ABSTRACT
This chapter talks about fear and its place in attachment theory and psychoanalysis. In the hierarchy of human motivations, John Bowlby placed particular emphasis on attachment because it is essential to our physical and psychological survival. At the time that Bowlby began formulating his theory of human attachment, psychoanalysis placed virtually no emphasis on the role of fear and the search for safety in the development of personality and psychopathology. The fear system is evolutionarily selected because it is crucial to our safety, and to the activation and deactivation of the attachment system. Autonomous exploration is as crucial to our survival as is attachment, and indeed a healthy attachment relationship grounds exploration in a feeling of safety, authenticity, and freedom. Insecure attachments, particularly in their more pathological forms, reflect neural and hormonal adaptations to chronic stress and fear. And the healing power of new, more secure attachments cannot help but lead to changes at both physiological and psychological levels.
