Is Anxiety all in Our Heads?

Many of us are really good at worrying. We’re also good at cycling over and analyzing our worried thoughts — so much so that it may seem that anxiety is solely a feature of our thinking. But is anxiety really all in our heads? In “The Anatomy of Calm,” an article featured in Psychology Today (September 2021), Stephen Porges, Ph.D., examines the important role our body (and particularly our nervous system) plays in anxiety.

For decades, anxiety has been treated with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which focuses on eliminating negative thoughts and replacing them with positive, or at least neutral, ones. However, Dr. Porges argues that there is a lot more to our experience of anxiety than just our thinking, highlighting how our physiological state can easily influence our reactions and emotions. Recent work is granting us a better understanding of how our brains and our bodies are connected and work to regulate one another.

In his article, Dr. Porges describes how “the Vagus nerve reacts to signals in the environment in ways that calm, alarm, or dysregulate the body and in turn create emotional experience and play out in behavior.” The stress response that can arise during this process is part of our survival mechanism and can be very effective in the case of real danger (when we need to fight or flee). If we appreciate how anxiety can be a response to potential threat, we can begin to let go of any negative self-judgment we might experience when our alarm system is triggered: We live in a world that is often scary, and our bodies are working to protect us from harm.

Instead of judging ourselves, we need to understand when to use anxiety to take effective action and when we can let go of it and focus elsewhere. Indeed, sometimes the energy we expend on vigilance and defending ourselves (against everyday stress) can block problem solving and creativity. Yet, in every case, anxiety remains a normal part of the human experience and not a reason to feel shame.

So, if anxiety exists in our bodies just as much as our heads, how do we work with it instead of against it?

It is no surprise that mindfulness-based behavioral therapies are becoming the standard of care for anxiety. Mindfulness techniques often focus on the breath, as deep breathing is one of the most powerful tools we have for creating calm in our body. Meditation and yoga also bring us into communication with the breath and the body. