The psychology of fear: How early discipline and violence shape lifelong mental health

“ No wonder with such views of the child's nature, the little ones are advised to be treated by punishments, by corrections, by the rod, the whip, and the stick, generally by fear and by violence, a training unfit even for dogs. And still when we turn to the really great thinkers of humanity, we find that the child is considered as free from vice, crime, and sin, that perversions, delinquencies, and vices are impressed on the young by family, companions, and society of adults. ”

“ When I began at five years of age to make a rag doll, that by its weight and size really gave the illusion of reality and bestowed much joy on its young mother, I began to think about the education of my future children. Then as now my educational ideal was that the children should be happy, that they should not fear. Fear is the misfortune of childhood, and the sufferings of the child come from the half-realised opposition between his unlimited possibilities of happiness and the way in which these possibilities are actually handled. ”

“ This wisdom of viewing the child as a little brute and training it by fear and force is not confined to editors, but is also maintained by certain types of educators. "Obedience and discipline are the mainstay of the family and the school," told me a well known educator, a principal of a normal school. "I control my children with kindness, if possible, and if needs be, by force and punishments." The child is regarded as a sort of a little beast, a kind of young ape, at best a little savage. ”

“ When the pupils have been reduced to this 'School state of mind' we encounter those 'not accidental, but often-repeated cases,' of the stupidest boy being at the top of the class, and the cleverest boy at the bottom.
In short, a child's mental capacities are really active only when that child is free; and the teacher's chief task lies 'in studying the free child' and discovering how to supply him with knowledge. ”

“ I say nothing here of the State of Childhood, because it is already understood that Parents have their Children’s Health regulated by proper Management, and their Minds docile thro’ the Force of Obedience; but when Dress, Pleasure, Company, Feasting, or whatever subjects us to be intemperate, come into Play, as they are Actions which always cause a Struggle, more or less, between Passion and Reason, it demands the greatest Care and Attention of Parents to win them to a Love of Temperance.
An easy Submission to our Lot in Life is one of the greatest Attainments towards Happiness. ”

“ When they send their children to school, they set masters over them, threaten them with stripes, and encompass them with fear on all sides. But when they have thus spent the first portion of their lives, and their habits are formed, they then put them in possession of honour, and power, and luxury, and all the wealth that is theirs.
11. And thus God has acted. After the manner of provident fathers, and not after that of kidnappers, He has first involved us in things that are grievous; handing us over to present tribulation, as it were to schoolmasters and teachers ”

“ Most, in fact we may say all, of functional, nervous, mental diseases have their origin in early childhood. An early, suggestible mental life brought about by intimidation, by a persistent system of inhibitions, by overstimulation of the impulse of self-preservation and its associated fear instinct in early childhood are among the important factors of psychopathic diseases in later life. ”

“ It is time that the medical and teaching profession should realize that functional neurosis is not congenital, not inborn, not hereditary, but is the result of a defective, fear-inspiring education in early child life. ”

“ Once this fear instinct and its companion self-preservation are aroused morbid mental life grows like an avalanche in its downward course. In later life this impulse of self-preservation and fear instinct become manifested in various ways, giving rise to the most distressing nervous and mental symptoms. In my medical practice, as specialist of nervous and mental diseases, I have again and again traced the worst forms of functional maladies to the impulse of self-preservation and fear instinct, aroused by education and unfortunate experiences in the early life of the patient. ”

“ These traits of character, acquired in early childhood, become basic. The child will never fully rid himself of fear and its distressing consequences. Fear will stay with him, and dog his steps all his life long.
Fear is one of the most fundamental of animal instincts, it is the companion of the most primitive impulse of self-preservation. Once this fear instinct is aroused, it grows like an avalanche in its downward course. In later life this fear instinct becomes manifested in various ways, giving rise to the most distressing nervous and mental symptoms. ”

“ There are again cases when even under ordinary conditions fear becomes developed in the individual from early childhood either by lack of inhibitory training or by accidents in early child life. In all such cases the fear instinct becomes morbid, giving rise in later life to various forms of mental disease known as psychopathies, or recurrent morbid states. ”

“ Anything which arouses the fear instinct in the inhibitory or paralyzing stages will necessarily give rise to psychopathic functional psychosis or neurosis. The fear instinct and the impulse of self-preservation, inherent in all life, are the alpha and omega of psychopathic maladies. ”

“ And what is effectual in the training of men is effectual also with children. They will often avoid the repetition of an act which they know has brought them punishment before and will do so again. This fear of pain is not the highest motive for abstinence from wrong-doing, but in both the child and the man it may be the foundation of an upbuilding of character which shall by-and-by go on growing in goodness without this instrumentality. ”

“ A woman is battered every 15 seconds in the Untied States, and 30 percent of female murder victims are killed by current or former partners. Equally disturbing is the impact of domestic violence on children. Witnessing such violence has a devastating emotional effect on children, and between 50 and 70 percent of men who abuse their female partners abuse their children as well. From inner cities to rural communities, domestic violence affects individuals of every age, culture, class, gender, race, and religion. ”

“ Unfortunately, when these same children grow up they will not teach their children the importance of love and understanding and gentleness, and so it will go on and on: The savage violence that will be presented as entertainment will not exactly help, and every day acts of real violence will be recorded in your newspapers. Gangs will become a problem in your big cities — the use of weapons a way of life for them. ”

“ Studies have shown that children exposed to violent video programming at a young age have a higher tendency for violent and aggressive behavior later in life than children not so exposed, and that children exposed to violent video programming are prone to assume that acts of violence are acceptable behavior. (5) Children in the United States are, on average, exposed to an estimated 8,000 murders and 100,000 acts of violence on television by the time the child completes elementary school. ”

“ Family violence is a crime that transcends race, religion, ethnicity, and economic stature, and one of its greatest tragedies is its effect on our young people: as many as 3 million children witness violence in their homes each year. ”

“ We must do all we can to intervene in the lives of young people who are mentally or emotionally unstable before they cause harm to themselves or to others. I am pleased that some schools have responded to the recent youth violence tragedies by improving mental health services, expanding after-school and mentoring programs, and offering in-home counseling for vulnerable families. To ensure the success of these efforts, we must work to fight the stigma and dispel the myths that surround mental illness. ”

“ In my medical practice, as specialist of nervous and mental diseases, I have traced again and again the worst forms of maladies to the fear instinct aroused in early childhood.
Training by fear, submission, and obedience opens the door wide to all kinds of nervous and mental germs, weakening the mental and moral constitution of man. Man becomes unreasonable, capricious, driven by the impulse of self-preservation, and by the furies of the fear instinct. ”

“ It is impossible to give a categorical answer, for we are not concerned with the education of a brain or a man in general, but of the brain and man of a special case.
Some say that until the child has become a rational being it must be considered and treated as a little animal, because it has no sense of shame, nor of the rights of property, nor of social duty; that the didactic methods which it most fears must be adopted, that is to say, those only which serve to tame and domesticate animals—punishments, the whip, blows. ”

“ The child is ruled by fear. Our young generation is trained by fear into discipline and obedience. We thus suppress the natural genius and originality of the child, we favor and raise mediocrity, and cultivate the philistine, the product of education, ruled by rod, not by thought. ”

“ The child submits, and dissembles obedience, whilst the fear of the rod hangs over him. Beating them (children) , and all other sorts of slavish and corporal punishments, are not the discipline fit to be used in the education of those we would have wise, good, and ingenuous men. ”

“ I have seen parents and masters strike the heads of their children with pieces of wood, of much larger size;—in one instance with a common sized tailor's press-board; in another with the heavy end of a wooden whip-handle, about an inch in diameter.
Children are sometimes severely beaten across the middle of the body—the region where lie the vital organs—the lungs, the heart, the liver, &c. They are sometimes beaten too, across the joints, or in any place that the excited, perhaps passionate teacher or parent can reach. Rules and books are thrown with violence at pupils in school. ”

“ In my medical work in nervous and mental diseases I have become impressed with the fact that the impulse of self-preservation, accompanied by its satellite, the fear instinct, plays a prominent role in the causation of psychopathic diseases. ”

“ Perhaps a few concrete cases will bring out more vividly the fact of the pernicious effect of early education by means of force and fear. I have studied for years the many patients who have come under my medical care and treatment A close examination into the history of development of the trouble invariably brings one to the same sources of mental disease: Inhibition of the critical self in early childhood by means of force and fear, the overgrowth of the on critical suggestible subconscious self with an abnormal hypertrophy of the impulse of self-preservation with its allied fear instinct. ”

“ Fear experiences tend to repeat themselves in consciousness, and especially in the subconscious states of the child. This repetition or recurrence keeps alive the psychopathic fear nucleus, and fixes it in the mind. ”

“ As we have pointed out, the fear instinct is the arousal of the impulse of self-preservation. Psychopathic conditions are at bottom fear states interrelated with hypnoidal states and with an abnormal, pathological condition of the impulse of self-preservation. This is manifested in the fundamental trait of extreme selfishness characteristic of psychopathic patients. The patient is entirely absorbed in himself, and is ready to sacrifice every one to his terrors. ”

