Anxiety: Physiological Behaviors

Take a look at the 4 components of anxiety:

Now that we have gone through thought and behavior, we will look into the physical aspect of anxiety. This covers our physiological reactions in response to an anxiety provoking situation. 

Stop and Think:

Think about the last time you were anxious or in fear. What did your body do? 

You probably had one of these symptoms below:

• overbreathing/hyperventilation 
• numbness/tingling
• clammyness/sweaty
• nausea
• pounding heart
• muscle tension

Why do our bodies react when sometimes we feel our responses are more central to our mind? Well, our bodies respond to situations that cause fear and anxiety in this way to protect ourselves. Say we see a bear come out into our path. Our brains evaluate the situation as threatening and then our bodies respond in a fight/flight/freeze response. In the same way that our brains might determine a bear as a threat, we can also perceive situations as a threat that cause us anxiety. In turn, we experience the symptoms above as our body reacts. This response is normal, but can definitely make us feel panic and worry in a state of anxiety. Thankfully, there are ways we can regulate these bodily responses.