What We Can Learn from Anxiety

Anxiety is bad, right? It feels bad, it causes problems, and it makes our lives more difficult. But what if we considered the ways that anxiety can actually benefit us? What could our anxiety teach us?

Anxiety can give us information. It can alert us to things that need our attention or indicate when something is in conflict with our values. Anxiety can sometimes be an avenue to help us tune into our intuition or help us pay attention to our deeper needs and fears. Anxiety can be a piece of data that we use to make decisions. For many of us, the problem comes when we take this piece of data and allow it to be the only piece of information we consider.

To be fair, this is exactly what anxiety is supposed to do. When we experience a burst of emotion, particularly the feeling of anxiety, our brain begins an automatic process in which a part of the brain called the amygdala activates the fight-or-flight response. When this process is initiated, the amygdala alerts the rest of the body to prepare for danger. This could look like an increased heart rate, a release of stress hormones, dry mouth, or changes in digestion, among other things. 

When this process of fight-or-flight is initiated by the amygdala, we may experience a process called the “amygdala hijack.” Survivors of trauma or those with anxiety symptoms may experience this process more often or at a higher level than others. When we experience a low-level anxiety trigger, other parts of the brain may still be able to override the amygdala’s signals. For instance, the amygdala may send a message that danger is near but the frontal lobe, which is responsible for problem-solving and rational thinking, may be able to evaluate the threat, determine if action is needed, and if not, override the amygdala’s fight-or-flight response.

However, many people experience very strong signals from the amygdala that are difficult or even impossible to override with problem-solving or rational thought from the frontal lobe. In these cases, the signals from the amygdala may be so strong that access to other parts of the brain, including the frontal lobe may be completely shut off. Does this sound familiar? Picture this, in what feels like “out of the blue” you start to feel anxious. Maybe your mind starts to race, your stomach feels upset, you can feel your heart beating. You try to talk yourself out of it, “There’s nothing to be stressed about,” “Nothing bad is going to happen,” “Calm down,” but no matter what you tell yourself, it doesn’t seem to make the anxiety go away.

This is what the amygdala hijack can feel like. Historically, our ancestors may have experienced more physical threats to safety for which a physical fight-or-flight response would have been helpful or necessary. In our modern society, these many or our day-to-day experiences tend to be more mental, emotional, or interpersonal. Unfortunately, our amygdala is not made to distinguish between these types of threats. It is simply doing what it is supposed to do, sending out the alarm when danger is perceived.

Remember, this is an automatic process, meaning it happens without your conscious input. Though this can feel overwhelming, there are a few things to do when you notice you are in amygdala hijack mode.

1. Acknowledge and label this as an amygdala hijack.

2. Validate the feelings

3. Engage in amygdala calming activities (breathing, distractions, temperature change etc)

4. Remember that even though this feeling is strong, it is only one piece of the puzzle. Your frontal lobe is there to help you consider other factors and problem-solve. 

What is the purpose of this? To put it simply, it’s safety. The amygdala hijack helps us stay safe. Anxiety can also serve to help us engage in problem-solving, plan ahead, or anticipate obstacles. By accepting anxiety’s purpose in our lives, we may be able to allow ourselves the opportunity to coexist with our anxiety rather than fighting against it. For many of us, simply acknowledging, validating, and even appreciating our anxiety signals can actually reduce the impact of anxiety on our level of distress. 

So next time you experience anxiety or an amygdala hijack, what if you tried validation and acceptance toward your anxiety? This could look like some inner dialogue like “Thanks for trying to keep me safe (anxiety), I know you’re trying to help me.” Next, engage your self-curiosity skills, by asking yourself “What does my anxiety need me to know?” or “What is my anxiety afraid will happen?” Finally, take all this information your anxiety is giving you and “right size” it by engaging other parts of your brain. Engage your logic, problem-solving, and other parts of you alongside your anxiety. Although this does not guarantee that your feeling of anxiety will go away, it may help to reduce the impact of anxiety. Give it a try!

Blog by Sara Pogue, MSW, LICSW
Photo by Annie Wiegers