“ The fear instinct, when aroused and cultivated in early childhood, becomes associated in later life with particular events, objects, and special states.
When the instinct of fear is aroused in connection with some future impending misfortune, the feeling of apprehension with all its physiological changes, muscular, respiratory, cardiac, epigastric, and intestinal, goes to form that complex feeling of anxiety so highly characteristic of the acute varieties of psychopathic maladies. When fear reaches its acme, the heart is specially affected ”

“ Many a delicate child has been more horribly tormented by suggested fears than he could ever have been hurt by corporal punishment.
The most deeply moral lesson any mother can instil into her child is that he be UNAFRAID—of anything in life or death. And whoso teaches a child a fear has made an incurable wound in his soul. ”

“ Fear strangles originality, daring, boldness; it kills individuality, and weakens all the mental processes. Great things are never done under a sense of fear of some impending danger. Fear always indicates weakness, the presence of cowardice. What a slaughterer of years, what a sacrificer of happiness and ambitions, what a miner of careers this monster has been! The Bible says, "A broken spirit drieth the bones." It is well known that mental depression—melancholy—will check very materially the glandular secretions of the body and literally dry up the tissues. ”

“ Charity is not present where self-reliance dwells.
Fear is the offspring of a reliance placed on something outside—on a foreman's good-will, perhaps, on a shop's prosperity, on a market's steadiness. That is just another way of saying that fear is the portion of the man who acknowledges his career to be in the keeping of earthly circumstances. Fear is the result of the body assuming ascendancy over the soul.
The habit of failure is purely mental and is the mother of fear. This habit gets itself fixed on men because they lack vision. ”

“ A well known writer, who is a psychopathic sufferer, writes: “Carlyle laid his finger upon the truth, when he said that the reason why the pictures of the past were always so golden in tone, so delicate in outline, was because the quality of fear was taken from them. It is the fear of what may be and what must be that overshadows present happiness; and if fear is taken from us, we are happy. ”

“ TRAINING: Postpones the on set of Fatigue by increasing pain tolerance thruts hold.
Mental Health
Mental health is nothing but the preservation of the intellectual, emotional, intestinal and physical health of the children. Mental health and physical health act and react on each other. The mind cannot be sound unless the body is sound, and the body is adversely affected if if there are mental tensions and disequilibrium. Hence a good mental health is to assist every individual in the attainment of fuller, happier, more harmonious and more effective existence. ”

“ Even the most robust and generally healthy children show the deleterious results of the modern system of educational “forcing” that prevails in most of our larger cities. The child that starts the school year in excellent physical condition, after the freedom and fresh air of the summer vacation, in many instances, becomes nervous, fidgety, and more or less anemic, as the term progresses, as the combined result of mental strain and physical confinement in overheated, poorly ventilated school-rooms. ”

“ We know also of central inhibitions, such as fear, distress, pain, acting as so many inhibitions on the peripheral organs and serving to arrest functioning activity. Similarly in mental life, complex as it is, the highly organized psycho-physiological systems, with their concomitant moments consciousness, still fall under the same general physiological laws of inhibition. ”

“ If we wish to have a strong, healthy, happy race of men, we should lay a good foundation in the education of early childhood. We should avoid all means of brutal, slavish training which cripple man's individuality, freedom, and happiness. We should not use violence and fear. We should be careful to remove from the children all that is brutal, ugly, vicious, and fearsome. We should surround our young with the graceful, the true, the beautiful, the good, the kind, the lovely, and the loving. ”

“ In any one family did a greater proportion turn out well? Is it not true that at least among the educated classes the relaxation of nursery and schoolroom discipline which the last fifty years has seen has been justified by its results? Is it not true that the childhood of our grandmothers was often lived "in fear, in restraint, in submission, in suffering subject to galling, unreasoning, unnecessary, arbitrary prohibitions and taboos, and to customary duties equally galling, unreasoning, unnecessary, and arbitrary." ”

“ But who teaches the new souls to choose for themselves the path they must tread? Who thinks that the desire for this path of their own can be so profound that a hard or even mild pressure towards uniformity can make the whole of childhood a torment. ”

“ 'In some of its developments progress has proceeded wrongly, and with primitive peasant children one must deal in a spirit of perfect freedom, letting them choose what path of progress they please.' In reality I was ever revolving round one and the same insoluble problem, which was: How to teach without knowing what to teach. ”

“ Repression and reproof, and Page 61 thwarting of the child's will, and coaxing and entreaty must cease. There is no fear that we shall thereby make the child unduly disobedient. We have already, in another chapter, decided that negativism is not strength of will on the part of the child which must be broken, but is the result of constant attempts to oppose his nature, and the consequent nervous unrest. If we cease to oppose, the symptoms will tend rapidly to disappear, the child will become busy and contented and happy in his play, and we shall hear no more of his refusal of food. ”

