If you’re an anxious person you experience a strong reaction to things in your environment that may be a threat, which results in you having a larger stress response then someone else. As an anxious person you will find it difficult to tolerate uncertainty about the future and things that may go wrong. This may be about world events – for example, terrorist attacks or plane crashes – or matters relating to your relationship or your health. For example: “What if he doesn’t really love me?” or “What if I’ve got cancer?”
People with anxious personalities tend to have a general, although often subliminal, belief that the world is a dangerous place and that they must always be on guard to prevent or control any threat to their body and psychological well-being. Their thoughts are frequently dotted with ‘what ifs’ and ‘maybes’.
A person behaves a certain way because of a need to minimize or get rid of a stimulus or situation that is causing him to feel stressed. For example, a person may often say, “Yes” if someone asks him to take on more work, and is considered to be an obliging person. It is possible however, that he is actually anxious about receiving criticism and disapproval if he said, “No”.
Sometimes the anxious person is not aware that he experiences anxiety. The physical manifestations of discomfort, and changes to the gut or bowel, or problems with the immune or nervous systems, are often seem as physical problems requiring tests and treatment, and the cognitive (thinking) involvement is not at first recognized.
Yet every fearful or negative thought (which then becomes the threatening stimulus) causes the body to produce some adrenalin, a stress chemical that prepares the body for fight or flight in the event of the stimuli actually being dangerous. The adrenalin stores in the muscles, maintaining a sense of “readiness” should the danger ever present. The feeling of stress or being “on guard” can result in one small event triggering an intense response due to the build up of adrenalin in the body. Others may see this as an overreaction.
Many anxious people are sensitive, and are commonly known as worriers. The sensitive person has a brain that is sensitized to threat, and instructs the body to produce adrenalin at the first hint of there being a stimulus that could in any way be dangerous to the person. This could be external stimuli (heat, noise, unpleasant smells, crowds, bright lights, scratchy clothing, food with strange textures) or internal perceptions especially pertaining to being disapproved of, disliked or criticized.
A person with an anxious personality is likely to have strong floods of adrenalin in an environment where there are raised voices, irritable tones, or any suggestion of conflict, regardless of whether or not they are involved in the conflict. It is common for them to be jumpy and startle easily.
The nervous system, if aroused by adrenalin, gives a person the anxious feeling even before he or she can rationalize the situation. Once the brain recognizes that anxious feeling it stays on guard for the danger and the thoughts in the head are usually ‘what if’ this and ‘what if’ that. Typically the thoughts focus on the person’s vulnerability at the time and that may be related to something about their health, finances, relationships, children, work, being disliked, being inadequate. The brain is looking for some danger to justify the fear feeling.
Best wishes, Karen Gosling