What Causes The Emotional Problem Of Anxiety?

By Author: R Moss
Total Articles: 5
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Anxiety typically refers to feelings of apprehension and dread, often resulting in physical activation of the fight-or-flight system. When hyperventilation occurs, it can culminate in a full blown panic attack. Many people with the problem have been educated on the reasons the physical symptoms (e.g., perspiring, rapid heartbeat, etc.) occur, though this does not explain what actually causes anxiety.

To truly understand the causes, it is necessary to understand the brain. Obviously, the brain is the central processing unit that controls the rest of the body. In 2006, I had a theoretical article published which provides a detailed discussion of how the brain operates. This was followed by a professional article in 2007 which applies the model to an understanding of psychological problems, particularly negative emotional memories. Both are available for review at my website.

There are both past and present factors responsible for anxiety symptoms. Once these factors are in play, maladaptive reactions can occur and lead to additional anxiety. For example, worry is often the result of anxiety about something, but ...
... it in turn leads to additional anxiety as time progresses.

The first place to look in understanding the emotional problem of anxiety, as well as all other problems related to negative emotion, is in ones past learning history. When traumatic events occur, one feels threatened and out of control. In past relationships with significant others, we are often placed in situations making us feel out of control and personally inadequate.

The factors of lack of control and personal responsibility in conjunction with a negative emotion lead to the memories that later affect us detrimentally. For example, you may have had a spouse who cheated on you and was verbally abusive. Once divorced, you may later have another spouse you logically know is trustworthy. However, if your current spouse runs late getting home, the past memories of the former spouse are activated and you feel anxiety.

People can also form memories of feeling panicky. They then tend to monitor their bodily sensations and if anything is noticed to reflect a potential anxiety episode, the past memories are activated. This in turn leads to further activation of the fight-or-flight system. Thus, the emotional problem of anxiety has strong roots in brain memories. There are ways I have discussed to treat these past memories, though that is beyond the scope of the current article.