The Close Cousins Of Anxiety And Apathy.
How is a close cousin of anxiety apathy?
Well, they are actually related.
Humans are fundamentally driven by a need to care about themselves, their loved ones, their communities, and their future. It is the irony of selfless and selfish. Rhetoric claims anxiety and apathy are so far apart. But really, they are from the same family.
So, how are they the same?
Anxiety is rooted in our connection to existence and consciousness. As existentialist philosophers like Søren Kierkegaard and Jean-Paul Sartre suggest, anxiety is the dizziness of freedom. It is the vertigo we feel when confronted with the boundless possibilities and responsibilities of our existence.
Kierkegaard, in his work “The Concept of Anxiety,” describes anxiety as a fundamental part of the human experience arising from our awareness of our own freedom. We are overwhelmed by the infinite choices. That’s where the paradox of choices originates. This sense of freedom brings with it the existential dread as we grapple with decisions and their consequences.
Jean-Paul Sartre, in “Being and Nothingness,” expands on this idea. He asserts that anxiety is a natural consequence of the human condition because of freedom. For Sartre, anxiety arises because we are “condemned to be free,” constantly confronted with the necessity to choose. Sometimes, it’s not the choice that’s crippling, but the responsibility it brings. This constant dreadful state of decision-making, with its inherent uncertainty, leads to a profound sense of unease.
Martin Heidegger further explores this concept in “Being and Time.” Heidegger speaks about “angst” (translated as anxiety), which he distinguishes from fear. This is also similar in psychology. Angst, for Heidegger, is not about specific threats but about the deeper, more pervasive sense of disquiet that arises from confronting the “nothingness” of our existence.
This anxiety reveals the fundamental uncertainty of our being and the inherent potential for meaninglessness.
Apathy is the opposite reaction to anxiety. It often appears as a withdrawal from intense engagement. When the emotional and cognitive load of anxiety becomes too great, some individuals may retreat into a state of indifference. Apathy is often a defense against distress, not true disinterest. This may be interpreted as a retreat from existential freedom. Often, this state of apathy is a defense mechanism. It allows individuals to avoid the emotional turmoil associated with their profound freedom and its responsibilities.
This paradox highlights the impossibility of true indifference in the human experience. Even when people seem apathetic, there is often an underlying anxiety driving that behavior. From this complication, the human condition involves a continuous balancing act. It requires managing concerns and intensity of any anxiety. All the while striving to live authentically and meaningfully.
The family ties of apathy and anxiety teaches us that to be human is to care.
Apathy is an avoidance of the pain and suffering that intense caring can bring. The work of Viktor Frankl, a psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, supports this idea. He emphasized in “Man’s Search for Meaning” that humans are driven by a “will to meaning.” According to Frankl, our search for purpose is a fundamental aspect of our existence. Here, anxiety often arises when this search is thwarted or when we are faced with the existential vacuum of meaninglessness.
Psychological research also supports the complications of caring. It is important to recognise that apathy may not always show a genuine lack of concern, but maybe a reaction to extreme stress and anxiety. For example, studies on emotional exhaustion reveal that those who seem disinterested are frequently the most intensely involved and compassionate. But due to ongoing stress, they are now emotionally spent. A condition of disengagement results from this exhaustion as a coping mechanism for the depth of their prior emotional investment.
This side of caring reflects our deep-seated need for meaning and connection. The very fact that we can become anxious shows that we are inherently oriented towards things we value and that matter to us. From an evolutionary standpoint, it has been essential for our survival to care about our surroundings and interpersonal interactions. This intrinsic motivation to care is so deeply embedded in our nature that even when we try to disengage through apathy.
They are sadly closer than we like to admit.
This paradox teaches us a fundamental truth about the human condition: our inherent drive to care.
Behind every argument, behind blank stare, behind every heated exchange, there beats a heart that cannot actually defy its nature.
