Anxiety: The Nagging Emotion
Page Three
Just as there are many causes for headaches, there are also various causes for anxiety. The symptom is most effectively relieved by eliminating the true cause. That calls for a broad, comprehensive look at the problem—careful diagnosis.
Health Factors
Anxiety and nervousness are often caused by physical disorders. They can also be exacerbated by inappropriate medication. For example, when Jeff became ill, the doctor prescribed medication to help ease the pain. Jeff soon experienced a more troublesome problem than pain. He was not able to relax enough to get a restful night's sleep. When his medication was reviewed and changed, the anxiety disappeared. In addition to side effects from certain medications, there are now some excellent medications for treating anxiety. Since anxiety may be a medical problem, a medical specialist should be consulted immediately in any prolonged case of severe anxiety.
Mrs. T., a fine Christian woman, became so upset and anxous that she could scarcely function. She saw a counselor and discussed her problem with Christian friends. But nothing seemed to help. Becoming worse, she resorted to her family medical doctor. Still no help. Finally, she sought out an endocrinologist (medical doctor who specializes in glandular functions). After extensive tests he pinpointed the cause of her emotional problems, prescribed treatment, and she gradually improved. Now she is relatively free of the nagging anxiety and chronic nervousness she suffered for so long. Her problem was actually physiologically oriented.
As the Twig Is Bent
It's a fact of life that we are what we have been becoming. No one suddenly sprouts a personality. And rarely does a person have a case of "instant maladjustment," or "instant anxiety."
Let's look then for a moment at some of the problems of childhood emotional deprivations that can create anxiety and other problems. Parents of infants and young children need to be reminded that the early years of personality development can be critical. They can establish lasting patterns of tranquil relaxation and enjoyment of life, or, on the other hand, the opposite.
When a child comes into the world, he has certain needs:
One is to be loved and wanted. He needs to hear his parents tell him every day that he's loved, that they're so happy because God gave him to them. And the child needs to be hugged and shown affection for what he is; not so much for what he does.
 There is in all of us the need
to feel we are worthy human
beings, that we can contribute
something to our world.
The need to belong. God made us with an intense desire to be a part of something significant. It was God who set people in families to meet each other's needs. A child needs more than the same surname and his parents' address. His inner needs call out for acceptance as a loved member of the family. As such, he will be disciplined when the occasion calls for it, but even this will make him feel that he is cared for and that his parents love him enough to want him to be happy and productive as he grows up.
The need to feel worthwhile. There is in all of us the need to feel we are worthy human beings, that we can contribute something to our world. If we're going to grow up reasonably well-adjusted, we need to feel confident that the world can be a better place for our having journeyed through it.
It is in childhood when these and other basic needs should be met. But in many homes, perhaps most homes, they are not.
Tommy was fortunate to grow up in a family where his basic emotional needs were well met. Consequently, his early years were happy and relaxed. Naturally, he had the normal ups and downs of childhood, but essentially his life was satisfying. As he entered into manhood, he took with him wholesome feelings and a healthy self-image that stood him in good stead. He was relatively confident about using his God-given abilities. He felt comfortable with others. And consequently, he was not plagued by anxieties and insecurity.
Prevention Is Important
It is difficult to bring about major changes in behavioral patterns after they have once become established. Remember the so-called "psychotic" monkeys years ago at the Seattle World's Fair? They really weren't psychotic; they had "personality disorders." This happened when Dr. Harlow removed them from their natural mothers as soon as possible after birth. Their feeding needs were served by "surrogate mothers" (cloth skins stretched over wire netting with exchangeable bottles of warm milk inserted into their frames). The baby monkeys grew strong and healthy physically, but their behavior was strange; they did not act or play like normal monkeys. Among other things, when they became older, they demonstrated little or no interest in mating.
When a few of these monkeys were induced to mate and have offspring, the mothers showed almost no interest in their babies. No amount of retraining was able to build into these adult monkeys the traits possessed by normal monkeys who learned them naturally during the critical periods of development. Since they lacked normal contact with their mothers, they grew up emotionally unhealthy.
We humans aren't as set in our ways as monkeys, and with insight, professional help, and spiritual assistance we can resolve many of our childhood problems. But it doesn't happen overnight, and it is much better to have our needs met correctly as infants and children than it is to work out the kinks later.
 Continued on Page Four
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