Part 1: Decoding Anxiety - Understanding the Silent Struggle
Cristina Chinchilla LCSW
Mental Health Therapist at Untamed Journey| President of the Phoenix Rise Initiative 501(c)(3) to end human trafficking| Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Florida and Texas
In conversations with patients—or even in personal encounters—it's not uncommon to hear people reject the idea that they’re experiencing anxiety. Responses like, “I don’t have anxiety; I’m just stressed,” or “I’m just worried,” are common. Sometimes, when I ask questions like, “What is the fear telling you?” or “How do you feel unsafe?” the reply might be, “I’m not afraid; I’m just nervous.”
This confusion stems from a variety of reasons. One contributing factor is the stigma surrounding mental health, which can create a bias against acknowledging anxiety. Additionally, I often encounter situations where someone resists labeling their feelings as anxiety because of comparisons to others. For instance, a patient might downplay their fear of social situations—characterized by sweaty palms, increased body temperature, and shallow breathing—by calling it “nerves.” This distinction allows them to separate their experience from that of someone who suffers from intense anxiety or panic attacks, which might include hyperventilation and a fear of dying for no apparent reason.
Other factors may include a simple misunderstanding related to environmental conditioning. So let’s talk about it.
What Is Anxiety?
Ultimately, terms like stress, nerves, overwhelm, worry, terror, or panic all share a common thread: they stem from a fear of something that feels out of control.
At their core, they are future-focused thoughts that trigger a fear of danger or a loss of control over a situation. Recognizing this shared foundation can help us understand and address these emotions more effectively.
When working with patients who experience panic attacks, I’ll ask, “Do you know what triggered the panic attack?” More often than not, the response is something like, “No, it wasn’t triggered by anything—it just came out of nowhere.” While this response isn’t entirely false, it doesn’t tell the whole story.
Panic attacks are intense, sudden episodes of anxiety that seem to arise without warning.
They can be particularly debilitating. Although these attacks typically last only a few minutes, to the person experiencing them, those minutes feel endless—as if something catastrophic is happening, or worse, as though they’re about to die.
Anxiety attacks, while similar, usually have a more gradual onset.
A person might experience heightened anxiety for hours, days, or even weeks, feeling the pressure build until it culminates in a full activation of the fight-or-flight response.
Then we have your basic anxiety. You may not have ever experienced a panic or anxiety “attack,” but you have felt anxiety to some degree. We all have. It’s a normal human emotion that serves a purpose like all of our feelings.
Let me explain this in the way I would during a session, based on my knowledge of the topic. While I won’t cite research here, I’ll include some resources at the end if you’d like to explore the science further—it’s truly fascinating.
The Science of Panic and Anxiety Responses
When a panic or anxiety attack occurs, your brain receives a signal that the worst-case scenario is either happening or imminent. In response, it mobilizes all your resources to focus on survival. During these moments, your body temporarily shuts down all non-essential functions, such as:
Every ounce of energy is redirected to essential survival mechanisms, like:
Non-urgent bodily functions—like digesting food or repairing cells—take a backseat in these moments because your body assumes those processes won’t help you survive the immediate threat.
A Visual Example
Imagine you’re walking down your neighborhood sidewalk, carrying multiple grocery bags, when a menacing dog (bear with me; I love dogs, but let’s go with this analogy) suddenly charges at you, growling and foaming at the mouth.
Your immediate response? You drop everything—groceries, phone, purse, drink—whatever is weighing you down, so you can focus solely on escaping. At that moment, survival is your only concern.
If you have high baseline anxiety, this kind of response happens frequently. For some people, it occurs daily or even multiple times a day. Even without a full-blown panic attack, constant anxiety—whether you call it nervousness, worry, or stress—triggers the stress response to some degree.
The Aftermath
Now imagine you’ve made it home safely from the dog encounter. You’re physically unharmed, but now you’re dealing with the mess:
It’s a chaotic, exhausting process to pick up the pieces. This happens inside your body and brain as they work to re-regulate your nervous system and restore normal functioning.
Now, imagine the dog appears again the next day. And the day after that. Every time, you’re forced to drop everything, run, and go through the same recovery process. Over time, this constant activation of your stress response takes a toll.
By this point, your stress response may have become overly active, leading you to experience fear more frequently—even in the absence of actual danger. This heightened response is common in individuals with PTSD or a history of extensive trauma, such as childhood abuse, neglect, or violence in an intimate partner relationship.
