Anxiety and Fear are basic responses to perceived threat. As the energetic level of these feelings increases, higher level competencies become hard to sustain. Our mental energy shifts from intelligent activity to the need for safety and survival. Our most pressing need slips down the ‘Maslow Hierarchy’, away from ‘self-actualization’ towards self–preservation (safety needs) and protecting ourselves from harm (physiological needs). As it does so the source of our motivation shifts from the ‘neocortex’ or higher brain functions to the ‘sub-cortex’ which manages our primitive responses.
We can think of this as a temporary loss of social and relational skills.
As the Basal Ganglia becomes most active, social skills, thinking and dialogue skills are reduced, and basic reactions take over. Psychologically available options reduce to:
- Freeze (a response to feelings of terror)
- Flight (panic)
- Fight (rage)
When we are in a ‘half-way’ state there may be a mixed response. There is a more strategic element to the child’s behaviour as they try to accommodate these uncomfortable feelings by ‘displaying’ these types of response without being as yet overwhelmed by them.
Thus:
- ‘Mild’ Terror leads to refusal, rejection and disconnection as a precursor to freezing
- ‘Mild’ Panic leads to avoiding, hiding, movement, and hysteria as a precursor to flight
- ‘Mild’ Rage leads to shouting, arguing, movement, and verbal attack as a precursor to fighting
Dealing with displays driven by ‘basic fears’:
These overwhelming urges to flight, freeze or fight are often short-lived. We respond to ‘perceived’ threats, and these are often imaginary. For children, safety and security are provided by adults whom they trust. When we see these ‘primitive’ emotions we know the child does not feel safe, and our focus needs to shift to providing, immediately, a sense of safety. Other issues must wait, because a child cannot respond to complex social interventions in this state.
We can recognise that the child’s communications skills at this time are weak and that includes listening and hearing correct meaning.
What we say needs to be adjusted towards short sentences, without complicated ideas.
We can ask ourselves (and the child) these sorts of question:
- How can I make this child feel safe, right here, right now?
- What is the most reassuring thing I can say?
- What is the most reassuring thing I can do?
Perceptions can change quickly once the child is reassured that they are safe and secure. This will be much easier if we have already grown a positive relationship with them. The factors which triggered the panic, terror, or rage attack will need to be addressed through follow-up casework.
