Discover How Anxiety Affects The Brain

How anxiety affects the brain can be described in one word: poison. Although it is a natural reaction to threats , much of our concern is unfounded and even obsessed.

This leads to high fatigue levels and loss of energy, courage and every little bit of motivation you possess.

One thing we all know is that the effects that anxiety can have are sometimes even more dangerous than what actually worries you. This mainly affects the brain. It may seem like a pun, but it goes much further than that.

When you remain in a state where stress is strengthened and distorts the smallest detail, then everything ends up beyond your control. You will make bad decisions and the emotional conflict will get worse.

The more you worry about your poor sleep quality, the more insomnia you will experience. The more you worry about being perfect and efficient at work, the more you will fail.

If you worry too much about your partner not loving you, you will create situations where the other person feels pressured and uncomfortable.

The more pressure you put on the mind in the form of anxiety, the worse it will affect the brain. You will run out of resources. Then the memory will fail and you will become more exhausted.

Anxiety affects the brain in a number of different ways due to the biological stress that stress causes. Let’s find out how this works.

How anxiety affects the brain

Anxiety affects the brain in a much more intense way than you might think. Neuroscientists like Dr. Joseph LeDoux from New York University says the impact is relatively serious.

This is mainly due to the fact that people generally do not know how to worry about things in a healthy way. We have  a strange tendency to panic and exaggerate things.

However, he also points to another factor that, at least in part, can absolve us of some of the responsibility. Our brain is programmed to worry first and think later.

In other words, our emotional system, and especially the cerebral amygdala, is the first to detect a threat and then activate an emotion in us.

Signal substances such as dopamine are constantly released and generate stress as well as nervousness. Later, the limbic system stimulates the cerebral cortex to inform the higher mental structures.

What is the purpose? Encouraging them to take control and get us to use logical thinking to regulate fear – the alarming feeling.

However, the initial anxiety and worry is very powerful and has a strong effect on the mind. Among other things, this can lead to the following effects:

Excessive anxiety leads to psychological pain

What do we mean by “psychological pain”? Is it different from physical pain? Yes, but it is just as restrictive. Psychological pain is basically anxiety, fatigue, negativity and discouragement, among other things.

In an anxious brain dominated by constant anxiety, you are controlled by the amygdala. It makes you see dangers where there are none. Everything you perceive is a threat. You distrust everything and everything scares you.

Its hyperstimulation affects the cerebral cortex  and reduces its activity. Then you begin to perceive everything as chaotic and unbalanced.

Similarly, the amygdala activates various areas associated with cerebral pain, such as anterior girdle twisting. As a consequence, the discomfort intensifies.

When anxiety affects the brain intensely, your cognitive processes fail

What do we mean by “cognitive processes”? When anxiety affects the brain intensely because we have been through weeks or months of pondering thoughts, then you may begin to notice the following:

• Bad memory.
• Concentration difficulties.
• Difficulty making decisions.
• Problems understanding messages, texts, etc.

How to stop worrying

In fact, you should not stop worrying. It’s more about starting to worry in the right way.

Otherwise, you run the risk of developing generalized anxiety disorder, which was established in a study from the University of Cambridge and Dr. Ernest Paulesu.

To learn how to worry better, remember the advice of psychologist Albert Ellis:

• Analyze your irrational thoughts. Believe it or not,  around 80% of your clouds of unrest are disproportionate and illogical.
• Talk about your feelings. Give it a name, bring it out and highlight it. It is possible that you worry too much about your job because you yourself are not happy with it.
• Do not make decisions based on your mood. Before you make and act on decisions, you should calmly and reasonably evaluate your thoughts. Yes, emotions are important, but if they are accompanied by goal-oriented and focused thinking, you have a better chance of success.

You can be more proactive by knowing how anxiety affects the brain. Avoid falling into these painful circles and use healthy and logical methods instead.

If you can not do it on your own, seek professional help.