In mental disorders there is a distortion of the reality of the internal picture, which in turn distorts the external picture. People suffering from neurosis usually suffer much greater levels of anxiety. Freud saw anxiety as a self-preservation instinct, and this is echoed in other psychological views which see it as an essential response to danger, part of the fight or flight reaction, a useful function, and part of the human condition. Others see anxiety as a disruptive element in dealing with danger. In cognitive models the external threat is seen as being followed by the appraisal of threat and then by coping behaviour.
Anxiety comes in at the appraisal stage, and is usually based on a false picture.
This causes unnecessary suffering in a misjudged situation, and more danger in a truly threatening encounter. The cognitive therapist, therefore, aims to address the unrealistic appraisal as a way of dealing with anxiety. MJ Further reading S. Freud, Inhibitions, Symptoms and Anxieties . Johnstone, Margaret MJ Bloomsbury Guide to Human Thought 2. Character Analysis Bloomsbury Guide to Human Thought 3.