Why Are You Anxious?
Unraveling Anxiety: From Persistent Worries to Biological Underpinnings
Many of us have experienced the depressing signs of worry when taking tests or looking for new jobs.
However, some people find it impossible to get rid of this sensation, even in settings that appear normal, and it has a long-lasting impact on their quality of life. What's going on, and why are you feeling so anxious?
About 7 million individuals suffer with generalized anxiety disorder, which is characterized by excessive anxiety that manifests on most days for a minimum of six months.
This might include tense muscles, irritability, and disturbed sleep.
Panic attacks are also conceivable, but they differ somewhat in that they are brief, abrupt bursts of extreme dread that cause severe bodily reactions such rapid heartbeat, dyspnea, and lightheadedness.
Whether or not a person has an anxiety problem, anyone can have a panic attack, and it's not necessarily caused by a recognized or particular trigger.
Although its exact cause is unknown, the amygdala and hypothalamus regulate your body's cortisol and adrenaline levels, which in turn helps to cause anxiety.
Since 40% of people with generalized anxiety disorder also have a related person who has the illness, it is possible that your hormone levels are influenced by your genetic makeup.
Because certain anxiety disorders are linked to traumatic childhood experiences, your environment may also play a role.
Neutron transmitter levels that fluctuate, like as those of GABA, serotonin, and dopamine, might potentially be the cause. Serotonin, a neurotransmitter that promotes feelings of pleasure and well-being, travels between neurons in your brain via a space known as a synapse.
Through a unique transporter, any serotonin that is not needed is returned to the originating neuron.
However, it has been proposed that a mutation in these transporters causes a higher volume of returned serotonin in individuals with OCD, a type of anxiety disorder, before it has a chance to reach the receiving neuron. This lowers the amount of serotonin in the synapse and ultimately affects your emotions.
To stop the seretonin from going back to its originating neuron, drugs like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are frequently utilized in these anxiety conditions.
An overactive amygdala and periaqueductal gray region are also common in anxiety disorders, and they may have detrimental effects on our bodies in addition to the brain. In a five-year study involving almost 300 participants, overactive amygdalas were also associated with a higher incidence of heart disease. This is because overactive amygdalas cause the bone marrow to produce more white blood cells, which in turn causes an inflammatory response that exacerbates the build-up of fatty deposits in the artery.
Phobias are also classified as anxiety disorders if you have them. However, since many anxieties—like the dread of heights or spiders—help us survive, it has been hypothesized that these fears might be ingrained in our DNA and passed on.
Mice quickly learn to fear fruit smells when they are shocked with electricity after being exposed to them.
Even more astounding is the fact that, despite never having experienced the shock, mice of subsequent generations likewise find the odors of the fruits repulsive. It turns out that an electrical shock caused some olfactory receptors to overexpress, which in turn made the following generation more susceptible to particular smells—almost like they were turned on.
and certain phobias may be connected to the switches.
In terms of therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy assists in pinpointing specific beliefs that result in the sentiments impacting
your actions and seeks to counteract anxiety disorders by altering those initial ideas.
On the other hand, drugs like SSRIs and SNRIS are frequently used to stop serotonin or norepinephrine from being reabsorbed; nevertheless, they have a number of negative effects and frequently raise tolerance when used over time.
Benzodiazepines are also used to assist relax muscles and help people fall asleep, although they have also been connected to dementia in the elderly.
It goes without saying that there is a complex neuro-chemical underpinning to anxiety, so telling someone to just relax or get over it won't help.
About the Creator
Mariam Fathalrahman
Whether you’re a nature lover, a history buff, or simply someone who enjoys a good read, there’s something here for you, diving into topics as diverse as the mysteries of Earth and nature. Join me, and let’s explore the world together.
Keep reading
More stories from Mariam Fathalrahman and writers in Psyche and other communities.
The Science of Coffee
Given its energizing properties, it seems sense that coffee is the second most traded commodity worldwide, just after oil. For many of us, it helps us get through our hectic days and stay alert. However, how does it operate? What specific effects does coffee have on the brain?
