Basically it’s saying that the feeling of fear and concern may not be based on anything tangible. These are dictionary definitions, but it undoubtedly describes how a large number of men and women feel about his or her life. A lot of people complain more about anxiety along with other emotional issues than they complain about anything else.

The Emotional Nature of Anxiety

For most people anxiety is an unavoidable part of our lives. On a daily basis many of us encounter real-life circumstances to which anxiety is often a rational reply. These types of situations could be something as significant as a death, loss of a job or a divorce or it could be something apparently as trivial as a doctor’s visit or going to a party or some other social event where you meet new people.

Despite the fact that anxiety is a typical emotional response, it can also take various forms. It can range from being a suitable response to a stressful situation to actually being a mental disorder. Disorders can happen when signs or symptoms continue to persist or they are severe. Some individuals experience anxiety symptoms which are so intense that they actually interfere with the person’s capacity to perform their daily activities.

The Physical Nature of Anxiety

Even though many people experience anxiety on an emotional level, as in stress and worry, these feelings can also affect us physically. So what is anxiety and what happens to your body whenever you start feeling anxious or even panicky? Feelings of anxiety can trigger a response in our bodies that is known as “fight-or-flight” reaction. This reaction happens when we are faced with a threat, whether it’s real or imaginary. Our thoughts are what triggers this result and it can occur merely by getting excited. The fight-or-flight reaction is our body’s powerful defense mechanism which readies us to either escape danger or to confront it.

It is the nervous system that controls our fight-or-flight response. The brain, peripheral nerves and spinal cord make up the nervous system which divided in two parts: there is the autonomic (involuntary) nervous system and of course the voluntary nervous system.

All activities that you perform consciously are managed by the voluntary nervous system. An example of this would be placing your hand on something very hot. Your brain receives a signal of pain and responds immediately by telling you to get your hand out of there so you won’t get burned. Naturally you quickly get you hand out of the way.

The involuntary nervous system controls things which we need to function but we take for granted like heart rate, blood circulation, functions of your glands, etc. But the involuntary nervous system is separated into two parts as well; there is the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems which work to complement one another. An example of how they work together is if you get really excited and you heart starts racing the parasympathetic nervous system acts to slow your heart rate down. On the other hand, if your heart rate is too low then the sympathetic nervous system works to increase your heart rate.

The fight-or-flight response triggers your nervous system (sympathetic) causing many physical responses. The adrenal glands produce more adrenalin which increases your heart rate, your breathing becomes more rapid and shallow, you hands and feet may feel cold and your muscles become tense and tighten up. There is also an increase of sugar released into the body, an increase in your metabolic rate, your digestion is inhibited and additional acid is secreted into your stomach. All this was brought about because of feelings of anxiety.

So what is anxiety? Well for most of us it may just be a little nervousness. But for people who suffer from panic/anxiety attacks, their sympathetic nervous system is extremely sensitive and is easily triggered. Their bodies are all too often ready to react to some crisis which puts them in a continual state of fight-or-flight.

Any advice?

Anyone else have experience with this?