What Is Anxiety Really? What Is Anxiety really? Stress, Anxiety, and Worry

Summary

This video script delves into understanding anxiety by distinguishing it from stress and worry. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing anxiety's function in alerting us to danger and motivates us to act. The script introduces an exercise to rate personal anxiety and discusses the physiological aspects of stress, the cognitive elements of worry, and the emotional experience of anxiety. It also addresses the impact of chronic stress and offers insights into managing anxiety through awareness and non-judgmental acceptance.

Takeaways

• 🤔 Anxiety is a reaction to the perception of danger, especially physical, and serves as a protective mechanism to keep us safe.
• 🔢 The script introduces an exercise to rate anxiety on a scale from 0 to 10, indicating the intensity of the feeling.
• 🎥 A video clip is used to induce anxiety, highlighting the physical and emotional responses it can trigger.
• 🧠 Anxiety is distinguished from stress and worry, with each having a different role in our fear response.
• 🏃‍♂️ Stress is described as a physiological reaction to threats, rooted in the primitive part of the brain and linked to the fight/flight/freeze response.
• 🤯 The fight/flight/freeze response is rapid but not always accurate, and can be triggered by perceived threats even when there is no actual danger.
• 🚫 Chronic stress can have detrimental effects on health, including heart disease and high blood pressure, but it can be managed.
• 🤔 Worry is the cognitive aspect of anxiety, involving thoughts about future events or the unknown, and is linked to the prefrontal cortex.
• 💡 The script emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between actual and perceived danger to better understand and manage anxiety.
• 📚 The speaker mentions a course that delves deeper into the function of emotions and provides tools to process them effectively.
• 🛠️ The final takeaway encourages gaining awareness of anxiety and letting go of judgment, suggesting that understanding and describing anxiety can lead to better control over it.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the video?

The main purpose of the video is to educate viewers on the difference between stress, anxiety, and worry, and to provide tools to change their relationship with these emotions.

How does the video define anxiety?

Anxiety is defined as a reaction to the perception of being in danger, particularly physical danger, which triggers the limbic system to send out a warning in the form of thoughts and physical sensations.

What is the significance of rating anxiety on a scale from 0 to 10?

Rating anxiety helps to quantify the level of anxiety being experienced, allowing for a better understanding of the intensity of the emotion and its effects on the individual.

How does the video differentiate stress from anxiety?

Stress is described as a physiological reaction to threats, rooted in the primitive part of the brain and is instinctual and unconscious. Anxiety, on the other hand, is more about nebulous future events and is associated with dread, foreboding, or vigilance.

What is the role of the limbic system in anxiety?

The limbic system plays a crucial role in anxiety by perceiving potential danger and triggering a response that includes thoughts and physical sensations of anxiety.

What is the function of emotions according to the video?

Emotions serve a function, such as motivating individuals to move away from danger or to prepare for potential threats, making them powerful motivating forces.

How does the video describe the fight/flight/freeze response?

The fight/flight/freeze response is a rapid and powerful physiological reaction to perceived danger that prepares the body to either confront or escape from the threat.

What is the difference between actual danger and perceived danger in the context of anxiety?

Actual danger refers to a real and immediate threat in the present moment, while perceived danger is the sensation of anxiety created by the brain when imagining danger, even when safe.

Why is it important to address both stress and worry when tackling anxiety?

Addressing both stress and worry is important because they are two aspects of the anxiety response. Stress is the physiological activation, while worry is the thinking part of anxiety, and managing both can lead to better control over anxiety.

How can awareness and letting go of judgment help in managing anxiety?

Awareness helps in identifying and understanding the different aspects of anxiety, while letting go of judgment allows for a more peaceful relationship with the emotion, leading to better management.

What is the analogy used in the video to describe the anxiety response?

