What is anxiety?
Anxiety is a feeling triggered by perceived danger. It’s our bodies own built in alarm system, alerting us to potential threats. This causes a rush of adrenaline to our system, activating our fight or flight response. This helps us keep safe when there is a physical threat, particularly to be able to fight, or to run away.
If you’re running from a tsunami or fighting an intruder, our bodies need this adrenaline to keep us safe. But when we have an important meeting, or a new social gathering, or are stuck in traffic, this feeling is not so helpful. Adrenaline triggered by internal thoughts, worries or memories is exhausting to deal with every day. Often, we are over-estimating the threat, and under-estimating our own ability to cope with the challenges.
It’s normal to feel anxious and worried sometimes, but this shouldn’t come at the cost of living your own life. If this feeling is becoming too much, you may be experiencing some symptoms of anxiety.
