Anxiety manifests in various ways: panic attacks, dizziness, constant worry, or a sense of being adrift in life. It often impacts the body as well, showing up as breathlessness, a racing heart, tense muscles, fatigue, sweating, or trembling. Unlike emotions such as happiness or sadness, which may come and go without clear definition, anxiety feels distinct, heavy, and real. Even if it’s difficult to articulate, its presence is undeniable.
Anxiety and Shifting Self-Perception
In Lacanian terms, anxiety often emerges when there is a disruption in the symbolic framework. This refers to the system of meanings, roles, and desires that structure our identity and relationships. We rely on the desires of the Other (reached by talking about those external to us, such as caregivers, society, or significant figures in analysis) to orient our sense of self. When these familiar reference points are lost or destabilized, we find ourselves in an unfamiliar space of uncertainty. This “lack” in our symbolic order, our inability to fully understand or situate ourselves, can trigger anxiety.
Lacan describes anxiety as different from fear. Fear has a clear object or cause (e.g., a danger we can identify). Anxiety, on the other hand, is more ambiguous, linked to something we cannot quite name. It arises when we confront the Real, a dimension of experience that resists being represented by words or symbols. The Real disrupts the structure of our lives, leaving us without a clear way to respond. This confrontation can feel overwhelming.
Freedom, Desire, and Anxiety
Jean-Paul Sartre interpreted anxiety as a sign of human freedom, a confrontation with the infinite possibilities of choice. For Sartre, anxiety stems from the realization that we are responsible for giving meaning to our lives, a task that can feel daunting and isolating.
Lacan, however, viewed anxiety through the lens of desire. Desire, in Lacanian theory, is shaped by the lack at the core of human existence. This refers to the idea that something is always missing, and we are driven by the pursuit of what we imagine will complete us. Anxiety arises when this delicate balance is disrupted. For example, when the object of our desire (what Lacan calls the objet petit a) either becomes too present or slips entirely out of reach, we are left in a state of uncertainty.
In other words, anxiety occurs when the usual mechanisms that sustain desire break down. For instance, when we encounter the possibility of getting what we think we want, anxiety can emerge because the fulfillment of that desire might dismantle the fantasy that sustains us. Conversely, when desire feels impossible, when the lack becomes unbearable, anxiety can also take hold.
Anxiety as a Response to Loss
In psychoanalytic therapy, anxiety is often understood as a response to a profound sense of loss. Lacan refers to this as a “lack of a lack,” which describes the moment when the usual structure of absence or longing that organizes our experience is disrupted. Without the dynamic movement of desire to sustain us, we are left face-to-face with the void, a terrifying emptiness that anxiety seeks to fill.
However, this loss can also be an opportunity. Lacanian psychoanalysis sees anxiety not as a problem to be eliminated but as a signpost, pointing to something unresolved in our unconscious. By working through anxiety in therapy, we can begin to understand the unconscious structures that shape our desires, fears, and identity. This process can help us find new ways of relating to ourselves and the world, restoring a sense of meaning and movement.
Why Psychoanalytic Therapy?
Lacanian psychoanalytic therapy approaches anxiety not as a symptom to be suppressed but as a clue to deeper truths about our subjective experience. Through free association and careful exploration of language, the therapist helps the analysand uncover the unconscious desires, conflicts, and fantasies that underpin their anxiety.
Rather than offering quick fixes, this form of therapy invites patients to confront the Real and work through the gaps in meaning that anxiety exposes. In doing so, it opens up the possibility of reshaping the symbolic framework, our understanding of self and others, and creating a more flexible and authentic relationship to desire.
In this way, anxiety is not just a burden. It is also a path toward knowledge, offering the chance to discover what truly matters and to redefine how we live our lives.
Bita Riazati is a Psychoanalyst in Melbourne, Australia with a billingual practice in two locations of Hawthorn and Belgrave.