The anxiety response is compared to a smoke alarm, which is sensitive and quick to react but is often inaccurate, sounding off even when there is no actual danger present.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 Understanding Anxiety: Its Nature and Impact

This paragraph introduces the topic of anxiety and emphasizes the importance of precise definition for better management. It differentiates between stress, anxiety, and worry, suggesting that understanding these distinctions provides tools to alter one's relationship with them. The speaker promotes a 30-day online anxiety course and encourages viewers to rate their current anxiety level. A short video clip is used to induce a mild anxiety experience, prompting viewers to reflect on their thoughts and physical sensations. Anxiety is described as a reaction to perceived danger, particularly physical threats, and is linked to the limbic system's response. The paragraph also touches on the functional aspect of emotions, including anxiety, which serves to protect us from danger.

05:01

🧠 The Anatomy of Anxiety: Stress, Worry, and Their Effects

This paragraph delves deeper into the distinction between stress and worry as components of anxiety. Stress is defined as a physiological reaction to threats, rooted in the primitive part of the brain and characterized by an instinctual and unconscious response. The fight/flight/freeze response is introduced as the body's chemical reaction to perceived danger. The paragraph dispels the myth that stress is inherently bad, explaining that while short-term stress is not harmful, chronic stress can lead to detrimental health effects. Worry, on the other hand, is the cognitive aspect of anxiety, involving thoughts about future events or uncertainties. It is rooted in the prefrontal cortex and, when excessive, can contribute to anxiety and depressive disorders. The paragraph concludes by defining anxiety as the intersection of stress and worry, with a focus on future threats and associated feelings of dread and vigilance.

10:04

🛡️ Managing Anxiety: Awareness and Judgment

The final paragraph focuses on the initial steps of managing anxiety through awareness and judgment. It encourages individuals to notice when they feel anxious and to explore the physical and cognitive manifestations of anxiety in their bodies and minds. The speaker suggests using a workbook to map out the physical sensations of anxiety. The paragraph also emphasizes the importance of letting go of judgment and instead honoring the protective function of anxiety. It likens anxiety to a protective voice and advises viewers to describe their experiences rather than labeling them negatively. The goal is to foster a healthier relationship with anxiety through increased awareness and a non-judgmental approach.

Keywords

💡Anxiety

Anxiety is defined as a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. In the video, anxiety is discussed as a reaction to the perception of danger, especially physical danger, and is distinguished from stress and worry. It is portrayed as a protective emotion meant to keep us safe but can become problematic when it is not managed properly, as seen in the exercise where viewers are asked to rate their anxiety before and after watching a video clip.

💡Stress

Stress is described as the physiological response to threats, rooted in the primitive part of the brain, and is instinctual and unconscious. It is the body's way of preparing for a fight, flight, or freeze response to danger. In the context of the video, stress is differentiated from anxiety by focusing on the body's internal reactions, such as increased heart rate or sweating, as exemplified by the viewer's potential response to watching someone in a dangerous situation.

💡Worry

Worry is characterized as the cognitive or thinking component of anxiety, often revolving around future events or the unknown. It is rooted in the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for higher-order thinking. The video explains that while worry can be functional in problem-solving, excessive or compulsive worrying can contribute to anxiety and depressive disorders. The script uses the example of 'What if' thoughts to illustrate how worry manifests.

💡Limbic System

The limbic system is a set of brain structures involved in情绪al processing. In the video, it is mentioned as the part of the brain that triggers the anxiety response when perceiving danger, sending out warnings in the form of thoughts and physical sensations. The limbic system is central to the experience of anxiety, linking emotional responses to perceived threats.

💡Fight/Flight/Freeze Response

The fight/flight/freeze response is a physiological reaction to a perceived harmful event, attack, or threat to survival. In the video, this response is tied to the stress reaction, explaining how the body prepares to confront or escape danger. The script uses the example of watching someone on the edge of a cliff to illustrate this automatic response.

💡Emotion

Emotion is any conscious experience characterized by intense mental and physical changes that typically involes a deeply felt feeling, a unique thought pattern, and a physiological response. The video discusses emotions as functional aspects of our mental life, serving to motivate behavior and protect us from danger. Anxiety is presented as an emotion that, while potentially uncomfortable, has a purpose in alerting us to potential threats.

💡Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Generalized Anxiety Disorder is a mental health condition characterized by excessive, uncontrollable worry about everyday situations. In the video, GAD is mentioned as an example of chronic worry creating a constant perception of danger, leading to a persistent state of anxiety even in the absence of actual threats.

