Ann Marie here, and welcome to my next vlog!
You likely know that fear and anxiety are close relatives. What is the difference? In general terms, fear is our response to an immediate threat where anxiety is our response to a perceived threat which may or may not happen. For example, I’ve just been let go from my job due to an economic downturn and I now am very afraid ...versus…”Three people have been let go at work. What if I am next?” The first is an immediate threat as I have been literally let go while the second is a perceived threat “What if I am let go?”
We recognize fear or anxiety through a number of symptoms including Physical Sensations such as a heart that’s pounding, shallow breathing, a feeling of tightness in the chest, feeling butterflies in the stomach, Emotions such as worry, apprehension, panic, fear or dread, Thought Patterns such as Ruminating or obsessing, We may speak very quickly or not at all, we may have the jitters and be trembling. Fear is a crucial and necessary part of the human instinctive system which has allowed us to survive and stay safe. Our body is getting ready to fight, take flight, or freeze in order to survive.
Anxiety also gives us thought patterns including creating “What if?” scenarios in our head. It’s the anticipation of a future threat that is feared.
Emotions are chemical messengers meaning we need to pay attention because something is happening that is in need of our attention. When anxiety is helpful, we can prepare for what might be to come. Is there something we need to avoid, or escape from, or do we need to prepare and plan in order to cope with what might be coming our way? When we are anxious and potentially challenged with a stressor that we can handle, it becomes a learning opportunity and therefore anxiety is helpful to us in our personal growth and building of resilience.
But when does anxiety become a problem? Our thinking brain can begin to overwork and have an oversensitive memory bank of potentially threatening stressors. So, because something scary has happened in the past, it is possible that something scary may happen again. We may be constantly in a state of thinking, worry, and anxiety.
Our memory can overgeneralize and send us warning signals even for innocent situations or be unable to sort through the automatic physical responses we have and that “worrying” voice in our head. We get stuck in a loop of rumination, compulsions, and obsessions. Now anxiety has become a problem because it is disrupting our life and our health.
Realize anxiety is not your whole brain, it’s just a part of it. A part that is trying hard to keep you safe even though it’s become maladaptive and most unhelpful. Having the ability to regulate your emotions and settle oneself is developed during infancy and childhood. This capacity is important in maintaining health and healthy relationships. For some, life circumstance did not permit the development of such a capacity however this can still be developed through becoming self-aware and working with a trained therapist.
Stay safe and be kind to one another.
See you next time 😊