STRESS AND ANXIETY
Anxiety vs. Fear
Fear and anxiety are natural/normal emotions that help us to survive and cope with difficult, challenging and/or dangerous situations. See the attached URL with some additional facts about anxiety, as well as the short clip on the difference between anxiety and fear.
Key Difference:
- Fear = Real threat or danger
- Anxiety = Imagined threat or danger (“what if”)
https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/docs/Info-What%20is%20Anxiety.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v5E6syVppI
Fight, Flight, Freeze Response
The fight and flight response, which was the term originally given to an individual’s anxious responses to a perceived threat, now also includes a third response freeze. It is well documented in the literature that in response to anxiety our heart starts to beat faster and our breathing becomes more rapid. It is also well documented that these changes help to mobilise our brain and body to fight off an enemy or run away from it. However, sometimes in anxiety provoking situations instead of fighting or fleeing, our body tends to freeze (like a deer in head lights). Here is a short clip that teaches us about our body’s responses to anxiety in more detail.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEHwB1PG_-Q
Vicious cycle of anxiety
Broadly speaking anxiety involves three components our thoughts, feelings and our behaviour. The anxious cycle typically starts with a novel stimulus that we perceive as threatening, and we then attach a similar threatening meaning to this stimulus with our thoughts. This often happens unconsciously, and it is not until we experience the changes in our body (e.g., feelings – rapid breathing, heart racing, tense muscles) that we are alerted to the perceived threat. We then misinterpret these feelings as factual representations about the level of threat associated with the stimulus, and then attempt to escape or avoid the perceived threat to provide short-term relief. However, in doing so we maintain our anxiety, as the next time we encounter this stimulus our anxiety is increased through our thoughts, feelings and behaviour, which subsequently results in an ongoing misinterpretation of the actual level of threat associated with the original stimulus. For more information about the vicious cycle of anxiety see attached flyer from the centre of clinical interventions.
https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/resources/docs/Info-Vicious%20Cycle%20of%20Anxiety.pdf
The psychologists at Mind on Health can help you to understand stress and anxiety and assist you to manage it. Call our friendly team on Ph: 07 5502 3699.