What is Subconscious Anxiety?
Anxiety. Yes, we all have it from time to time. Chances are, we’ve all said the following to ourselves:
“Gosh, I feel so on edge today, but I’m not sure why.”
“I just can’t seem to concentrate. I feel like I’m in a brain fog.”
“I totally flipped out at my kids after dinner tonight…how come?”
Most of the time, a weekend of rest or a supportive discussion with your partner gets you back in the groove. But you will not be alone if you find that the above occurrences become chronic. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, anxiety is the most common mental illness in the US.
A person can be described as having subconscious anxiety when they sense that something is wrong, but they are not fully aware of the specifics of their condition or the source(s). Fortunately, there is an effective treatment. Long-lasting relief involves bringing what is unconscious into conscious awareness, then patiently working through the underlying causes of anxiety.
Subconscious Vs. Conscious Awareness: An Overview
The term 'unconscious' is most closely associated with Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. However, the general idea has been present in the minds of philosophers and other great thinkers for hundreds, if not thousands of years. The concept of the unconscious mind is a key element in Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality as well as his contention that it was a major factor in many mental disorders. It should be noted that Freud initially used both the terms 'unconscious' and 'subconscious,' partially because of the similarity between the two words in German. Although he came to prefer 'unconscious,' both are used interchangeably.
Although many of Freud's ideas were considered controversial at the time, his emphasis on the power of the unconscious mind is now largely accepted by all psychotherapeutic disciplines, including cognitive psychology. A great deal of complex cognitive processing occurs at the subconscious level. Thanks to new wave frequency techniques that can objectively measure brain activity and related mechanisms, recent research has revealed that the subconscious has extensive control over actions, thoughts, emotions, and behavior.
So, what makes certain memories and feelings remain in the realm of the conscious, while others are pushed into the subconscious mind? It's partially a function of how the brain needs to be organized in order to complete the literally thousands of tasks and behaviors required on a daily basis. Imagine if each memory, skill, and thought were in our conscious awareness at all times 24/7. We as human beings wouldn't be able to complete even the simplest of daily tasks. The brain needs to be selective in what it must focus on.
It's not completely clear as to how conscious thoughts and desires get pushed into the unconscious (repression). Similarly, it's up for debate as to how unconscious motives move into conscious awareness. In the realm of psychoanalytic (aka psychodynamic) therapy, the desires and memories that are pushed down into the subconscious are those that may be painful, traumatic, or not unacceptable according to the rules of current society. It's very often those 'under-the-surface' fears, emotions, memories, and desires that are laying the foundation for subconscious anxiety.
Symptoms of Unconscious Anxiety
Unlike other anxiety disorders, unconscious anxiety can be difficult for the casual observer to recognize. There is typically no specific 'trigger' to the worry or fear. One of the most common symptoms is being constantly distracted, or easily overwhelmed. Individuals may also have trouble making decisions, even on simple choices such as what clothing to wear. Constant undercurrent feelings of inner turmoil, dread, and nervousness persist.
The medical and physical symptoms can be quite serious. They can include the following:
Muscle tension
Stomach pain, digestive trouble, diarrhea
Increases in heart rate, blood pressure
Sleep problems, such as insomnia, frequent nighttime awakenings
Rapid breathing or shortness of breath
chest pain
Excessive sweating, sweaty palms
Headache
panic attack
Nausea
Most difficult is that the above symptoms can be attributed to many conditions other than anxiety, including medication side effects. All too often, precious time and expense are wasted on the search for other diagnoses.
Anxiety can also manifest itself in cognitive/behavioral symptoms, such as:
Chronic indecisiveness
Impulsivity
Acting out
Racing or intrusive thoughts
Violent behavior
Negative emotions
Perfectionism
Thus, a very treatable mental health condition can lead to major problems in social interactions, work tasks, relationships with significant others, and overall life goals.
Anxiety Root Causes
Anxiety may occur due to a combination of childhood events, inherent personality traits, and past experiences. Adverse events can certainly play a role in anxiety symptoms. Although traumatic childhood experiences (such as abuse, loss of caregiver, abandonment) are considered to be adverse events, other occurrences can have a major negative impact on mental health, such as war, environmental crises, or poverty. It wouldn't be surprising if future studies determined that the COVID-19 pandemic should be considered an adverse childhood event.
