We are all basically insecure, and this is the root of much of our anxiety. Our bodies are frail; therefore we can never hope for real material security. At any moment, even in the most protected situations, we may be stricken down with illness or death. Aware of this, man has sought another form of security—security in the sight of God. Such security can transcend the insecurity of life and death. But man has learned to doubt, the security of religious belief has ebbed from him, and as a result his latent anxiety and tension is so much the worse.
Childhood-Insecurity In childhood we are insecure because of our relative weakness compared with those about us. This childhood feeling of insecurity may persist, and form a
pattern of tension and anxious behaviour in adult life. Whether this will happen or not depends very largely on the degree to which the child perceives his early environment as threatening.
An interesting point in this regard is that the child withstands the evil influence of a constantly hostile environment better than he does an inconsistent one, where those around him are changeable, sometimes harsh and sometimes loving. In these circumstances the child does not know what to expect, and as a result lives in a state of chronic anxiety.
At school the child may be subject to influences which further increase his insecurity. These influences may be extremely subtle and may escape the notice of both teachers and parents only to be disclosed years later in psychotherapy.
The native aggressive impulses of children are only just beneath the surface. They are easily turned on some less fortunate member of the group. Minor degrees of bullying may take a form that is scarcely perceptible to adults, but at the same time, may produce chronic tension in the unfortunate victim.
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