“ Not only are the points of attack thus limited; the attack when it does take place may bring something better than a debasing fear. A child may, it is certain, suffer acutely when it is frightened. But if only there is the magic circle of the mother's arms within reach may it not be said that the fear is more than counterbalanced by the greatest emotional luxury of childhood, the loving embrace? It is the shy fears, breeding the new fear of exposure to unloving eyes and possibly to ridicule, which are the tragedy of childhood. ”

“ In addition to these extraneous aids children are provided by Nature with capacities of self-defence. I have pointed out that the impulses of curiosity and fear lie close together in a child's mind, so that one can hardly say beforehand which of the two is going to be awakened first by the coming of the new and strange thing. The eager desire to know about things is perhaps the most perfect inward defence against many childish fears. Even when fear is half [Pg 110] awake the passionate longing to see will force its way. ”

“ Many a child is at this hour undermining its physical constitution by reading in the house, when it should be playing out of doors, or using its muscular system in some kind of domestic employment. Beware of any cause which shall induce a sickly precocity or a hotbed mental growth. Let no partiality for mental prodigies induce you to make physical invalids. The sacrifice is too great; seek rather a healthy and complete development of the whole child, watching each power as it unfolds, and training all for the most efficient fulfillment of the practical duties of life. ”

“ And, therefore, during these first three years, the infant should be as free as possible from fear and pain. 'Yes, and he should have as much pleasure as possible.' There, I think, you are wrong; for the influence of pleasure in the beginning of education is fatal. A man should neither pursue pleasure nor wholly avoid pain. He should embrace the mean, and cultivate that state of calm which mankind, taught by some inspiration, attribute to God; and he who would be like God should neither be too fond of pleasure himself, nor should he permit any other to be thus given ”

“ Each year the tragic effects can be seen in the lives of millions of children. It can be observed among those who are neglected or abused, of whom more than 1,000 die each year. It can be found especially in the lives of those who witness violence against a parent-and who themselves face a significant chance of becoming victims of that same brutality.
As a Nation, we must continue our commitment to eliminating violence and to strengthening children and families. ”

“ David Pelcovitz, a child and adolescent psychologist, offered similar testimony:
[A] certain percentage of children exposed to domestic violence suffer from a variety of behavior and emotional difficulties. On the emotional level they tend to be at increased risk for depression and anxiety and disruptive behavior disorders, such as conduct problems, and other issues with ... compliance with authority. On the behavioral level also there is a higher level of aggression. On the academic level there is a higher rate of academic difficulties ... ”

“ He cited studies which demonstrated that, among children exposed to the most severe domestic violence, well over 80 percent, and sometimes over 90 percent, tested psychologically normal, were self-confident, had positive images of themselves, and were emotionally well off. Furthermore, while children exposed to the most severe forms of domestic violence are more likely to become violent adults or delinquents, 95 to 97 percent of the children in these situations do not become delinquent, do not develop alcohol or drug problems, and about 90 percent do not become violent adults. ”

“ Expanded and improved school-based mental health services related to illegal drug use and violence, including early identification of violence and illegal drug use, assessment, and direct or group counseling services provided to students, parents, families, and school personnel by qualified school-based mental health service providers. `` (viii) Conflict resolution programs, including peer mediation programs that educate and train peer mediators and a designated faculty supervisor, and youth anti-crime and anti-drug councils and activities. ”

“ Some people believe that schizophrenia and other psychoses are associated with violence, a perception that is often reinforced by news reports and that contributes to the stigma associated with mental illness. ”

“ As a Nation, we have made much progress in ensuring the physical health of our young people. But we are only beginning to make similar strides in protecting their mental health. The symptoms of mental illness in children and adolescents too often go unrecognized and therefore untreated-a tragic failing that can lead to profound effects on their development. Even very young children can experience anxiety and depressive disorders that can have a long-term negative impact on their social interactions at home and at school. ”

“ During Child Mental Health Month, I encourage all parents, teachers, pediatricians, school nurses, other health care professionals, and concerned citizens across our country to learn more about children's mental health. By doing so, we can recognize more quickly the early warning signs of mental illnesses and disorders. We can detect depression before it deepens into serious illness, raise awareness of risk factors for suicide, and work to prevent more acts of youth violence. ”

“ In recognition of these heartbreaking realities, the theme of Child Health Day, 1995, is the elimination of violence. As our Nation observes this special day, let us renew our commitment to America's children and rededicate ourselves to ending the physical and emotional mistreatment that damage self-esteem and well-being. Solutions to the plague of violence lie within our own society, and we can find hope in the partnerships forming among public health and mental health professionals, schools, law enforcement officers, religious groups, child care experts, and community leaders. ”