A quote about felt anxiety [*]:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anxiety disorders, including panic disorder with or without agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, specific phobias, and separation anxiety disorder, are the most prevalent mental disorders and are associated with immense health care costs and a high burden of disease. According to large population-based surveys, up to 33.7% of the population are affected by an anxiety disorder during their lifetime.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
One can have a phobia of spiders.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
A phobia is a form of anxiety<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The little spider isn\u2019t the object of rational fear that it will kill or even just bite. The phobia is not about the spider itself but what it symbolizes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With no spider in the vicinity \u2013 physically or mentally \u2013 the phobia is generally not felt \u2015 better said, not consciously<\/em> felt. One can have a phobia for many years without being consciously aware that it even exists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, suddenly, a spider turns up, together with consciously feeling what has always been there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not felt \u2015 as anxiety<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anxiety can be felt in the body, likewise to stress \u2015 for instance, in chronic low back pain. Indeed, one can ask about how closely related are anxiety and stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In coaching, symptom relief may be accompanied by feelings of anxiety as an underlying layer that becomes exposed. It is crucial, then \u2013 for coach and coachee \u2013 to have insight into what is really happening. The anxiety may be an uncomfortable, yet not abnormal side-effect. It is also not a necessary step (catharsis-like), but one should, in any case, be prepared to deal with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anxiety is always about symbolization.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
In contrast to fear \u2013 which has a clear external object such as a strongly venomous spider \u2013 anxiety originates in non-conscious depth, what I call the \u2018deeper self<\/a>.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This deeper self is nothing special. It\u2019s what most of your mental life meaningfully consists of. Eventually, it\u2019s where your sense of meaningfulness originates. Nothing special \u2015 at the same time, pretty special indeed<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet, its being non-conscious means exactly what this says. It is not readily prone to conscious experience. It is not consciously felt in a direct sense. Of course, consequences are consciously felt at any \u2013 conscious \u2013 moment of your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not consciously felt \u2015 as if nothing is there.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Eastern concept of Emptiness<\/a> is more enlightening than Western ideas about the non-conscious up till some half a century ago \u2015 say, Freud and co. Eastern Emptiness is conceptually empty \u2015 meanwhile, full of possibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The last few decades, neurocognitive science has amassed tons of evidence backing it up, even visualizing it. Indeed, one can see non-conscious processing in action with proper scans (optogenetics). This brings it to the realm of hard-core science, even though many silos of applied science (such as medicine, psychotherapy, and the humanities) proceed as if nothing happened. It is not seen, not felt even there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The cause of this blindness itself is anxiety.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
This plays inside and outside of domains of applied science. Anxiety is ubiquitous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A self-defeating consequence is that it hinders the quest to find out about anything related to the deeper self \u2015 even though the latter is relevant to every<\/em> human-oriented endeavor. This way, non-conscious anxiety hinders the being consciously felt of the anxiety itself. Even more, it results in an active turning away from it \u2015 a basic denial<\/a>. That makes things (the \u2018scary unknown\u2019) even eerier and more anxiety-provoking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People are running away from what they don\u2019t know they are running away from. If you try to make them look at it \u2013 trying to help, probably \u2013 you might expect very defensive reactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet, humanity needs to get through this conundrum. It is existentially important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2015<\/p>\n\n\n\n
[*] Bandelow B, Michaelis S. Epidemiology of anxiety disorders in the 21st century. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2015 Sep;17(3):327-35. doi: 10.31887\/DCNS.2015.17.3\/bbandelow. PMID: 26487813; PMCID: PMC4610617.<\/p>\n