Anxiety

Anxiety can be described as the activation of the body’s defense mechanism when we anticipate something bad is going to happen. When this happens, the amygdala and hippocampus in the brain work in tandem to declare a threat, and the hypothalamus quickly sends a message down the brain stem.

This event activates autonomic nervous system functions like increased or decreased heart palpitations, sweating, etc., and sends the body into fight, flight, or freeze states. We generally recognise this feeling in the body, especially in the stomach area.

We can distinguish between three major classifications of anxiety:

1. General anxiety refers to a realistic fear of something bad that might happen in the future but hasn’t been realised yet, e.g., a car accident or being retrenched from work.

2. Logical anxiety is the result of a traumatic experience that actually happened to you. This anxiety (e.g., driving at night) can be a result of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after an accident or hijacking.

3. The last category is known as phobias. A phobia refers to an unrealistic and non-logical fear. This fear can be directed towards social circumstances and people (social phobia), specific phobia for things like spiders, snakes, heights, etc. The last category is the fear of open spaces (agoraphobia).For our purposes, it's enough to say that it's a very real fear for those who live with it, but it's illogical and unrealistic.

   
   
   
   

Difference between fear and phobia

Many of us dislike snakes or spiders and will not necessarily engage with them. In fact, we can live with our natural fear and anxiousness for the sake of our safety. If we live in a suburb or city, chances are we can easily avoid these engagements. 

Those affected by phobia, on the other hand, will go to great extremes to avoid the situation or object, to a degree greater than the actual danger posed. People have no control over their actions, they don’t even care about their dignity, as long as the “danger” can be avoided. 

Anxiety and the stress response

When we endure a traumatic event, the brain will store ALL information regarding the incident for future reference. This includes all external stimuli recorded by the senses, the internal processes in the body, and even the hormone levels.

When we encounter a similar situation, our brain initiates the following process in an instant:

• External stimuli (sounds, images, etc.) are sent for processing and evaluation by the brain. 

• The amygdala interprets this information and, according to Dr. Bessel van der Kolk (MD), acts as a “smoke detector” if a threat is perceived. The brain now relies on past experiences and memories to decide on a course of action.

• The hypothalamus comes into play and quickly sends a message down the brainstem. This act triggers the autonomic nervous system, causing changes in heart palpitations, sweating, and other bodily responses such as fight, flight, or freeze. Fo a more detailed description of this process, see Trauma and the Brain: An Introduction for professionals working with teens | Center for Adolescent Studies).

A common example is a person being involved in an accident with a truck on the highway close to a bridge. All sensory information, like fear, shock, time of day, etc. is taken in by the thalamus and threatened (via the amygdala). In the future, they may be driving on a different road and become just as startled and perceive just as much threat by seeing another bridge, another truck, or even just by driving at night - that’s the hippocampus working in tandem with the amygdala.

How can I help?

Multi-Level Neuro-Processing™ helps the brain to process these perceived threats on a neurological level. By removing the “triggers” that cause the anxiety, we limit or eliminate the number of “false alarms” set off in the brain. This results in less anxiety and optimal functioning in everyday tasks.