It is quite understandable that Feldenkrais points to the fear of falling and the accompanying motoric (physical) responses, for his work always returns to the basic impact of physiology and movement on human feelings (and thoughts). He posits the following (2019, p. 61):
Fear and anxiety are here seen to be the sensation of impulses arriving at the central nervous system from the organs and viscera. We shall see later that all emotions are connected with excitations arriving at the vegetative or autonomic nervous system or arising from the organs, muscles, etc. that it innervates. The arrival of such impulses to the higher centers of the central nervous system is sensed as motion.
Ironically, and sadly, little attention has been given to Sullivan’s emphasis on the fear of falling nor Feldenkrais’s proposal that falling is closely aligned with anxiety. It is disappointing to note that this fundamental fear which is to be found in all of us has found little acceptance in the mental health and physical health community. There is much that can be formulated regarding the way in which a fearful parent might find their fear transferred to their child when the child is being held. A nervous cradling of the child can lead to their fear that they will be dropped and that their parent’s instability could easily lead to an increase in the child’s own sense of insecurity. There may be a fear not only of physically being dropped, but also being dropped emotionally.
Does the Tin Man, for instance, fear his emotions because they will leave him vulnerable. Standing alone in the forest, does the Tin Man anticipate that there will be no one to “catch him” when he “falls” in love, hate, despair, hope, etc. Perhaps the mere presence of Dorothy, the Scarecrow (and even Toto) is sufficient to help the Tin Man reclaim his heart. He might not have to travel to Oz for this reclamation to take place.
Failure to act [freeze]: There is an important theory regarding trauma that suggests we are traumatized because of our inability (often as a child) to complete the act of thwarting the attack by a hostile entity (Levine and Frederick, 2009). We are hit by a “bully” or by our irate parent—and can do nothing about it. Even more dramatically, we are raped by an adult member of our family or are severely beaten by an abusive parent. We are weak and can do nothing about it.
Martin Seligman (1991, 1992) would suggest that we feel powerless and hopeless. Furthermore, there is no one else coming to our rescue or helping us in the future to avoid the attack. The world appears to be quite hostile. We are passive recipients of whatever the punishing world has to offer us. This becomes the “perfect storm” for a lingering trauma and accompanying state of lingering anxiety. The anxiety, in turn, produces physical and mental health impairment.
Download Article 1K Club
