Feldenkrais (2002 pp. xliii-xliv) has this specifically to say about the role played (or not played) by energy in determining the nature and course of human behavior (especially sexual behavior). He argues against any theory of sexuality that is based upon the notion that sexual and emotional responses can be addressed as forms of “energy”:
The energy analogy does not hold good for emotional urges because there is no question of energy here, but of forms of action. Aggression is a form of behavior, not an energy. There is no such thing as dammed-up aggression that increases in pressure until the dam breaks down and aggression flows freely It is a great mistake to think that it is dammed-up aggression that produces neurotic behavior.
If energy is not the dominant way in which to understand and explain human behavior, then perhaps we have to turn to anxiety as a critical determinant. Or is it energy intertwining with anxiety that tells us about the ways in which we behave—or at least something about the behavior and ailment(s) of our Tin Man.
The Sources of Anxiety
When we are considering the nature of ailments that have befallen the Tin Man and keep him frozen, we must not neglect the second major ailment. The Tin Man believes that he doesn’t have a heart. In addressing this ailment, we must once again ask if what the Tin Man has reported is true. We know that he might have been frozen in place by disruption in his flow of energy rather than some rain rusting him in place. Similarly, he might actually have a heart but either does not have access to it or is denying its existence. This lack of access or denial can readily be attributed to the presence of powerful and repressive anxiety.
Just as the Tin Man’s energy might have been flocked by anxiety, so might his relationship to a heart that resides within him. This heart is the site of emotions that the Tin Man might find to frightening or overwhelming to accept. His heart is also the site of courage and of aspirations that he might now want to accept as part of himself. Fortunately, we have the right people on our diagnostic team. It is in the focus on anxiety that we find the richest and most insightful analyses offered by both Reich and Feldenkrais. Furthermore, they are among the most insightful analysts regarding the impact of anxiety on the ability and willingness to move forward with courage and aspiration.
It is therefore appropriate that we listen to what Reich and Feldenkrais have to say. We turn first to Feldenkrais.
Sources of Anxiety: Feldenkrais
A review of the observations offered by Feldenkrais in his extensive writing reveals two major ways in which anxiety is produced and experienced by each of us. These two sources are aligned with the observations made by several other health care practitioners who specialize in the treatment of psychosis and trauma. Feldenkrais’s two sources relate to the infantile fear of falling and the lifelong failure to complete an act that would thwart a threatening attack. I turn first to the fear of falling.
Fear of falling [Loss of support]: Feldenkrais (2019, p. 61) identifies a source of anxiety that was earlier considered by Harry Stack Sullivan to be of central importance.
Download Article 1K ClubTo sum up, the inborn fear is that of falling. The anatomical structure makes it imperative that the next fear that can be sensed is that of loud noises. The unconditioned sensation of anxiety is elicited by stimulation of the vestibular branch of the eighth cranial nerve. All other fears and sensations of the anxiety syndrome are therefore conditioned. The basic pattern of all fear and anxiety is the irritation of the eighth cranial nerve through at least one of its branches. The fear of loud noises is not inherited and not instinctive. In all normal infants, however, that reflex will be the first conditioned one because of the similarity of their anatomy.