Triggers
After the first encounter with the dog, you might feel a bit apprehensive when turning the corner onto your street. You’re more vigilant, scanning for any signs of danger. A trigger is beginning to form—your brain is starting to associate that particular walk with the threat of the dog.
By the second encounter, this association strengthens. That corner, that sidewalk, and even the idea of walking down your street are now tied to a sense of fear and danger. The trigger has become more deeply ingrained, and your anxiety spikes as soon as you approach the area.
By the third time, the fear extends beyond your neighborhood. Now, any sidewalk or dog, no matter how friendly, feels threatening. This fear starts to limit your life. You avoid places you would normally go, worried about encountering another “dangerous” situation.
As a result, your world begins to shrink.
You’re spending less time outdoors, getting less fresh air and sunlight. You’re withdrawing from friends and family because attending social events or outings means risking an encounter with a dog. Your anxiety has begun to interfere with your daily life, creating a cycle that can feel impossible to break.
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This Is Now a Problem
Your body wasn’t designed to have its stress response activated every day. It’s meant to be a short-term, emergency mechanism—not a daily occurrence. Chronic activation of this system wears down both your body and mind, contributing to or exacerbating numerous health issues such as gastrointestinal problems, infertility, sexual dysfunction, cardiovascular issues, premature aging, and more.
Recognizing and addressing anxiety is essential to breaking this cycle. By understanding how anxiety works, you can begin taking steps to reduce its frequency and intensity, fostering a healthier, more balanced life.
Different Types of Anxiety
Physical Danger
When we think of fear, we often associate it with physical danger—falling, getting injured, being in a car accident, or even life-threatening situations like encountering a serial killer (the classic example of extreme danger). However, anxiety doesn’t only respond to physical threats. It can arise from other fears that trigger the same stress response, including emotional, social, financial, and existential concerns.
Here are some common examples of anxieties:
Ways to Manage Anxiety
Redirect Your Focus to What You Can Control: Shift your attention from things outside your control to things within it. This reframing helps you reclaim a sense of power and confidence, reducing feelings of helplessness and fear.
Identify and Rewire Your Stress Triggers: To manage anxiety, you first need to know what triggers it. While some triggers are obvious, others—especially those causing panic attacks—can be harder to pinpoint.
Every feeling starts with a thought, and every thought originates from a trigger. This could be a sound, smell, memory, person, time of year, or even a fleeting thought that sparks another. To identify triggers, mentally retrace your steps, much like looking for lost car keys. As soon as you notice the feeling, work backward through your thoughts and environment to uncover the source.
Pre-Emptive Strategies: Once you know your triggers, take proactive steps to reduce their impact:
Practice Grounding Techniques: Mindfulness and grounding help anchor you in the present moment, where anxiety cannot dominate. Techniques like deep breathing, yoga, or meditation are powerful tools to reduce stress.
Work with a therapist to identify and reframe unhelpful thought patterns. CBT is particularly effective for managing anxiety and rewiring negative mental habits.
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP): ERP is commonly used to address phobias or OCD. This involves gradual, controlled exposure to feared stimuli in small, manageable doses to desensitize your response over time.
Healthy Outlets for Stress: Regular exercise, participation in group activities, or hobbies can help reduce anxiety. Physical activity releases endorphins and relieves built-up tension, while socializing and engaging in enjoyable activities provide positive distractions.
Closing Thoughts
Anxiety impacts everyone to some degree, and its intensity may vary during different periods of life. While it’s important to acknowledge your feelings and avoid dismissing them, balance is key. Anxiety’s purpose is to keep you safe—not to stop you from living life to the fullest.
In today’s world, we’re often bombarded with messages that tell us we’re unsafe. But if you pause and look in the mirror, you’ll see someone who is alive, breathing, and okay. Right now, in this moment, you are safe. Most of the threats you worry about are unlikely to happen.
By taking proactive steps, you can reduce anxiety’s grip and restore peace to your mind and body.
If you want to learn more about coping with anxiety, be sure to come back for part two of this series. We'll dive deeper into tools and approaches for effectively managing anxiety, plus you'll have access to a free downloadable worksheet to help assess and cope.
I wish you well on your journey ??
Cristina Chinchilla, LCSW
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Break free from self-doubt & overwhelm / Life Coach & Clinical Hypnotist / Helping you to rewire habits, overcome obstacles, & thrive in life & career.
1 周Stress and anxiety affect every aspect of our lives including our physical health. It literally makes us physically sick. There are many simple techniques that are learned and applied easily into our daily routine. They help us relax and in return gives us a better quality life, greater internal resources, and empowers us.