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The horror reaction and its importance

The horror reaction and its importance The American Journal of Psychoanalysis, Vol. 53, No. I, 1993 Theodore I. Rubin Reacting with horror, or the horror reaction, probably has its origin in genetic roots, early infantile experiences, and life-long learned responses. We have seen experiments indicating that children have an inborn fear of heights, reacting with trepidation and possibly primitive horror to the pos- sibility of falling precipitously. We have also seen babies respond with what may be the beginnings of primitive horror responses to certain peo- ple, places, foods, odors, and all kinds of situations and stimuli. Eventually we learn what is horrible through perception and imitation from those around us and society itself. And so most of us find an open abdomen, blood, vomitus, skeletons, ugliness, disfigurements, terrible events, etc. horrible. The manifestation itself seems to be a modified anxiety reaction varying in duration and intensity. It can be momentary and may consist of a small scare and a thrill. It can last for months and can produce conglomerate associations as well as nausea and nearly all other somatic symptoms. It can be severe and may result in prolonged terror and disassociative and depersonalization reactions. It can be particularly destructive to children. Some who http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The American Journal of Psychoanalysis Springer Journals

The horror reaction and its importance

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis , Volume 53 (1): 9 – Mar 1, 1993

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Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
1993 Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis
ISSN
0002-9548
eISSN
1573-6741
DOI
10.1007/BF01250073
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis, Vol. 53, No. I, 1993 Theodore I. Rubin Reacting with horror, or the horror reaction, probably has its origin in genetic roots, early infantile experiences, and life-long learned responses. We have seen experiments indicating that children have an inborn fear of heights, reacting with trepidation and possibly primitive horror to the pos- sibility of falling precipitously. We have also seen babies respond with what may be the beginnings of primitive horror responses to certain peo- ple, places, foods, odors, and all kinds of situations and stimuli. Eventually we learn what is horrible through perception and imitation from those around us and society itself. And so most of us find an open abdomen, blood, vomitus, skeletons, ugliness, disfigurements, terrible events, etc. horrible. The manifestation itself seems to be a modified anxiety reaction varying in duration and intensity. It can be momentary and may consist of a small scare and a thrill. It can last for months and can produce conglomerate associations as well as nausea and nearly all other somatic symptoms. It can be severe and may result in prolonged terror and disassociative and depersonalization reactions. It can be particularly destructive to children. Some who

Journal

The American Journal of PsychoanalysisSpringer Journals

Published: Mar 1, 1993

Keywords: Clinical Psychology; Psychotherapy; Psychoanalysis

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