Understanding Anxiety
Anxiety is a common human experience that can feel overwhelming but serves an important purpose. It is a natural response to perceived danger, part of our body’s survival system. By learning more about anxiety, you can better understand it, feel less alone, and develop strategies to manage it.
What Is Anxiety?
Anxiety is closely related to fear, but they are not the same. Fear occurs in response to an immediate and real danger, while anxiety arises in anticipation of a potential threat that may not exist. For example, walking down a poorly lit alley may provoke anxiety due to the anticipation of danger, even if no actual threat is present. This reaction stems from what we believe might happen, not necessarily from what is happening.
The Fight/Flight Response
When the brain perceives danger—real or imagined—it triggers the fight/flight response. This automatic mechanism prepares the body to fight off danger or flee to safety. While incredibly useful in truly dangerous situations, this response can feel overwhelming when activated unnecessarily.
How Anxiety Affects the Body
Anxiety involves changes across three major systems: physical, cognitive, and behavioural. These changes are designed to help us respond to danger, but they can feel distressing when triggered by anxiety.
Physical System Changes
- Increased Heart Rate and Stronger Heartbeat
Blood is pumped faster to deliver oxygen to muscles and remove waste. This can feel like a racing or pounding heart. - Redistribution of Blood
Blood flow shifts from less vital areas (like the skin and extremities) to essential organs and muscles. This can make skin pale and cause cold or tingling sensations in the fingers and toes. - Faster and Deeper Breathing
Breathing intensifies to supply more oxygen to the body. This can cause breathlessness, chest tightness, or dizziness due to reduced blood flow to the head. - Increased Sweating
Sweating cools the body and makes the skin slippery, historically helping evade predators. - Widened Pupils
Pupils expand to let in more light, enhancing the ability to detect threats. This may cause blurred vision or light sensitivity. - Decreased Digestive Activity
Digestive processes slow down to conserve energy for immediate action. This can result in dry mouth, nausea, or a heavy stomach. - Muscle Tension
Muscles tighten in preparation for action, leading to tension, trembling, or aches.
Behavioural System Changes
The fight/flight response leads to two main behavioural urges: to fight (aggression) or to flee (escape). When social constraints prevent these actions, these urges may manifest as pacing, foot tapping, or irritability (e.g., snapping at others). These are natural expressions of anxiety’s physical energy.
Cognitive System Changes
Anxiety shifts our focus to searching for potential threats in the environment. This heightened vigilance makes concentrating on other tasks difficult. If no obvious danger is found, we may turn inward, questioning ourselves and attributing the sensations to personal flaws—such as thinking we’re “going mad” or that something is seriously wrong.
Restoring Balance
Once the perceived danger has passed, the body begins to return to a calmer state. The parasympathetic nervous system counteracts the fight/flight response by slowing the heart rate, reducing breathing intensity, and relaxing muscles. However, this restoration isn’t immediate—some arousal remains temporarily, keeping the body prepared for potential re-emerging threats. This explains why anxiety can linger even after the triggering event has passed.
What Causes Anxiety?
Anxiety can develop from a combination of biological and psychological factors:
- Biological Factors
Genetics can play a role; for example, individuals with a family history of anxiety disorders may inherit a vulnerability to developing them. - Psychological Factors
Early experiences, learned behaviours, and life stressors also contribute. For instance, being taught to fear neutral situations as a child can create patterns of thinking and behaviour that increase susceptibility to anxiety later in life.
Anxiety and a Person-Centred Approach
From a person-centred therapeutic perspective, anxiety often develops when there is incongruence between a person’s self-concept and their lived experiences. This incongruence can arise when a person’s needs for acceptance, empathy, and unconditional positive regard are unmet, particularly during childhood. For example:
- Conditional Regard: If an individual feels valued only when they meet certain expectations (e.g., academic success or specific behaviours), they may internalise a belief that they are unworthy unless they achieve or behave in a specific way. This can lead to chronic self-doubt and anxiety.
- Suppressed Authenticity: When people feel they must suppress their true feelings, thoughts, or desires to gain approval, they experience inner conflict. This disconnect between who they are and who they feel they must be creates a fertile ground for anxiety to develop.
- External Locus of Evaluation: A reliance on external validation rather than self-acceptance can heighten anxiety, as the individual constantly seeks reassurance from others and fears judgement or rejection.
Anxiety in Perspective
It is important to remember that some anxiety is helpful—it motivates us to meet deadlines, stay safe, and be prepared. It is an important survival mechanism that protects us from harm. For some, it becomes activated in situations where no real danger is present.
The frequency and intensity of these responses can vary greatly. An anxiety disorder is diagnosed when these responses interfere with daily functioning. Understanding and addressing the underlying mechanisms of anxiety can empower you to manage it effectively.
If it sounds as though anxiety is something you are struggling with, contact me to book a free 20 minute phone consultation.
Holistic Healing. Authentic Transformation. 