Almost immediately after we are born, each of us develops a unique physical reaction to discomfort. This reaction leads to stress, and if it goes unanswered, it accelerates to fear, eventually progressing to terror and panic.
As we get older, and find ourselves in situations like being in a relationship, having a job, or sitting in traffic—almost anything we do in the modern world as grownups—we can experience the entire range of negative emotions related to stress. Depending on our childhood circumstances, ranging from ages zero to even as old as 20, our perception of stress, how it relates to our individual ego, and any threats to our self-esteem vary greatly. We build very secure shelters around our vulnerabilities from a young age.
For example, let’s say a 13-year-old girl has a lot of pimples and feels ugly when she looks in the mirror. Did she come up with this concept herself? How is that idea embedded in her brain? Suppose she was born into a world where all the grownups had horrible pimples, and pimples on the face were just normal and not discussed. Would she still feel complex about it? Is it possible that the human brain is wired so that even a young person, if they see a deformity or defect, senses that something is wrong? The answer is yes, especially when you add social conditioning to the equation. A person might be extremely sensitive to whether or not they feel ugly, associating it with inevitable abandonment, not being loved, or even being unable to move ahead in life.
Moving ahead in a tribe or pack might be a subtle instinct leftover from our early evolution. Even though we don’t have a great deal of instinct, we still retain remnants of some. Interestingly, humans can be born with different types of instincts. Some people may have great emotional instinct, while others may have great athletic instinct. Some people have good instincts for parenting, organizing, process and flow, mechanics, or math. It’s unclear whether these are typical instincts like those seen in animals such as reptiles, birds, or tigers. Most creatures have a great deal of instinct that is hard for us to understand, except to say that their brain structures come with actual programs that guide their consciousness, while still allowing for free will.
While discussing these instincts, it’s essential to recognize how they intertwine with our responses to stress and societal conditioning. Human instincts, though not as pronounced as those in many animals, contribute to how we navigate complex emotional landscapes. This interplay between instinct and conditioning shapes our behaviors and coping mechanisms throughout life.
Image: A photorealistic wide image depicting the journey of human stress from infancy to adulthood. The scene transitions from a newborn's discomfort to a young girl with pimples feeling self-conscious in the mirror. In the background, modern adult life scenarios like relationships, work, and traffic show individuals with various stress-related emotions. Subtle elements of societal conditioning and human instincts illustrate their influence on stress responses.