Will Anxiety Go Away?

Video Transcript

Will Anxiety Go Away?

Yes, anxiety will go away when you work at it.

There are three parts of anxiety:

• The Cognitive: which deals with our thoughts,
• The Emotional: which deals with our feelings and moods, and
• The Physical: which deals with anxiety’s physical feelings, sensations, and symptoms.

You can view the “Three Parts Of Anxiety” video for more information. The link is in the description.

Anxious behavior, such as worry, causes the cognitive and emotional parts of anxiety. Anxious behavior also causes the physical part of anxiety.

But first, the physical part of anxiety.

Anxious behavior activates the stress response. The stress response secretes stress hormones into the bloodstream, where they travel to targeted locations to bring about specific physiological, psychological, and emotional changes that quickly prepare the body for immediate emergency action.

This survival reaction is often referred to as the fight or flight response.[1][2]

You can visit the article “The Stress Response” for more information about the many body-wide changes caused by the stress response.

Stress responses stress the body since they push the body beyond its internal balance (homeostasis). As such, anxiety stresses the body.

The higher the degree of the stress response, the more dramatic the changes. And the more anxious a person is, the more stress the body experiences.

Consequently, anxiety symptoms are symptoms of stress. They are called anxiety symptoms because anxious behavior is the main source of stress that stresses the body, and a body under stress can exhibit symptoms of stress.

When stress responses occur infrequently, the body can quickly recover from the many stress response changes.

As such, infrequent anxiety acutely stresses the body, and that stress quickly resolves as the stress response ends.

Acute anxiety acutely stresses the body.

However, when stress responses occur too frequently, such as from overly anxious behavior, the body can remain in a state of semi-stress response readiness, which we call “stress-response hyperstimulation” since stress hormones are powerful stimulants.

Hyperstimulation is also often referred to as “hyperarousal,” “HPA axis dysfunction,” or “nervous system dysregulation.”[3][4]

Visit our “Stress-Response Hyperstimulation” article for more information about the many ways hyperstimulation can affect the body and recovery.

Too frequent anxiety can lead to hyperstimulation, which chronically stresses the body.

Chronic anxiety chronically stresses the body. Chronic stress can cause chronic physical feelings, sensations, and symptoms.

Overall, anxiety (which is caused by anxious behavior) can acutely and chronically stress the body, depending on how frequently you behave anxiously.

Acute and chronic anxiety will cause acute and chronic physical feelings, sensations, and symptoms.

Now, the behavioral part of anxiety.

Anxious behavior occurs when we cope with life in an overly apprehensive manner.

In other words, coping with adversity, uncertainty, and risk anxiously will create all three parts of anxiety.

You can think of anxiety this way:

An anxious coping style = Cognitive + Emotional + Physical effects of anxiety.

If you want to stop anxiety and its consequences, you need to address the anxious coping style.

Fortunately, we can. Using an anxious coping style is learned. We can learn healthy ways of coping with adversity, uncertainty, and risk rather than unhealthy, anxious ways.

Therefore, “anxiety” can go away when we learn healthy ways of coping with the uncertainties of life.

Working with an experienced anxiety disorder therapist is the most effective way to identify and successfully address the many underlying factors that lead a person to cope with life in unhealthy, anxious ways.

Yes, we can learn and master the healthy skills required to cope with life in healthy ways. Working with an experienced therapist is the best way to do that.

By learning healthy ways of coping, you eliminate all three parts of anxiety, including the physical.

So again, yes, anxiety and all its parts can go away. When you get the right information and help and do the right work, you can overcome problematic anxiety once and for all.