Future events are uncertain, and it is this uncertainty and unpredictability that leads to a lot of distress. Fear of uncertainty is related to fear of losing control. When we feel like we are not able to control the outcome of future events, we anticipate disaster. This can be very anxiety-provoking, especially for those who find any uncertainty intolerable. They start to worry excessively and try to take control of the situation by doing anything they can to get away or avoid the unknown. This will lead to even more anxiety and exhaustion.
This fear is rooted in children’s early anxieties and their need for safety, which forms at the very beginning of life and continues into adulthood. These primitive anxieties are linked to infantile hunger and fear of dying, combined with anxiety about abandonment and separation from the carer. These survival anxieties are manifested in infants’ crying, screaming and muscle tension, and these anxieties can be reduced or eliminated when carers attend to the needs of the infant.
If these anxieties are not contained or modified by the mother/carer because of her own psychological difficulties, these primitive emotions turn into panic/panic attacks.
These anxieties, which often continue into adulthood, give rise to feelings of insecurity and helplessness. When adults find themselves in anxiety-provoking situations, the fear they experience and feelings of helplessness and powerlessness can replicate feelings experienced during early childhood. Therefore, when we are faced with an event that is uncertain, the fear can become so unbearable that we try to deny it, repress it or do anything we can to eliminate it. It can be extremely difficult to bear such feelings and acknowledge our sense of helplessness instead of trying to avoid these feelings.
Although early experiences influence the intensity of fear associated with losing control and the fear of death, it is crucial to bear in mind that this fear seems to be part of human experience regardless of the circumstances.