Anxiety results from an imbalance between the emotional and inhibitory parts of the brain.
Anxiety is excessive concern or worry. Anxiety actually primes the body to fight against danger. However, there is not always a concrete danger. In the absence of danger, anxiety forces a person to run away from an invisible enemy, to continue running towards an unknown goal. If anxiety is inevitable for you too; You know how it affects other aspects of your life, like work, school, and relationships. Anxiety is actually a useful emotion that helps us survive. But too much is worse than killing a person.
Causes of Anxiety
Anxiety is a part of our primitive, emotional brain (limbic system) that protects us from danger. This area of the brain, specifically the amygdala, is used to alert us to danger. It sends a message to fight or flee from danger. Three regions in the brain: hippocampus, amygdala and cortex are responsible for anxiety. Amygdala is the brain's alarm system responsible for fear and anger. When there is a frightening or dangerous situation, the memory and learning center appeals to the Hippocampus and asks. “Is there anything to be afraid of?” If the hippocampus says yes, the amygdala immediately triggers an anxiety reaction, forcing us to flee. The cortex is the part that allows us to make voluntary movements. When the amygdala sends the escape signal, the cortex doesn't have time to think. First we run away, then we think. For this reason, when individuals calm down and think, "Yes, I know there is nothing to be afraid of, but I can't help it, in that case my brain stops and I can't control it." they say. Especially in anxiety disorders that progress with panic attacks, the amygdala is in a panic state, is easily triggered, and is suspicious of everything.
Anxiety is different from fear. Fear is directed towards a specific stimulus; If there is no stimulus, there is no fear. Anxiety does not go away when there is no stimulus. Particularly with generalized anxiety disorder, it is a definite worry that something dangerous will happen.
What is happening in the brain? We can say that there is an imbalance between the emotional and thought-inhibiting parts of the brain. The amygdala is a brain structure that is always alert to threats so it can react quickly. Dangerous b. When in a state, you must be in full operation and readiness. However, in non-threatening situations, a healthy prefrontal cortex inhibits the lower parts and acts as a brake by suppressing the amygdala's accelerated responses. “There is nothing to fear. You are not in danger! Escape!" etc.
In the anxious brain, the amygdala is hypersensitive and its connection to the cortex is poor. That is, the amygdala interprets an ambiguous situation as threatening while evaluating it, perceiving it as an exaggerated threat and producing many false alarms. This process causes great pain by activating the pain areas of the brain, as proven by research.
Anxiety also has harmful effects on memory. Anxiety causes great stress in a person, and stress shrinks the hippocampus. This region is crucial for processing long-term and contextual memories. Unfortunately, as anxiety progresses; All memories begin to become limited except those that support anxiety, trauma, or stress. In other words, the only memory files available for immediate and conscious access are those of failure, threat, and danger. Unfortunately, memories of success, certainty and security cannot be reached or these memories are buried deep in the memory.
While examining how the anxiety mechanism works in the brain, we have discussed anxiety from its neuroscientific dimension. However, these are not the only factors that cause anxiety; there are many factors such as personality, gender, early life experiences, unresolved experiences, problem-solving skills, family, schemas, and age. What is important about anxiety is the way we interpret it. It is not the events that affect people, but how they interpret the events. We activate our thoughts by interpreting them with our schemas. Then our emotions and behaviors are formed. “In therapies, we aim to teach people how to look at events from different perspectives, how to behave in the face of events, and how to intervene in events with different coping skills.”
We know a lot about how anxiety works and its psychobiological foundations. . An abundance of research has led to discovering effective treatments for different anxiety disorders. For example, phobias, social anxiety and panic There are very effective treatments for the disorders. If you know someone who suffers from anxiety, let them know they don't have to live in psychological pain. The combination of medication and therapy (especially cognitive behavioral therapy) is shown in many academic publications as the most permanent treatment method. Successful treatments preserve a person's relationships, career, and self-confidence. Take the first step today!
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