--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Anxiety is not fear, being afraid of this…" description: "\"Anxiety is not fear, being afraid of this or that definite object, but the uncanny feeling of being afraid of nothing at all. It is precisely Nothingne..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/william-barrett-14440_anxiety_anxiety-is-not-fear-being-afraid-of-this_119901.png" --- # Anxiety is not fear, being afraid of this or that definite… ![“Anxiety is not fear, being afraid of this or that definite object, but the uncanny feeling of being afraid of nothing at all. It is precisely Nothingness that makes itself present and felt as the object of our dread.” quote by William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/william-barrett-14440_anxiety_anxiety-is-not-fear-being-afraid-of-this_119901.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/william-barrett-14440_anxiety_anxiety-is-not-fear-being-afraid-of-this_119901.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/william-barrett-14440_anxiety_anxiety-is-not-fear-being-afraid-of-this_119901.png) > “Anxiety is not fear, being afraid of this or that definite object, but the uncanny feeling of being afraid of nothing at all. It is precisely Nothingness that makes itself present and felt as the object of our dread.” [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Anxiety stems from a vague dread of nothingness, where the absence itself becomes a perceived threat. **In simple terms:** Anxiety is fear of emptiness. Key Takeaway Void can trigger existential dread. Themes anxiety existentialism psychology philosophy Mood introspective somber Type psychological philosophical When to use this quote - clinical therapy - mindfulness practice - philosophical counseling Key Concepts meaninglessness subjective fear Practical Applications - use grounding techniques to anchor attention - explore existential meaning in therapy Questions to Reflect On - How does confronting nothingness reduce anxiety? - What role does purpose play in alleviating dread? A Different Perspective Some view anxiety as a functional signal rather than a pathological void. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anxiety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxiety/) [Being afraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-afraid/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Nothingness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothingness/) [Uncanny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uncanny/) ## Related quotes > [“Anxiety is not fear, being afraid of this or that definite object, but the uncanny feeling of being afraid of nothing at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/anxiety-is-not-fear-being-afraid-of-this-or-that-definite-object-but-2/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [I'm still afraid of things, obviously - we're human. But I like that feeling of being afraid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/india-arie-2/i-m-still-afraid-of-things-obviously-we-re-human-but-i-like-that/) [India.Arie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/india-arie-2/) > [It's fear of being afraid that frightens me more than anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-cady/it-s-fear-of-being-afraid-that-frightens-me-more-than-anything-else/) [Jerome Cady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-cady/) > [I'm still with that feeling that I am afraid of doing the wrong thing, because somebody is going to punish me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eartha-kitt/i-m-still-with-that-feeling-that-i-am-afraid-of-doing-the-wrong-thing/) [Eartha Kitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eartha-kitt/) > [How does fear become so powerful? We can’t see it. We can’t touch it, yet it gets its claws in us and begins to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gena-showalter/how-does-fear-become-so-powerful-we-can-t-see-it-we-can-t-touch-it/) [Gena Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gena-showalter/) > [“Don’t feel bad about feeling bad. Don’t be frightened of feeling afraid. Don’t be angry about getting angry. There is no need to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-goddard/don-t-feel-bad-about-feeling-bad-don-t-be-frightened-of-feeling/) [Donna Goddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-goddard/) > [“Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always enjoyed feeling afraid. I think it is the most delicious feeling there is”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/domingos-monteiro/ever-since-i-was-a-little-girl-i-ve-always-enjoyed-feeling-afraid-i/) Domingos Monteiro > [“It is a sad feeling to be afraid of one's native country.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-ann-jacobs/it-is-a-sad-feeling-to-be-afraid-of-one-s-native-country/) [Harriet Ann Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-ann-jacobs/) > [No one could make a choice without feeling afraid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/no-one-could-make-a-choice-without-feeling-afraid/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [God is nearer to you than any thought or feeling of yours... Do not be afraid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/god-is-nearer-to-you-than-any-thought-or-feeling-of-yours-do-not-be/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [After doing this work or the past twelve years and watching scarcity ride roughshod over our families, organizations, and communities, I'd say the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/after-doing-this-work-or-the-past-twelve-years-and-watching-scarcity/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [There are so many people who are dependent on me. You know, setting expectations, and then feeling afraid. But I am a firm believer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritesh-agarwal/there-are-so-many-people-who-are-dependent-on-me-you-know-setting/) [Ritesh Agarwal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritesh-agarwal/) > [How are we to account for the strange human craving for the pleasure of feeling afraid which is so much involved in our love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/how-are-we-to-account-for-the-strange-human-craving-for-the-pleasure/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [I have that feeling that I'm afraid of being committed anymore. Because from the last time I did, I've been hurt, tricked, and left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/i-have-that-feeling-that-i-m-afraid-of-being-committed-anymore/) Unkown > [The litmus test for whether I want to take on a role or not is usually fear. If I'm afraid of it, then I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brit-marling/the-litmus-test-for-whether-i-want-to-take-on-a-role-or-not-is/) [Brit Marling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brit-marling/) ## More by William Barrett > [“David Hume, in a moment of acute skepticism, felt panicky in the solitude of his study and had to go out and join his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/david-hume-in-a-moment-of-acute-skepticism-felt-panicky-in-the/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [We must be free for the truth; and conversely, to be able to be open toward the truth may be our deepest freedom as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/we-must-be-free-for-the-truth-and-conversely-to-be-able-to-be-open/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“When faith is full, it dares to express its anger, for faith is the openness of the whole man toward his God, and therefore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/when-faith-is-full-it-dares-to-express-its-anger-for-faith-is-the/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [Much like tobacco companies want to keep smokers dependent on their deadly product, the oil industry wants to keep California dependent on oil –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/much-like-tobacco-companies-want-to-keep-smokers-dependent-on-their/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“The more severely he struggles to hold on to the primal face-to-face relation with God, the more tenuous this becomes, until in the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/the-more-severely-he-struggles-to-hold-on-to-the-primal-face-to-face/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“If science could comprehend all phenomena so that eventually in a thoroughly rational society human beings became as predictable as cogs in a machine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/if-science-could-comprehend-all-phenomena-so-that-eventually-in-a/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“To be rational is not the same as to be reasonable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/to-be-rational-is-not-the-same-as-to-be-reasonable/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“Certainly, we can no longer look upon the canon of Western art - Greco-Roman as revived, extended, and graced by the Renaissance - as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/certainly-we-can-no-longer-look-upon-the-canon-of-western-art-greco/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [Hunger is not the worst feature of unemployment; idleness is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/hunger-is-not-the-worst-feature-of-unemployment-idleness-is/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“We cannot define ourselves without negating the alternatives that we do not become.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/we-cannot-define-ourselves-without-negating-the-alternatives-that-we/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“We have to be who we are, however we may seek eventually to transform ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/we-have-to-be-who-we-are-however-we-may-seek-eventually-to-transform/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [The bond that attaches us to the life outside ourselves is the same bond that holds us to our own life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/the-bond-that-attaches-us-to-the-life-outside-ourselves-is-the-same/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“The Greek word for “I know,” oida, is the perfect of the verb “to see” and means “I have seen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/the-greek-word-for-i-know-oida-is-the-perfect-of-the-verb-to-see-and/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“To the other person, who looks at me from the outside, I seem an object, a thing; my subjectivity with its inner freedom escapes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/to-the-other-person-who-looks-at-me-from-the-outside-i-seem-an-object/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“For the thinker, as for the artist, what counts in life is not the number of rare and exciting adventures he encounters, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/for-the-thinker-as-for-the-artist-what-counts-in-life-is-not-the/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) [Explore all 46 William Barrett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) ## More Anxiety quotes > [“Anything that you find yourself worrying about regularly may find you suddenly wanting unrealistic changes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagisa-tatsumi/anything-that-you-find-yourself-worrying-about-regularly-may-find-you/) Nagisa