Apprehension | noun | ap· pre· hen· sion | \ ˌa-pri-ˈhen(t)-shən
- suspicion or fear especially of future evil : foreboding an atmosphere of nervous apprehension
- seizure by legal process : arrest apprehension of a criminal
-
- a : the act or power of perceiving or comprehending something a person of dull apprehension
- b : the result of apprehending something mentally : conception according to popular apprehension
Robert Plutchik postulated that there are eight core emotions: Ecstasy, Admiration, Terror, Amazement, Grief, Loathing, Rage, and Vigilance. Apprehension is on Terror’s “spoke,” and is the furthest removed from said emotion. It brings a reserved nature that is rooted in suspicion and propagated by increasing fears.
When evaluating Robert Plutchik’s Emotional Color Wheel Apprehension sits opposite of annoyance. Annoyance’s base emotion is Rage, and the dichotomy between the sets of emotions speaks a lot to their place within our emotional spheres. Where Annoyance, though irritating at first, may move someone to action, Apprehension is a struggle while in inaction. Both are the wading areas of darker depths. Both Rage and Terror serve their purposes, yet their internal drives are often rooted in selfish motivations. These selfish motivations often exist initially for the act of self-preservation; however as we’ve evolved the need for them to dictate our actions has lessened, making it difficult for individuals who continuously occupy these spaces.
Apprehension as a self-preservation action is vital. It stops us from being reckless with our delicate existence. In some regards it also acts as the internal barrier we’re forced to overcome when we are required to “muster the courage,” we’re defying these baser instincts rooted in Terror, Fear, and Apprehension.
02-28-19 Blackstar by David Bowie
02-28-19 This particular beginning to what would be David Bowie’s last album brought a strange appeal. The song is laden with hidden meanings, and dynamic creative method to the point that Bowie uses ritualistic chanting, and what even feels like spell casting within...
02-27-19 Anthems for a Seventeen-Year Old Girl by Broken Social Scene
02-27-19 In a slightly different approach to Apprehension, this song has always cast a scene of a person going through the effects of reverse Apprehension. Having lived a life of regret, not taking the opportunities, they now look fondly back on and wanting there to...
02-26-19 Cath… by Death Cab for Cutie
02-26-19 When Death Cab for Cutie’s Narrow Stairs came out in 2008, I was about as tangled up in my own world and drama as I ever had been. Overly consumed with the prospect of chasing fleeting moments of euphoria instead of taking stock in what I indeed was growing...
02-25-19 Idioteque by Radiohead
02-25-19 “Idioteque,” not being a real word has been said to be closer to “idiotic” despite the lack of the lyric in the song, then again the entire song much like Kid A, the album it comes off of, reads like one long protest letter against the continued actions and...
02-24-19 Hunger for the Pine Alt-J
02-24-19 Alt-J’s opening song from their highly anticipated sophomore album set a tone for an album rife with moments of emotional conflict and complexities. Hunger for the Pine, sort of says it all in the title. The desire for something so profoundly intoxicating...
2-23-19 Insistor by Tapes ‘N Tapes
02-23-19 When I first heard this song I was immediately transported to an old western. There isn’t much to suggest this particular atmosphere beyond a guitar progression that lends itself to the theme of the west with it’s changing chord progressions sounding like an...
02-22-19 Nature Trips by Eyedress
02-22-19 The foreboding sound of this song creates a looming sense of a slow implosion. Through self-destruction and continued violations of whoever’s boundaries the singer is singing to, she’s been relegated to this point of isolation. It’s at this point that a sense...
Explore Past Emotions