💡PTSD

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition triggered by experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event. The video references PTSD to illustrate how flashbacks can create a perception of danger in the present, even when the individual is safe, highlighting the distinction between perceived and actual danger.

💡Perceived Danger

Perceived danger refers to the sensation of being at risk or in danger, even when there is no actual threat present. The video explains that anxiety can arise from perceived danger, as the brain imagines threats in safe situations, serving as a motivator for action and planning but potentially leading to unnecessary stress.

💡Actual Danger

Actual danger is a real and immediate threat to one's safety. The video contrasts actual danger with perceived danger, explaining that while the anxiety response is designed to react to actual threats, it can also be triggered by perceived threats, leading to a misalignment between the body's response and the true level of risk.

💡Cognitive Skills

Cognitive skills refer to the mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses. In the video, cognitive skills are presented as tools to change one's thinking patterns, particularly in relation to worry, to help manage anxiety by addressing the thought processes that contribute to it.

💡Emotion Management

Emotion management involves the strategies and techniques used to understand, express, and regulate one's emotions. The video outlines steps for managing emotions, particularly anxiety, starting with awareness of when and how anxiety is felt in the body and mind, and then letting go of judgment about these emotions to foster a healthier relationship with them.

Highlights

Anxiety is defined as a reaction to the perception of danger, particularly physical danger.

The video aims to differentiate between stress, anxiety, and worry, offering tools to manage these emotions.

Anxiety serves a protective function, helping to keep us safe from danger by motivating us to avoid threats.

Stress is described as a physiological reaction to threats, rooted in the primitive part of the brain and is instinctual.

The fight/flight/freeze response is a rapid, powerful, but not always accurate stress reaction.

Short-term stress and anxiety are not harmful; it's chronic stress that can lead to detrimental health effects.

Worry is the cognitive aspect of anxiety, involving thoughts about future events or the unknown.

Worry can be functional in problem-solving but can fuel anxiety disorders if it becomes compulsive.

Anxiety is conceptualized as the intersection of stress and worry, rooted in the limbic system.

Anxiety is associated with emotions like dread and vigilance, and it helps with watchfulness but can hinder when dominant.

The brain can imagine danger even when safe, which can motivate action but also cause sickness.

Generalized anxiety disorder and PTSD are examples where perceived danger creates anxiety without actual threat.

The anxiety response is likened to a smoke alarm, often inaccurate but necessary for safety.

Emotion management begins with awareness, exploring where anxiety manifests as stress in the body.

Describing anxiety experiences out loud or writing them down can enhance understanding and control.

Letting go of judgment towards anxiety is crucial for better emotional management.

The video provides exercises and lessons to change the relationship with anxiety through cognitive skills and body-calming interventions.

Transcripts

What is anxiety? This may seem like such an  obvious question because you've experienced it,  

but the more precisely you describe a problem  or an emotion, the greater ability you have  

to do something about it. So in this video  you'll learn the difference between stress,  

anxiety, and worry, because  knowing the difference can  

give you a ton of tools to change your  relationship with all three. [Music]

Now, this video is day three from my 30-day online  anxiety course. If you want to get access to the  

entire course, with a workbook, exercises,  and more lessons, check out the link in the  

description. Okay. I'm gonna have you do a little  exercise. So start by rating your anxiety right  

now on a scale from 0 to 10, with zero being  no anxiety and 10 being extreme anxiety. Now,  

go ahead and put that in the comments. Now, I'm  gonna invite you to experience a little anxiety.  

I'm going to show you a short video clip, and I  want you to pay attention to what it feels like  

for you. Please forgive me for this. [Music] [Music]

[Music]

Now  

rate your anxiety again on a scale from 0 to 10,  and write about this. What thoughts did you have?  