By Mariam Fathalrahmanabout a year ago in Psyche
Christmas is Not Always “Beer and Skittles”
If you find the holiday season challenging, you’re not alone. I have never been a big fan of Christmas. I have always found it a bit pretentious. It is a time for kids, really. I have not had kids in my life, so the "children's influence" around this time of year doesn’t occur.
By Calvin London21 days ago in Psyche
From Surviving to Living: When Rest Becomes an Act of Courage
When Survival Becomes a Lifestyle — And You Forget How to Live There is a quiet shift that happens when survival lasts too long. At first, it’s temporary. You tell yourself, “I just need to get through this phase.” Then weeks become months. Months become years. And without realizing it, survival stops being a response — it becomes a lifestyle. You don’t notice the moment it happens. There’s no clear breaking point. Just a gradual narrowing of life. Your goals become smaller. Your dreams become practical. Your emotions become controlled, managed, muted. You stop asking what brings you joy and start asking what is necessary. What is efficient. What is acceptable. And slowly, living turns into managing. The Hidden Cost of Constant Coping When someone lives in survival mode for too long, their nervous system adapts. It learns to stay alert. It learns to expect pressure. It learns that rest is risky and stillness is unsafe. So even when external threats disappear, the body doesn’t get the message. This is why many people feel exhausted without knowing why. Why calm moments feel uncomfortable. Why success doesn’t bring satisfaction. Why peace feels strangely empty. It’s not because something is missing. It’s because your system was never taught how to receive ease. You learned how to endure. Not how to enjoy. Why Letting Go Feels Harder Than Holding On Letting go sounds simple in theory. But for someone who survived by holding everything together, letting go feels like failure. You weren’t rewarded for resting. You were rewarded for coping. For staying strong. For not needing too much. So your identity formed around function, not feeling. This is why slowing down can trigger anxiety. Why saying “I can’t” feels shameful. Why doing less feels like becoming less. Your worth became linked to effort. And effort became constant. Healing Is Not Becoming Softer — It’s Becoming Safer Healing from long-term survival is not about becoming fragile. It’s about becoming safe. Safe enough to pause without panic. Safe enough to feel without rushing to fix. Safe enough to rest without preparing for collapse. This kind of healing doesn’t happen through motivation or discipline. It happens through permission. Permission to stop performing strength. Permission to disappoint expectations — including your own. Permission to exist without proving anything. At first, this feels unnatural. Because survival trained you to believe that safety must be earned. But safety is not earned. It is allowed. Relearning What Living Actually Feels Like Living is not dramatic. It doesn’t always feel exciting or intense. Sometimes, living feels quiet. Neutral. Ordinary. And for someone used to survival, that can feel unsettling. But calm is not emptiness. It is space. Space to notice yourself again. Space to feel preferences instead of obligations. Space to choose, not react. You don’t suddenly become a new person. You simply return to parts of yourself that were postponed. A Different Measure of Progress Progress is often measured by how much you do. How fast you move. How productive you appear. But healing progress looks different. It looks like stopping before burnout instead of after. Like resting before you collapse. Like saying “enough” without explaining yourself. It looks like choosing sustainability over intensity. Truth over performance. Presence over pressure. This kind of progress is quiet. And because it’s quiet, it’s often overlooked. But it is real. A Closing Truth If survival shaped you, it’s not your fault. You adapted the way you had to. But you are not meant to live your entire life in adaptation mode. You are allowed to soften without losing strength. To rest without guilt. To live without constantly preparing for impact. You don’t need to become more. You need to feel safe enough to be. And that shift — from surviving to living — is not weakness. It is the most honest form of courage there is.
By Med Abdeljabbara day ago in Psyche
📢 Raise Your Voice Thread: 01/08/2026
Our “Raise Your Voice Threads” are hosted most alternating Thursdays at 12PM ET to offer creators more avenues to uncover exceptional stories on Vocal. As we are continuously searching for fresh creators and inspiring stories, this thread provides an opportunity to exchange and discuss the stories that have moved and motivated us on Vocal.
By Raise Your Voice by Vocal5 days ago in Resources
Comments (1)
Nice article