Tatsumi > [Bein Crazy is the least of my worries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/bein-crazy-is-the-least-of-my-worries/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [The answer to deep anxiety is the deep adoration of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/the-answer-to-deep-anxiety-is-the-deep-adoration-of-god/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [“Fear of seeing a police car pull into the drive. Fear of falling asleep at night. Fear of not falling asleep. Fear of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/fear-of-seeing-a-police-car-pull-into-the-drive-fear-of-falling/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [I get nervous when I don't get nervous. If I'm nervous I know I'm going to have a good show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beyonce-knowles/i-get-nervous-when-i-don-t-get-nervous-if-i-m-nervous-i-know-i-m/) [Beyonce Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beyonce-knowles/) > [“Every invention comes through anxiousness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rakesh-wadhwani/every-invention-comes-through-anxiousness/) [Rakesh Wadhwani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rakesh-wadhwani/) > [“Do Not Be Anxious 25 e “Therefore I tell you,  f do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-not-be-anxious-25-e-therefore-i-tell-you-f-do-not-be-anxious-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Nothing happens on its own, you have to make things happen. If you really want to come out of your stressful situation than you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subodh-gupta/nothing-happens-on-its-own-you-have-to-make-things-happen-if-you/) [Subodh Gupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subodh-gupta/) > [“I guess if we're talking about my anxiety, the even truthier truth is it started way before that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-winfrey/i-guess-if-we-re-talking-about-my-anxiety-the-even-truthier-truth-is/) [Kerry Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-winfrey/) > [I was a very good student. Procrastinating gives me anxiety, and getting a B really ticked me off. Sure, I didn't always want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-loren/i-was-a-very-good-student-procrastinating-gives-me-anxiety-and/) [Josie Loren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-loren/) > [“The suspense: the fearful, acute suspense: of standing idly by while the life of one we dearly love, is trembling in the balance; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-suspense-the-fearful-acute-suspense-of-standing-idly-by-while-the/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [The party in Alobar’s head, which agitation and anxiety were throwing, now was crashed by a notion: existence can be rearranged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-party-in-alobar-s-head-which-agitation-and-anxiety-were-throwing/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [As you know, I have been very open about my struggle with social anxiety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/summer-walker/as-you-know-i-have-been-very-open-about-my-struggle-with-social/) [Summer Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/summer-walker/) > [Anxiety is not to be managed it is a sin that needs to be repented of](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-driscoll/anxiety-is-not-to-be-managed-it-is-a-sin-that-needs-to-be-repented-of/) [Mark Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-driscoll/) > [“I’ve always seen this in you, ever since you were a little girl — this hunger to love other people into their highest selves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-elisabeth/i-ve-always-seen-this-in-you-ever-since-you-were-a-little-girl-this/) [Jennifer Elisabeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-elisabeth/) [Browse all 4,944 Anxiety quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxiety/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Anxiety is not fear, being afraid of this or that definite object, but the uncanny feeling of being afraid of nothing at all. It is precisely Nothingness that makes itself present and felt as the object of our dread.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Barrett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/anxiety-is-not-fear-being-afraid-of-this-or-that-definite-object-but/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anxiety" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/anxiety-is-not-fear-being-afraid-of-this-or-that-definite-object-but/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/william-barrett-14440_anxiety_anxiety-is-not-fear-being-afraid-of-this_119901.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/william-barrett-14440_anxiety_anxiety-is-not-fear-being-afraid-of-this_119901.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/william-barrett-14440_anxiety_anxiety-is-not-fear-being-afraid-of-this_119901.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Anxiety is not fear, being afraid of this or that definite object, but the uncanny feeling of being afraid…” — William Barrett", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "William Barrett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Anxiety is not fear, being afraid...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/anxiety-is-not-fear-being-afraid-of-this-or-that-definite-object-but/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/anxiety-is-not-fear-being-afraid-of-this-or-that-definite-object-but/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```