What physical sensations did you have? What  emotions did you have? Like, where did you  

feel it? Now, anxiety is in essence your reaction  to the perception of being in danger, especially  

physical danger. So if you were on the roof  of a skyscraper, your brain would perceive the  

potential danger and trigger the limbic system to  send out a super loud warning to you in the form  

of thoughts and physical sensations of anxiety.  Now, emotions aren't just bad things that happen  

to you; emotions serve a function. Now, I go in  depth into the function of emotions in my course  

How to Process Your Emotions, but the emotion of  anxiety is meant to help keep us safe from danger,  

to motivate us to move away from the edge of  cliffs or to stay away from venomous snakes or  

spiders. And to make emotions powerful motivating  forces, they aren't just thoughts in our mind;  

they're in our bodies too. Stress, anxiety, and  worry aren't the same thing. There are three  

different aspects of our fear response, and when  we know the difference we can tailor different  

skills and tools to work through them. Now, just  like with people, when we know their names we can  

learn how to relate to them. So let's start with  stress. Stress is the physiological reaction to  

threats. Stress is what's going on inside of our  bodies. It's rooted in the more primitive part of  

the brain, and it's instinctual and unconscious.  It happens without thinking and faster than we can  

think. So as you watch that guy do dumb things on  the edge of the cliff, did your heart rate go up?  

Did your hands get sweaty? Did you turn  away? Did you cover your eyes? Or did you  

feel a surge of adrenaline, like excitement and  wonder? Right? When we perceive danger our body  

responds with a chemical reaction. This is also  called the fight/flight/freeze response. Now,  

the fight/flight/freeze response shoots first  and asks questions later. It's very powerful  

and rapid. But it's not always accurate. Have  you ever been startled by something in the  

night only to find out it was actually safe  or funny? Right? I mean, I have like little  

kids who walk up right next to my bed in the  middle of the night and go [heavy breathing]

for like a minute. And you wake up and you're  like, and they're like, "Mom," and then you  

realize it's your kid. Right? So stress serves  a really vital function in helping us respond to  

immediate and physical threats by shutting down  some physiological processes, like digestion,  

and activating others, like sending adrenaline  to increase blood flow to the big muscles so  

that you can perform, like you could run away  from a tiger. Right? And there's a big myth  

out there that stress is bad for you, but that's  not true. In the short term anxiety and stress  

won't hurt you. Your body has a natural way  to resolve the effects of the stress response.  

But if stress becomes chronic it can have very  detrimental effects on the body. It can contribute  

to heart disease and high blood pressure and  frequent illnesses. Right? Chronic stress can  

harm you. But that can be avoided. We can treat  chronic stress. Anxiety, in the short term, that  

feeling won't harm you, and trying to avoid it  makes it worse. Okay. So that's stress. It's the  

physiological activation of our nervous system.  It's what happens in our bodies. Now, worry is the  

thinking part of anxiety. Worry includes thoughts  like, "What if he falls?" "Why is he doing that?"  

Or "What if I fail my test?" Or "Is she mad at  me?" Worry often revolves around future events  

or the unknown, and it's rooted in our prefrontal  cortex, the thinking part of the brain. Sometimes  

worry can be really functional. Sometimes it  helps us solve problems. But if worry becomes  

compulsive or if we're doing it all the time, it  can fuel anxiety and depressive disorders. Later  

in this course you're going to actually learn how  to stop worrying and to set really good boundaries  

around that thinking part of your brain. Now, in  my conceptualization, anxiety is the intersection  

of stress and worry. So it's rooted in the limbic  brain. It's a feeling, it's an emotion closely  

connected to fear. But where fear is usually about  a short-term, immediate threat, a physical threat  

right in your face, right, anxiety is more about  nebulous future events, and it's associated with  

dread, foreboding, or vigilance, being alert.  Right? Anxiety helps people be watchful, but  

when it dominates our lives it makes it difficult  to relax, makes it difficult to feel joy or to  

move in the direction we value because we get all  wrapped up in avoidance. So if we want to tackle  

our anxiety, find ways to feel better, we need to  address these two aspects of our anxiety response.  

So to deal with our worries we're going to learn  cognitive skills that change our thinking. And  

when it comes to our stress response we'll explore  interventions that focus on calming our body.  

