Did you know that anxiety is something that all human beings will feel in their lifetimes? In truth, anxiety is not a bad thing at all and is intended to be a particularly helpful part of who we are as people. Anxiety is a natural human response, designed by our creator to alert us to the threat of danger and provide us with the necessary bodily response to react appropriately in a time of need. The problem with anxiety is not that we experience it, but that we experience it in quantities that are unproductive, unhelpful, and at times overwhelming.

When you encounter a dangerous situation, your brain is hardwired to detect that danger and trigger your body’s response to ensure your safety. What we refer to as the Fight, Flight, or Freeze response is actually a small portion of your brain (known as the amygdala) doing its intended job. The amygdala is designed to scan your environment for threats and upon discovering one reacts appropriately by triggering what we call the Sympathetic Nervous System into action. This system increases your heart rate, alters breathing to be quick and shallow, releases stored glucose into your large skeletal muscles, and allows for Cortisol and Norepinephrine (Adrenaline) to be released into your brain and body, thus creating the ability to fight back or flee from danger. But what happens when this system is triggered due to racing thoughts, learned patterns of behavior, past trauma, or other anxiety-inducing causes? The result is feeling the overwhelming rush of adrenaline with no productive place for it to go.