- 20.03.2025
Illusion of Relief: The Cost of Projecting Anxiety
In life, each one of us from time to time encounters complex and sometimes insurmountable difficulties—whether they are health issues, financial troubles, or crises in personal relationships. When real problems demand enormous effort and resources, our mind may invent creative, temporary ways to relieve inner tension. Instead of facing painful truths, we often unconsciously shift our worries onto external phenomena, even if they seem absurd at first. This mechanism, in which internal conflicts are transferred to something external, allows us to feel protected and temporarily ease acute emotional pain. However, despite its apparent effectiveness, this is only a temporary respite: the real problem remains unresolved, and the accumulated unanswered issues may only intensify over time. By thinking in this way, we create an illusion of control and a way to avoid responsibility, which ultimately can hinder the search for real solutions to life's difficulties. Constantly evading reality through such projections does not eliminate the root causes of our emotions, but merely slows down the process of inner growth. It is important to recognize that every emotion deserves attention and processing, and only by confronting real problems can true healing and transformation occur.
In what way does a person choose where to project and "send" their anxieties, and how does this affect their inner state?
Answer:
When a person faces real-life challenges that require significant effort and resources, they might instinctively seek a way to temporarily ease inner tension by shifting their anxieties onto something external. As described in one of the sources, a person with genuine issues such as health problems, a meager pension, or the absence of children sometimes consciously chooses to project their complex feelings onto external, often absurd, objects or phenomena—for example, complaining about aliens. In this case, the anxieties are “sent” outward, giving the illusion of relief and temporary ease of the inner state. However, while this mechanism may help alleviate acute psychological stress, it does not eliminate the root of the problem and can result in real difficulties remaining unresolved.
Supporting citation(s):
"Certainly, he has real problems: his health is failing, his pension is too small, his children have abandoned him—but all of these issues require a serious investment of effort and resources, and success is by no means guaranteed. Meanwhile, complaining about aliens—as if the local policeman could sort it out—is entirely different! The person has projected his problems outward and seemingly gotten rid of them. Cosmic rays do exist and can affect humans (just like solar flares), but they are clearly not the root of his problems. They say that one local policeman didn’t try to dissuade this odd fellow, but instead gave him a small household gadget, calling it the ‘latest cosmic ray blocker,’ and the man began carrying it in his pocket, convinced that he was now protected. And what if those in power begin to reason in this way? If every problem is blamed on the State Department with its Libyan scenario and citizens who have sold themselves out?" (source: 1011_5052.txt)
Thus, the choice of where to project one’s anxieties is connected with the desire to avoid directly confronting reality and the responsibility for solving actual problems. This temporarily eases inner tension, creating a sense of protection and improved well-being, but it can lead to internal stagnation and, ultimately, the accumulation of unresolved emotional conflicts.