“Whoever has learned to be anxious in the right way has learned the ultimate.”
Søren Kierkegaard
Heart pounding, panic attacks, sweat.
We live in the age of anxiety, one of the most common mental health issues.
The amount of human beings with anxiety is rising.
Anxiety warns us of threats. Conscious anxiety is fear. An anxiety disorder is different from the emotion and it is unconscious. This goes past our conscious awareness. It is different from the experience of feeling anxiousness
Kierkegaard saw anxiety, not as a thing a person should keep himself away from. Anxiety is necessary for authentic existence, we can use it for our benefit. It creates freedom.
“Anxiety is an alien power which lays hold of the individual, and yet cannot tear oneself away, nor has a will to do so; for one fears, but what one fears one desires.”
Anxiety makes us self aware. Anxiety, according to Kierkegaard, empowers creativity. One can listen to it.
Walking away from anxiety was, according to Kierkegaard, a failure. Anxiety is a possibility, like Kierkegaard said: “ He who is educated by anxiety is educated by possibility.” “It is in our anxiety that we come to understand feelingly that we are free, that the possibilities are endless.” Nowadays we seem so frightened of the fear; we forgot to embrace it. Kierkegaard separated fear from anxiety. Fear only blocks the creative mind. With admitting having this, we can only truly free ourselves. Anxiety can bring us new dimensions. In Melody of Agitation Charmaine uses anxiety as a tool for creativity and self empowerment.
