Anxiety

BrainSience: Before going onstage to give a presentation, you notice your breathing becomes heavy, your hands tremble and you feel faint. Though frightening, these symptoms are not life-threatening; rather they are indicative of a panic attack. Panic attacks are caused by anxiety. Anxiety is a feeling of worry, fear, and tension affecting about 40 million adults in the United States. Anxiety can be caused by many things, including life stressors, health problems, genetics, and traumatic events. Anxiety symptoms include nervousness, restlessness, difficulty concentrating, and muscle tension. Many people experience occasional panic attacks. Panic attacks which are sudden episodes of intense anxiety.

We know a fair amount about the physiology of a panic attack, but we have only recently started to understand how it affects our brain chemistry. Panic attacks are episodes of intense fear or apprehension. Sufferers often report thinking that they might be dying, choking or going crazy. They may also feel like they are experiencing a heart attack or about to blackout. These episodes usually begin abruptly, reach their peak within 10 minutes and end within half an hour.

you might remember in a previous post we discussed the nervous system and the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. When people feel stressed, their sympathetic nervous system typically revs up, releasing energy and preparing the body for action. Then the parasympathetic nervous system steps in, and the body stabilizes to a calmer state. If the parasympathetic nervous system is somehow unable to do its job, a person will remain fired up and may experience the heightened arousal characteristic of a panic attack. What is also clear now is that since Both of these systems originate in the brain and they extend signals throughout the body's central nervous system. This means that the whole body has the potential to be affected by the amlgama..

Recently researchers have also identified certain other regions of the brain that become hyperactive during a panic attack. The amygdala is the fear center of the brain, and as such sends controlling signals to the central nervous system. We are now finding that there are two other major areas of the brain that appear to regulate the amalgama. They are the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). THe ACC amplifies amalgama and therefore increases anxiety. The PFC modulates the amalgama so as to lessen anxiety. From our previous blogs we know the cortex is the storage area of the brain. So whatever is stored in these two locations modulate the amagama. Other more recent research indicates other parts of the brain engage both the AAC and PFC making the anxiety syndrome much more difficult to analyze. Today, we understand that anxiety results from interactions among different brain regions. A single brain region cannot drive anxiety. According to current hypothesis, we only feel anxiety when the emotional brain overpowers the cognitive brain and controls our consciousness. IN the current hypothesis further research digs deeper in the brain to a specific spot called the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (DACC) again is a part of the cerebral cortex designed to heighten fear signals from the amygdala. When anxious individuals view pictures of frightened faces, the DACC and amygdala (among other locations) increase communication with each other, which leads to intense anxiety. But people without anxiety show negligible to no response in the DACC spot.. On the other hand, a deeper more refined part of the frontal cortex called the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VPC) serves to reduce anxiety signals from the amygdala. People with damage to ventromedial prefrontal cortex of the brain are more inclined to experience anxiety since there's no dampening of the anxiety signals.

If you really want to get into effect of anxiety in the brain there are a bunch of studies at the neuron level associated with the amalgama. Most studies concern the periaqueductal gray area of brain. A study performed by scientists at the Wellcome Trust Center for Neuroimaging at University College London used functional MRI to locate which specific brain regions kick in when a person senses an imminent threat. They found activity in an area of the midbrain called the periaqueductal gray, a region that provokes the body’s defensive responses, such as freezing or running. Dean Mobbs, the lead author on the study, wrote: “When our defense mechanisms malfunction, this may result in an over exaggeration of the threat, leading to increased anxiety and, in extreme cases, panic.”

Brain Facts:

• One of the surprising facts about anxiety for many, is that it is a good thing! – if you understand how to react to it.

• According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), anxiety disorders are the most common mental health conditions, it affecting 40 million Americans.