Anxiety is functional. It's a helpful emotion that  helps protect us from danger. It includes stress  

and worry, but there's one more aspect that we  really need to address when it comes to anxiety.  

So a few minutes ago you weren't anywhere near the  edge of that building. You were just sitting in a  

chair. You were 100% safe, but your body actually  created physiological changes, and anxiety popped  

up for you. So what's the deal with that? Your  amazing brain has the unique ability to imagine  

danger when we're actually safe. So this serves a  function. Right? It motivates us to take action,  

to plan and prevent danger in the future, but it  can also make us sick, like, when we're feeling  

anxious when we're actually safe in the present  moment. Worrying about an upcoming test, that jolt  

of anxiety could help you get motivated to study,  or, if you don't know what to do with that worry,  

if you don't know how to relate to that anxiety,  it could make you feel sick to your stomach,  

and you could choose to procrastinate or avoid  thinking about school. Now, with generalized  

anxiety disorder, the worry thoughts are  constantly, chronically creating the perception  

of danger. This creates the sensation of anxiety,  the danger emotion, when we're just going about  

our day. Right? Another example: like, with PTSD,  flashbacks make you feel like you're actually  

in danger when you're quite safe. This can be  referred to as perceived danger. Now, on the other  

hand, when we feel fear about something that's  an actual threat in the present moment, this is  

called actual danger. And we'll spend more time  on this later in this course. I go into a lot of  

details about this in my How to Process Emotions  course, but it's just important to realize that we  

frequently have a strong physical reaction to the  perception of danger when we are actually safe.  

The anxiety response is quick, it's powerful, and  it's frequently inaccurate. It's like your body's  

smoke alarm. Right? Very rarely a smoke alarm  sounds when there's a fire. Actually, I don't  

think this has ever happened in my lifetime yet,  and I'm 38. Right? So the smoke alarm has never  

gone off when there's an actual fire because I  haven't been in any building fires in my lifetime,  

but I have had a smoke alarm go off dozens  of times in my life. Uh for example,  

like when I've taken a shower that was too  hot and I didn't turn the fan on or when I've  

cooked bacon too long and I've burned it. Right?  It's kind of annoying that that alarm goes off,  

but we want our smoke alarm to be sensitive,  right, just in case there is an actual fire.  

We just also want to be able to turn it  off when we're actually safe. So anxiety  

helps us notice dangerous situations and  focuses our attention so that we stay safe.  

It's just really important. We always just need to  ask, "Is this actually dangerous?" Right? This is  

the first step in really clarifying anxiety. Is  this a real danger or a perceived danger? You'll  

learn a lot more about this as we work through  the course. Okay. So going back to stress,  

anxiety, and worry, the first step of emotion  management is awareness. So begin to notice  

when you feel anxiety. See if you can  explore and describe the two different  

aspects of it. Where does anxiety show up as  stress in your body? What does it feel like?  

Where do you notice it? Do you notice  it in your stomach? Your hands? Do you  

get headaches? What is it, you know, you feel?  Muscle tension in your shoulders or in your face?  

And then explore, how does anxiety show up as  thoughts? What do those thoughts sound like? Um it  

may be really helpful to describe your experience  with anxiety out loud or to write it down. You can  

use your workbook to draw a map of your body and  how anxiety shows up. And as you get better at  

describing what the anxiety experience is actually  like you'll gain more control over it. Now, the  

second big step in changing your relationship with  anxiety is letting go of judgment. So we all know  

that when you're in a relationship with someone  and you judge them, it harms your relationship.  

Same thing with emotions. In a future video in  this course you'll learn more about making peace  

with anxiety, but for now just start to honor the  function of anxiety. So imagine it like a little  

person that's talking to you. It's like, "Oh my  gosh, look out. Oh, look out, look out. Let's  

worry about this." Right? It's trying to keep you  alive. So instead of labeling it as bad or awful,  

describe it. Use a descriptive term like, "Oh,  this is uncomfortable. This is loud. This is  

difficult." Right? So those are the two steps.  Number one: more awareness around anxiety. And  

number two: use descriptions instead of judgment.  Okay. Let's get better at feeling. You got this. 

[Music]