Therapist Corner


"You can't add a single day by worrying
You'll worry your life away
Oh don't worry your life away
You can't change a single thing by freaking out
It's just gonna close you in
Oh don't let the trouble win."
-Jason Gray

How Thinking Affects Anxiety by Natalie KLas MS/MFT

​Anxiety is a common feeling that many of us experience.  We tend to be more familiar with the physical symptoms that occur, such as, sweaty palms, flushed cheeks, a racing heart, headaches or stomach pain.  One could think of physical symptoms as a warning sign.  The symptoms are trying to get our attention and sending a message to let us know that we need to start taking care of ourselves.  When the physical symptoms are occurring, there are even more detailed interactions occurring with neurons, hormones and cognitive structuring of the brain. 

Let’s take a look at what anxiety looks like from inside your brain.  For every physical symptom you may experience, there are even more intricate processes going on inside your brain.  The feeling of anxiety is a rush of adrenaline and cortisol.  The two hormones are released into your body when you experience anxiety.  The brain (the amygdala) is getting messages and is trying to process if it is time to fight, flight or freeze.  This is meant to alert us to danger.  You may recall a time when you have memorized a speech and when you started to deliver the speech, your mind went blank and unable to think of the words you once had memorized.  The brain is now becoming trained and remembers the reaction to the situation.  This is where cognitive structuring begins and where cognitive behavioral therapy becomes an essential tool to help restructure the negative response to past memories.  
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Another part of the brain (the hippocampus) fuses feelings into memory.  The brain becomes trained to treat anxiety as a regular state of existence, instead of a response to events.  It learns how to attach the feeling and associates it with our senses and events.  For example, the smell of fresh popcorn can bring us to happy memories of our childhood or driving by a place where a traumatic event occurred can trigger negative emotions.  The brain learns how and what to be afraid of.  If you're afraid of a certain event, and this event triggers your anxiety, then the neurons in your brain fire together, and over time, they wire together.  When this occurs, along with chemical imbalances, one can make irrational conclusions when experiencing anxiety.  Along with the guidance from your therapist, you can start restructuring negative responses to anxiety and irrational thought patterns. 
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Please visit the Tools Section to gather more information on how to cope with anxiety.