Fear of Anxiety or Addiction to Anxiety

Anxiety-plagued people are familiar with the phenomenon; they know exactly that an earlier panic-inducing situation will recur and lurk like the rabbit in front of the snake at the next appearance of fear. And this then does them the favor and comes on time, reliable and with all their life-destroying gifts. This may be a little cynical, but it indicates that the expectation of fear has some auto-suggestive power. You look for the fear, as it were, and when you finally find it, you get a self-acknowledgment: I knew it.

Fear is something reliable. Many may wish that everything is as reliable as their own fear. After all, you always panic when a particular situation occurs. Who has ever seen a phobist leave the dental practice with the thought, 'Well, now I forgot to be scared to death'. We have to admit that it's a tremendously strong and reliable impulse. This impulse comes from within, from within ourselves. A dentist asking us 'please open your mouth'; we have all experienced that. Adding 'and now, please fear very terribly' rather not. There is nobody outside of ourselves that triggers the fear. We do it ourselves, unwillingly, unconsciously but still ourselves. This may intimidate, but it also implies that it must be possible to turn off the fear - if we did turn it on.

There is also a special phenomenon associated with anxiety that is often overlooked or at least underestimated: the craving for anxiety. We are used to associate addictive dangers first and foremost, with pleasant substances or activities. If cocaine gave us a rash, migraine, herniated discs and make us impotent, who would be tempted to give it a try? The beginning of an addiction is usually a positive stimulus, a changed body feeling, beautiful dreams, energy boosts and more. And yet, there seems to be an addiction to anxiety. A theoretical basis for their understanding offers the so-called post-traumatic stress syndrome.

People who have had a trauma often report special appearances that occurred during that time. The driver still sees how this other car comes with enormous speed at him, but cannot remember anything that happened afterwards. Apparently, a gracious inner impulse made him switch off his conscious perception. He did not have to experience it while awake and without anesthesia; the steering wheel breaking his ribs and bits of broken glass dribbling into his skin. The pain comes later, after waking up in the hospital. At the moment of the trauma, the organism is swiftly flooded with narcotic substances, which, like anxiety, come from within.

A trauma, especially when it comes with strong emotions, can lead to flashbacks, as they are known as a result of drug use, too. The reaction is internally automated and is deliberately no longer controllable. Eventually, something appears in my life that reminds me, in some way, of the trauma - and the flashback is triggered in the form of a panic reaction. For example, a woman is raped by a man with a strange body odor. She may encounter a similar smell in a harmless situation again, that triggers the fright flash.

A form of addiction seems to have developed when such a woman unconsciously, repeatedly finds herself in situations that causes traumatic memories and triggers corresponding flashbacks. If the whole thing took place in an underground car park, it is possible that despite her fear, she will enter underground garages and will always be caught up in the horror, although fear usually leads to an avoidance strategy.

The theory of post-traumatic stress syndrome now states that the enormous release of hormones in the acute situation can lead to immediate dependence on one's own endorphin. If the hormone is broken down over time, withdrawal symptoms set in, causing one to look for the dangerous situation again. The trauma has to be repeated in order to regain the endorphin level one has become dependent on. In case you avoid such situations at any cost, nightmares can perform a similar function.

The fear loses its protective function and becomes the mere trigger of the desired endorphin release. Of course, such a trauma must be severe in order to trigger corresponding consequences. However, similar consequences can happen even if there are frequent repetitions of less severe traumas. Once, I was laughed during my public lecture; I may consider this as a beginner's baptism of fire. If it happens repeatedly, it will have humiliating effects. Well, you might think, nobody is forced to give public lectures. This danger can easily be avoided. But what if I screw up every professional challenge, if I am repeatedly rejected by possible love partners or regularly in defeat in conflicts? The emotional component of personal defeats may well cause a trauma with comparable effects as the "big one".

Fear becomes chronic and in some way, a necessary part of life. Whether I know what triggers it or not, does not matter anymore. Whether I panic, have fear losing control or fall into shock, the key to overcoming them lies not in the therapeutic work on the fear itself alone, but in the simultaneous treatment of the unconscious dependence on the trauma.

Fear is the symptom, not the cause. The trauma is the cause. It can cause both anxiety and addiction. Taking this into consideration makes the treatment more complicated, but also more successful. Avoidance concepts are not sufficient if the addiction is controlled by everyday occurrences. Alcohol, underground garages and drugs can be avoided. Unknown people, who are sitting next to you in the bus and whose body odor reminds you of the trauma, cannot. The goal must be an active coping strategy which when successfully applied, not only allows the difficult situation to be mastered, but also neutralises the original trauma through the internal reward system in the form of dopamine release.

Experiencing the ‘I did it’ feeling does the work. Dopamine is what is released at the same time in the body.