• FACTS ABOUT ANXIETY: 1. ANXIETY CAN BE GENETIC: Why do some survive traumatic events and come through seemingly unscathed? And yet others develop anxiety disorders like PTSD, Panic Disorder, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. One thing is certain: anxiety disorders and anxious temperaments seem to run in families. A person who has one parent or sibling with major depression is one and a half to three times more likely than the general population to experience it. 2. ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION ARE LINKED: Anxiety is often a cause or a trigger of depression. Research indicates women who have generalized anxiety disorder are at an increased risk for developing depression. 3. ANXIETY OFTEN BEGINS IN CHILDHOOD Another one of the surprising facts about anxiety is that it usually begins in childhood. According to the CDC, approximately 7% of children between the ages of 3 and 17 years old have diagnosed anxiety. Since children are still developing their verbal skills they can’t say, “I have anxiety” or “I’m really worried.” 4. ANXIETY CAN CAUSE PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS Most people know that anxiety causes difficulty focusing and concentrating, restlessness, irritability and frustration. However, few people realize that anxiety causes serious physical problems like weakness, shortness of breath, rapid heart rate, nausea, hot flashes, and dizziness. People experiencing a panic attack often end up in the ER believing they are having a heart attack. 5. ANXIETY DISORDERS INCREASE RISK OF HEALTH COMPLICATIONS According to research at Harvard, anxiety has been indicated in several chronic physical illnesses, including heart disease, chronic respiratory disorders like COPD, gastrointestinal conditions such as IBS, and substance abuse. What is certain is that long-term exposure to increased cortisol levels (i.e., anxiety) leads to decreased immunity and damage to the heart and lungs. 6. ANXIETY CAN CAUSE COLD HANDS AND FEET Have you ever wondered why your hands and feel sometimes feel cold to the touch? Did you know that it could be the result of anxiety? When we feel anxious, the flight or fight response kicks in. When this occurs, blood flow is redirected from your extremities, such as your hands and feet, and towards the torso and vital organs. This creates the feeling of cold in your hands and feet. 7. ANXIETY CAN CAUSE ANGER One of the surprising facts about anxiety is that, if left unchecked, it can lead to anger. .Additionally, with chronic sufferers of anxiety, depression sometimes develops. 8. ANXIETY CAN CAUSE MEMORY PROBLEMS Because individuals who suffer from anxiety often struggle to stay in the present moment, it makes them often forgetful. People who suffer from generalized anxiety disorder struggle with worry and an inability to control the worry. . 9. WOMEN ARE TWICE AS LIKELY AS MEN TO DEVELOP AN ANXIETY DISORDER Perhaps one of the most surprising facts about anxiety is that women are twice as likely as men to develop an anxiety disorder. According to the ADAA, from the time a girl reaches puberty to the age of 50, she is twice as likely to develop an anxiety disorder as a man. A woman’s fight or flight response is more easily activated and stays activated longer than a man’s – partly due to progesterone and estrogen. There’s also evidence to suggest that the female brain does not process serotonin as quickly as the male brain and they are more sensitive to low levels of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), a hormone that organizes stress responses in mammals. 10. EXERCISE CAN HELP REDUCE ANXIETY Countless studies show exercise helps decrease symptoms of anxiety. Did you know that a single workout has been proven to be a quick mood booster? And it doesn’t matter if the exercise is intense. It can be a quick walk around the block or a 30 minute run. So What:

Anxiety is also a normal and appropriate response to stressful events. Anxiety can help alert you of your surroundings to get you to your car safely. Anxiety can help you perform better. Have a big presentation at work? Anxiety can help ensure you prepare so you perform your best.Did you know anxiety (like many difficult emotions) can be an opportunity for growth?

It only becomes a problem when we react to it in a way that is counterproductive to an individual's normal life.

Panic and fear also common culprits associated with anxiety. As we have discussed anxiety can cause a merid of physical complications. The worst of which is a sudden freezing of the brain and even what seems like a electrical jolt.

In some cases the more you have anxiety the more the opportunity to overcome it. Remember our "Think Like A Seal". Seals teach their brains to react. It is possible to teach your brain to react to the stimulation of your amalgama in a way to offset an attack. It seems tough that most solutions involves re engaging the brain in a different direction. In other words get your mind off of it. Tactics that have worked include finding someone to talk to you. Conversation moves the brain off the algama on on to a different direction. Engaging in conversation with interaction and response sets the brain off in the processing of networking pathways that are not close to the amalgama.

Let's take an example,of how to handle anxiety. Let's say you wake up in the middle of the night head pounding and the pressure in your head head is overwhelming. You have been thinking all night about something that happened during the day. Suddenly, you can't breath. Panic fills your body. You lay there thinking it will never end. you keep thinking about not breathing and the sense of something being out of control. All of the sudden Your amalgama takes over and you are full panic mode. The worst thing you can do is keep thinking about it.

So You get up and walk around. That's the best thing you can do. The next step might be to find something you can focus on. Maybe you wake up your spouse and play cards. Maybe go outside and take a walk. If you can focus... try reading. The important thing is refocusing on something else. 9 times out of 10 you will forget about the panic and the pain once you get your brain engaged.