Inner Conflict and Defense Mechanisms (...and it's not just about sex)
Even Freud supported the concept that anxiety was not strictly about repressing (pushing down) sexual urges. His followers, contemporaries, and even many of his detractors concluded that anxiety may be rooted in a host of intense traumatic experiences, feelings, and fears at the unconscious level. Patients may be trying to resolve numerous inner conflicts, such as physical or psychological pain, anger, insecurity, or loneliness. Some of these feelings may be too overwhelming to address. Because of this, individuals may start relying on defense mechanisms to create an inhibitory effect on unconscious impulses that protect us from anxiety or painful memories. Some of the many defense mechanisms are described below:
Repression: Pushing down painful feelings or memories.
Reaction formation: Exaggerating a positive emotion to help repress the opposite (such as being excessively kind and friendly to someone you dislike).
Intellectualization: being excessively factual or logical about dealing with painful issues without acknowledging the hurtful effects.
It's important to note that, on some level, we have all utilized defense mechanisms in different ways in the past. They can be quite beneficial to daily life. Over-reliance on defense mechanisms, however, can backfire by causing a vicious cycle of trying to push away negative feelings, further intensifying defensive behaviors, and so on. This can easily lead to further compromises in physical and mental health.
Bringing Internal Conflicts into Conscious Awareness
Many psychotherapists feel that virtually all internal conflicts reside in the unconscious. Furthermore, it's not entirely understood whether other forms of anxiety (such as phobias, panic disorder) contain a subconscious component. How is the unveiling of unconscious feelings and fears accomplished?
Free Association and Dream Analysis
In On the Paradoxes of Freedom, we have an example of how personal discoveries of a patient [Dan] emerge with the help of free association and dream analysis. Free association often begins with the patient saying the first thing that comes to mind. The therapist may ask questions and make observations on occasion. When sharing dreams, the patient need not worry about making sense of the often-disjointed characters and situations that reveal themselves.
"What is “free” about free associations is that they are relatively free of the self-conscious need to make sense, and the need to censor overly stimulating feelings. Dan let his mind go where it may, but his verbal associations were anchored by the contents of the dream and the feelings, images, and thoughts they evoked." Nicholas Samstag (para. 2)
Eventually, recurrent themes and patterns emerge, creating opportunities for growth. Usually, the patient then is able to gain insight into previously unconscious feelings of fear, anger, sadness, etc. An integral part of alleviating symptoms is figuring out how defense mechanisms and related anxiety might be serving the person. Then the therapist can assist the patient in working through their psychological difficulties.
Transference
Transference means that the nature and patterns of past relationships (particularly caregivers) have an impact on subsequent relationships. Similarly, current ways of thinking are influenced by past perceptions. As part of working through the issues, the therapist becomes in a sense a "springboard" for the discovery on which to explore new ways of thinking and interacting with others. Thus, the development of a trusting positive therapeutic relationship and good "dyadic (or 2-person) fit" is critical for success in treating subconscious anxiety.
In-Depth Exploration
To truly address the complex and amazing entity of the subconscious, all aspects of the person's strengths and vulnerabilities are explored during therapy sessions. Present as well as past experiences are considered so that the patient can construct a personal narrative of important life events. These explorations are facilitated by the therapist through the careful building of a positive therapeutic alliance.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCE: In-Depth Psychology
Getting Better
All types of anxiety can be overwhelming and extremely destructive. However, subconscious anxiety is particularly troubling because first, there's a good chance that you have 'made the rounds' with all types of health professionals, with no meaningful progress. Second, as with most psychological difficulties, no two problems or people are the same. Making the decision to address your anxiety can be a most difficult step, but one that you will benefit from in the long term.
For further questions contact Dr. Nicholas Samstag, Ph.D. In addition to subconscious anxiety, he has extensive experience working with people who have the following types of anxiety and anxiety-related disorders:
Irrational fears and phobias
Panic disorders
Anxiety with depression
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Dr. Samstag is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst living and working in New York City. Nick's many services include individual and couples’ treatment, consults, and virtual psychotherapy. He also offers supervision to doctoral psychology students, psychoanalytic candidates, and psychiatry residents.