and Empathy. The primary element in fear is altruistic concern, care for others, for those who are weak, easily frightened and taken advantage of by others. In consequence states of fear are not subject to the instinct of self-preservation but express, instead, social concerns, understanding and readiness to help.
Level V
At this level there are anxieties over one’s own imperfections, anxieties of not knowing the absolute, anxieties arising in states of strong psychic tension connected with the search for philosophical and mystical yet empirical solutions. Anxieties arise as a result of difficulties in reaching these solutions.
Autonomy and Authentism are expressed by a total control of all primitive states of fear. Responsibility, care for others and for things of “higher order” become an all-inclusive alterocentric concern.
Responsibility acts against any elements of egocentric character which could find their way into operations on this level. Responsibility here is, in fact, a readiness to protect others, while the experience of fear is evoked only through affective memory. Responsibility is present at a sustained level of concern for all those fears and anxieties which others experience both at lower and at higher levels, but especially for the fears suffered but those who are wronged and humiliated.
Personality Ideal finds its expression by a very direct and spontaneous readiness for sacrifice, for protecting others from fear and from any harm or evil. Example, Dr. Korczak, a Polish educator, went into the gas chamber together with the children of his orphanage telling them stories so as to spare them the fear of death (Dąbrowski, 1972, p. 120).
Empathy. It is clear from the above discussion of other dynamisms that empathy is a strong all-pervading component in each one of them.
