motion of laying him down had been too fast, or whether the cooling of the skin had pre-
cipitated the falling anxiety. At any rate, the child began to cry violently, pulled back his arms
as if to gain support, tried to bring his head forward, showed intense anxiety in his eyes, and
could not be calmed down.
Reich was puzzled as to the source of the falling anxiety in an infant. He had long
noted the fear of falling that occurred in adult patients when orgasm anxiety appeared; how-
ever, an infant could not be experiencing orgasm anxiety. Nor would it be a rational fear of
falling, for an infant lacked any concept of “high” or “low.” Nor in the absence of words
and ideas could there be a phobia.
Reich reasoned that Peter’s falling anxiety represented a “sudden withdrawal of the
biological energy to the biophysical center.”^29 The withdrawal of energy to the center left
a depletion at the extremities; hence the loss of the feeling of equilibrium.
Reich traced the falling anxiety attack to the fact that for a period of about two
weeks the orgonotic contact between mother and baby was poor; apparently the baby had
strong impulses toward contact which remained ungratified. “Then occurred the orgasm of
the mouth region, in other words, a perfectly natural discharge took place of the high-
pitched excitation of the head and throat region. This increased the need for contact even
further.The lack of contact led to a contraction, to a withdrawal of biological energy as a
result of unsuccessful attempts to establish contact.”^30
Reich utilized his skills as a therapist in dealing with Peter’s falling anxiety. He noted
that the infant’s right shoulderblade and the right arm were pulled back and less mobile than
the left arm. There was a definite contraction in the musculature of the right shoulder. The
connection between this contraction and the falling anxiety was clear: during the anxiety
attack, the child had pulled back both shoulders, as if to gain a hold. This muscular attitude
persisted even in periods free of anxiety.
The therapeutic steps he took with Peter provided the essential principles upon
which his later work with other infants was based.These steps can be briefly summarized:
First,the child was picked up and held when he cried.
Second, the shoulders were brought gently forward out of their backward fixation
in order to eliminate the incipient armoring ofthe shoulders. Playfully, with laughter and
sounds which the baby loved, Reich moved both shoulders forward. This was done daily for
about two months, always in a playful manner.
And third, Reich had the child “fall” in order to accustom him to the sensation of
falling. Reich would lift him by the armpits and then lower him, slowly at first, then increas-
ingly quickly. At first, the child reacted with crying, but soon he began to enjoy it; he would
lean against Reich’s chest and seemed to want to crawl up on him. On top of Reich’s head,
he would squeal with pleasure. In the ensuing weeks, the “climbing up” and “falling” became
a favorite game.
The falling anxiety disappeared three weeks after Reich began his treatment. Nor
did it appear over the next six months, at which time Reich wrote up his experiences with
Peter.
23 : Psychiatric, Sociological, and Educational Developments: 1940-1950 305