We can probe for a moment into the neurobiological basis of collective (and contagious) signaling anxiety. In recent years, neurobiologists have recognized the very important role played by a specific neurotransmitter in the lives of human beings. This neurotransmitter is oxytocin. It is sometimes called the “bonding” and “nurturing” chemical – and we human beings have more of this chemical coursing through our brains and veins than most other animals. Oxytocin pulls us together and makes us particularly fearful of being alone and isolated from other members of our family and clan. We want to be close to others and feel threatened when others feel threatened.
This secretion of oxytocin could be considered the basis of empathy and might even be mediated by something called “mirror neurons” which are activated in us when we experience the wounding (physical or psychological) of other people. While the role played by mirror neurons is still quite controversial, there is very little dispute regarding the typical (and necessary) bonding of human beings with one another and the high level of sensitivity regarding our discomfort with witnessing the potential or actual suffering of other people with whom we are bonded – hence the contagious and signaling nature of anxiety.
Real and Imagined Lions
Clearly, we are attuned to the signal of threat transmitted by other people. This signal can be based on “legitimate” threats: the lion can be stalking us or the tribe living in the next valley can actually be plotting to take over our hunting ground or pastureland. However, as made famous by Robert Sapolsky, we are also quite adept at imagining lions—and falsely concluding that our neighboring tribe is plotting against us. Thus, there can be “false alarms” that we have to manage with just as much skill as the alarms based in reality.
Part of our challenge while living in a VUCA-Plus world is to discern the difference between valid signals and invalid signals. As parents we need to help our children sort out the difference between the “real” bad things in life and the “unreal” monsters lurking under their bed at night (equivalent in contemporary life to the imaginary lions of the African savannah). As mature adults, we similarly have to assist with addressing the imagined VUCA-Plus monsters lingering under our organizational and societal beds.
Once we discern that a “lion” is real, then we must choose how best to engage this lion. As Wilfred Bion suggests, it is tempting to choose fight, flight, or freeze. If we try to discern the best strategy of engagement in a setting that is neither stable nor safe that we are likely to regress to one of Bion’s three primitive strategies. None of Bion’s strategies make much sense as a way to confront any of the VUCA-Plus challenges. Each of these challenges signals and generates its own special form of anxiety. Volatility, for instance, signals anxiety associated with surprise, while ambiguity signals an anxiety associated with confusion, and contradiction signals an anxiety associated with tension. As a child we are frightened by the monsters of surprise, confusion and tension.
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