Anxiety And Fear Are Cousins But Not Twins
We get a lot of clients who come to us because of debilitating ANXIETY. It might show up as an anxiety disorder, panic attacks, or even heart arrhythmia.
In reality, what people now know to be "anxiety" is just an adaptation to our primal (and protective) fear response.
When we are faced with a situation that causes us to experience fear (be it being chased by a bear or simply the opinion of someone else), a fear response is triggered in our brain. This starts with our amygdala releasing adrenaline which, in turn, gets us fight-or-flight ready. This is good and necessary for our survival if we happen to meet a bear!
But did you know that when this FEAR RESPONSE gets activated again and again, it can rewire and change your brain structure?
The problem is, the body goes through the same basic process if we see a bear, or if we have an abusive parent. Or if we grew up in a house where making a mistake could have devastating consequences. FEAR is FEAR.
Research has shown that when these fear-circuits are constantly activated, the result is damage to both the body and the brain!
These fear circuits can begin to rule our lives and minds, compromising the body’s immune system and leading to a rapid decline in health. In essence, the body gets so attuned to preparing for FEAR that it stays in a state of vigilance. What results is ANXIETY. To save precious energy, the mind begins to "perceive" danger in everything, so that it will be "ready" to react. A lot of this is done subconsciously. That is why people can seem to get anxious for "no apparent reason".
When we learn to listen to what our body has been trying to say, rather than trying to cope with it or dampen the messages with medications or other drugs, we can begin to see how our system isn't broken. It just needs some re-wiring.
To gather more knowledge on how everyone can help themselves expand their mindset, we suggest reading our helpful how to be happy book that dives into how we really can rewire our brains for the better!