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Introduction
Anxiety is a common emotional response to stress, but for some, it becomes a persistent and overwhelming state that impacts their daily life. This blog post aims to shed light on what anxiety is, its effects on the body and brain, common symptoms, and how somatic therapies, breathwork, and neuro-psychology can play pivotal roles in the journey towards healing and reclaiming a sense of peace and balance.
Understanding Anxiety: What is it?
Anxiety is a natural response designed to protect us from potential threats. However, when anxiety becomes chronic or excessive, it can disrupt our well-being. It manifests as a feeling of unease, worry, or fear about the future, and it might arise from various stressors like work, relationships, or health concerns.
When looking at the limbic and mammalian brain, anxiety is considered one of the gateway emotions to experiencing a trauma or stress-response, also known as Fight, Flight, Freeze and Feign. When this happens the prefrontal cortex is hijacked by the more primitive areas of our brain, and our ability to rationalize, think clearly, analyze and make decisions becomes horribly impaired. Instead, the limbic brain is only focused on "Am I Safe?", "Am I Connected (to others)?", and "Am I loved?". If there is strong negative emotion in any of these areas, the brain signals the trauma response. We then find ourselves going into panic mode, from heightened anxiety. Other people may experience this as increasing anger or rage, and yet some will find themselves freezing, or unable to react in any way. Feigning has recently been added to the responses as a trauma response in which the individual becomes docile and a people-pleaser in order to survive. All of these responses are normal, and can vary between experiences that are traumatic or hyper-stressful. These responses are theorized by Steven Porges to be ruled by the Dorsal Vagus nerve branch, and is the older branch of the Vagus nerve that is responsible for the sympathetic responses in our bodies. The ventral vagal branch is where social interaction, rest, playfulness occurs, and our cortex is fully online and we are able to interact, think, make decisions, and respond in socially appropriate ways.
How Anxiety Impacts the Body and Brain
Anxiety triggers the body's stress response, leading to the release of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. The purpose of these hormones is for short term use, in order to help activate the organs and muscles to make us move in order to survive a threat. They are not meant to course through our bodies full time, or even for extended periods of time. When it does, this can take a toll on both the body and brain:
1. Physical Symptoms: Individuals experiencing anxiety might suffer from increased heart rate, rapid breathing, muscle tension, headaches, digestive issues, and fatigue. Chronic stress and anxiety leads to eating disorders, diabetes, heart disease, Crohns Disease and IBS, as well as mood disorders, and auto immune issues.
2. Emotional Symptoms: Anxiety can lead to feelings of restlessness, irritability, constant worry, and difficulty concentrating. Extended experiences of stress and anxiety cause the stomach to increase its production of serotonin as well as the digestive process. Serotonin is taken up by receptors in the brain and when too much serotonin floods the brain, the feel good hormones such as dopamine are 'kicked off' the receptor sites, causing bouts of depression. This is where medications like Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) are used to try to restore balance.
3. Brain Function: Chronic anxiety can negatively impact brain function, particularly in the amygdala (the brain's fear center) and the prefrontal cortex (responsible for rational decision-making and emotional regulation). Highly anxious people often suffer from 'brain-fog', and an inability to 'turn off' their brain, often negatively affecting their sleep and cognition long term. In developing children, when the stress levels are consistently high during the developmental milestone years, the affected amygdala can actually grow to be larger, and in severe cases, the cortex develops and becomes much smaller. In other words, their brain develops to be more focused on primal survival brain activity rather than higher level cognitive functions. They would be considered to be very low in Vagal tone of the ventral branch.
Common Symptoms of Anxiety
Everyone experiences anxiety differently, and in fact, many people walking around in today's world may not even realize how high their anxiety levels are until they mindfully start engaging in practices that encourage deep mind and body relaxation. The most common symptoms of anxiety, that are reported are the following:
- Excessive worrying and overthinking
- Irrational fear and panic attacks
- Avoidance of triggering situations
- Sleep disturbances and insomnia
- Social withdrawal and isolation
- Physical tension and restlessness
Healing Anxiety: The Holistic Approach
There is hope for healing an anxious nervous system, and it will take some self-love and mindfulness to gently bring your high-alert system back online.
1. Somatic Therapies: Somatic therapies focus on the mind-body connection and can help release stored tension and trauma. Techniques like somatic experiencing and body-centered psychotherapy can assist in processing and discharging anxiety from the body.
2. Breathwork: Breathing exercises can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting relaxation and reducing the impact of the body's stress response. Techniques like diaphragmatic breathing and box breathing can be effective in managing anxiety.
3. Neuro-Psychology: Understanding the brain's mechanisms behind anxiety can be empowering. Neuro-psychology techniques aim to rewire neural pathways through cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and mindfulness-based interventions.
4. Mindfulness and Meditation: Mindfulness practices can cultivate awareness and acceptance of anxious thoughts and feelings, reducing their intensity and grip on our minds. Journaling can also be beneficial when it is introspective or reflective in nature. When you start to write your experience or story around your anxiety, patterns begin to emerge, and at once we are able to identify triggers, patterns within us, and behaviours that we wouldn't have otherwise paid attention to.
5. Physical Activity: Engaging in regular exercise releases endorphins, which can act as natural mood boosters and stress-relievers. Changing the physiology of our body is a sure-fire way to change our mood. When we engage in aerobic activities or ones that get our heart rate up in eustress (healthy stress such as activities), it can allow space for the body to find its balance again and start the reparations from the previously experienced distress (the bad stress).
Conclusion
Anxiety is a complex and challenging experience that affects millions worldwide. By recognizing the impact of anxiety on both the body and brain, we can start taking proactive steps towards healing and managing it effectively. Incorporating somatic therapies, breathwork, neuro-psychology, mindfulness, and physical activity into our lives can lead us on the path to greater well-being and emotional resilience.
Remember, healing from anxiety is a journey, and seeking professional help from therapists or counselors can offer invaluable support and guidance along the way.
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