APRIL 2024 BLOG POST

THE CHAOTIC WORLD AND ANXIETY

Recent history has been marked by a series of chaotic events across the globe, spanning political, social, environmental, and economic domains. Here are some examples:

1. COVID-19 Pandemic: The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, emerged in late 2019 and rapidly spread worldwide, leading to widespread illness, death, economic disruption, and social upheaval. The pandemic overwhelmed healthcare systems, triggered lockdowns and travel restrictions, and sparked debates over public health measures and vaccination efforts.

2. Political Turmoil: Various regions have experienced political instability and upheaval, with protests, revolutions, and conflicts erupting. Examples include the protests in Hong Kong against Chinese government influence, the ongoing civil war in Syria, political unrest in Belarus following disputed elections, and the coup d'état in Myanmar.

3. Climate Change: The impacts of climate change have intensified, leading to more frequent and severe natural disasters such as wildfires, hurricanes, floods, and heatwaves. These events have caused widespread destruction, displacement of communities, loss of biodiversity, and economic damage, fueling debates over climate action and environmental policies.

4. Cybersecurity Threats: Cyberattacks have become increasingly sophisticated and prevalent, targeting governments, businesses, and individuals. High-profile cyber incidents, including ransomware attacks on critical infrastructure, data breaches, and social media manipulation, have raised concerns about cybersecurity and digital privacy.

5. Social Unrest and Inequality: Societal divisions, exacerbated by economic inequality, racial injustice, and political polarization, have fueled protests, riots, and civil unrest in many countries. Issues such as police brutality, systemic racism, and economic disparity have prompted calls for social justice reforms and sparked debates about the role of government and law enforcement.

6. Geopolitical Tensions: Geopolitical tensions between nations have escalated, driven by competition for resources, territorial disputes, and ideological differences. Conflicts and diplomatic standoffs have arisen in various regions, including the tensions between the United States and China, Russia's annexation of Crimea, and ongoing war with Ukraine and conflicts in the Middle East.

7. Technological Disruption: Rapid advancements in technology, including artificial intelligence, automation, and biotechnology, have disrupted industries, reshaped economies, and raised ethical concerns. Debates over data privacy, digital surveillance, and the ethical implications of emerging technologies have intensified.

These chaotic events reflect the complex challenges facing the world in the 21st century, underscoring the need for global cooperation, effective governance, and innovative solutions to address pressing issues and promote stability and progress.

All of the above events have created much anxiety and fear in many people who are not familiar with some of the theoretical aspects of Chaos Theory. Here are some examples of such reactions we may experience:This theory has emerged out of the studies of the unpredictability of weather.  The ‘crazy’ and unpredictable patterns of clouds, winds etc, gave scientists a major discovery: that there order underlying chaos. 

From all this chaos we experience a desire to organize our life by many ways if we do not have some order in life we feel a sense of anxiety that scientists say originates in our limbic or animal brain, a small brain that has the capacity to insure that we survive in times of danger. We fight, escape, or play dead or become immobile. However, in our modern society, such basic animal instincts do not serve us to deal with the complexities of life and the human brain then develops all sorts of “protections” to feel safe in times of danger (either imaginary or real) The discovery of Chaos theory has brought a clearer understanding of how to deal effectively with anxious states.

According to Chaos Theory, if you expand the context (field) far enough, in other words stay in process, you will find a definite new order in the chaos. If you allow the ‘disturbing’ energy to flow it will re-order by itself and a new or novel order will reveal itself out of the disturbance. This process in Gestalt therapy is called CREATIVE ADJUSTMENT.

 BUTTERFLY EFFECT

Therefore, what we call anxiety, the chaos theorists call THE UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE. Nothing in life is certain. All life is changing and flowing. In this sense, we experience very small changes every day and the accumulating process of change will eventually create a major shift or a major problem/crisis. This phenomenon is called the butterfly effect.

 Managing uncertainty may be an effective way of dealing with anxiety states emerging from the field. However, most of anxiety we experience is managed in ways that are not always useful and need more flexibility. Here is an example of ways people manage their anxiety.

 

The Dabbler – (anxiety to complete a task) This person may begin with great enthusiasm, commitment to something new and exciting is foremost. However, the high energy of the ‘fore play’ soon looses its value and the man begins to judge the effort as ‘too hard’, ‘not good enough, any time’ and so on. Then he begins to search for a new high. Deflector.

 

The Obsessive – (anxiety to have everything right) He wants the ‘best possible’ deal. He takes on tasks, duties, books, tapes and videos to keep on ‘learning’ obsessively. He will not be able to tolerate a ‘plateau’ but pushes himself to the limit. His goal is action, action until gets totally exhausted and then withdraws. Retroflector.

 

The Path of Least Resistance – (anxiety to be independent or self sufficient) He is willing to maintain the momentum and stay at the plateau indefinitely. He thinks he can ‘skip’ certain stages of development and go on. He does only enough to maintain a semblance of work with the minimum of effort. Under further pressure, he runs away. Confluence or Desensitization

 

    The Path of Endless Climaxes – (anxiety to make a commitment) this is a very common ego trip. This person follows the idea that life must be one climax after another. All is “out there” - Fast sports, bungee jumping, parachuting, getting to the ‘top’ first, quickie love affairs and so on. Finally there comes burn out, depression due to stress and loss of energy. Retentive or projector.

 

   The way of the “shouldist”  - To be the best person possible  

    Introjector   -    Believe and follow what ever "they" told you as THE TRUTH    

 

The above examples are not meant to be the answers to dealing with anxiety states but are ways to understand the processes of searching for solutions and gestalt therapy is most effective as Fritz Perls, the father of Gestalt therapy said: ANXIETY IS CONTACT WITHOUT BREATH…..and lack of oxygen to the brain creates a fear of dying.