My Body Sensations Scare Me: Anxiety Sensitivity #paigepradko

Summary

This video delves into anxiety sensitivity, a heightened perception of bodily sensations and emotions, often linked to conditions like panic disorder and health anxiety. Paige Pradko, a psychotherapist, explains that anxiety sensitivity is a fear of internal bodily sensations, which can lead to catastrophic thinking. The video explores the genetic and environmental factors contributing to this sensitivity and offers insights into treatments like cognitive behavior therapy, emphasizing the importance of not avoiding symptoms and learning to manage the fear response.

Takeaways

• 🔍 Anxiety sensitivity is the fear of internal bodily sensations associated with anxiety, leading to the belief that these sensations are dangerous and could result in disastrous outcomes.
• 🌟 Symptoms of anxiety can include a racing heart, difficulty breathing, and feelings of dizziness, among others.
• 🚫 People with high anxiety sensitivity may misinterpret these sensations as signs of a heart attack, stroke, or going insane, and fear social humiliation if these occur in public.
• 👀 Individuals without high anxiety sensitivity typically do not associate their symptoms with danger or fear, and do not become overly attentive to them.
• 🏃‍♀️ Those with high anxiety sensitivity may engage in avoidance behaviors or safety behaviors to prevent or alleviate anxiety symptoms.
• 🧬 Anxiety sensitivity is believed to be a result of a combination of genetic and environmental factors, with genes playing a role in brain structures that process threats.
• 👶 Early childhood experiences that lead to the belief that bodily sensations are dangerous can be key in developing anxiety sensitivity.
• 🧠 Research suggests that anxiety sensitivity influences the intensity of fear and anxiety responses, especially in individuals with PTSD.
• 🚫 The research does not support the idea that people with anxiety sensitivity experience more pain, but rather that they have a genetic makeup and misinterpretation of threats leading to increased attention to symptoms.
• 🛑 Treatment for anxiety sensitivity involves specific types of cognitive behavior therapy, including exposure and response prevention, and mindfulness and acceptance therapies.
• ⚠️ The use of benzodiazepines, particularly on an as-needed basis, may increase anxiety sensitivity and impair responses to other treatments like psychotherapy.

Q & A

What is anxiety sensitivity?

Anxiety sensitivity is the fear of internal bodily sensations associated with anxiety and the concern that they are dangerous and could lead to devastating outcomes.

Why is anxiety sensitivity important to understand?

Understanding anxiety sensitivity is important because it can help individuals recognize if they are at risk for developing anxiety disorders such as panic disorder, health anxiety, and agoraphobia.

How does anxiety sensitivity relate to panic disorder and other anxiety disorders?

Anxiety sensitivity can put individuals at risk for developing panic disorder, agoraphobia, and other anxiety disorders because it involves a fear of fear and misinterpretation of bodily sensations as dangerous.

What are some common anxiety symptoms that might be misinterpreted by someone with high anxiety sensitivity?

Common anxiety symptoms that might be misinterpreted include a racing heart, arrhythmia, palpitations, difficulty breathing, throat pressure, nausea, muscle tension, lightheadedness, and dizziness.

How do people without high anxiety sensitivity typically react to anxiety symptoms?

People without high anxiety sensitivity usually accept the sensations as anxiety-based and do not become overly attentive to those symptoms or associate them with danger, fear, or embarrassment.

What are some behaviors that people with high anxiety sensitivity might engage in to prevent or avoid anxiety symptoms?

People with high anxiety sensitivity might avoid exercise, certain places, or situations that cause anxiety. They might also engage in safety behaviors like having someone with them, carrying medication, or performing rituals to calm themselves down.

What role do genetic and environmental factors play in the development of anxiety sensitivity?

Anxiety sensitivity is believed to be a result of a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Genetic factors may influence brain structures involved in processing threats, while environmental factors can trigger or express these genetic predispositions.

How does anxiety sensitivity affect the intensity of fear and anxiety responses?

Research suggests that anxiety sensitivity plays a role in the amplitude or intensity of fear and anxiety responses, potentially making individuals with this trait more sensitive to bodily sensations and more likely to interpret them negatively.

What is the recommended treatment for anxiety sensitivity?

Recommended treatments for anxiety sensitivity include specific types of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), such as sensitivity reduction methods, exposure therapy, response prevention therapy, and mindfulness and acceptance therapies.

Why might benzodiazepines be problematic for individuals with anxiety sensitivity?

Taking benzodiazepines, particularly on an as-needed basis, may lead to increased anxiety sensitivity over time and can impair one's response to alternative treatments like psychotherapy.

How can individuals with anxiety sensitivity learn to manage their symptoms?

Individuals with anxiety sensitivity can learn to manage their symptoms through evidence-based courses and practices that include response prevention, enteroceptive sensitivity conditioning, and mindfulness and acceptance-based techniques.