Anxiety

In other words, the ego relates to the superego just like the child related to the coercive agencies in his environment -- afraid of its attacks. So the moment that there is the possibility of unconscious material, that drew attacks in the past, surfacing to consciousness, the ego responds with anxiety, the danger signal anticipating a superego attack. The ego, to check the emergence of such disapproved of material, employs its defense mechanisms, which results in keeping such material out of consciousness. However, this simple repression, which is called the primary defense, does not always work perfectly; and so some unconscious material pushes towards consciousness activating a state of anxiety. (Work on the Superego, pg 3)

When the defenses start actually breaking down, a person will experience increased anxiety, followed by the repressed impulses and feelings. So under normal circumstances, the presence of unusual anxiety indicates that some defenses are dissolving and that some piece of the unconscious is pushing towards consciousness. The anxiety, therefore, can be seen as a preview to self-knowledge (Work on the Superego, pg 4)

Developmental psychologies usually attribute such overwhelming anxiety in early childhood to physical or psychological trauma. Kernberg, for instance, believes that the anxiety is primarily due to negative introjections; and that is why defenses, especially splitting, are needed … there is clearly truth in this, but it does not take into consideration that overwhelming anxiety can be generated from the loss of contact with Being, or that it can lead to the loss of Being. In the latter case the result is that the early defensive nature of the ego is understood to serve not only the defense against the overwhelming anxiety, but to also ward off the experience of loss of Being that generates the anxiety. This in effect leads to the building of identification systems that eventually become barriers against the experience of Being. (The Pearl Beyond Price, pg 140)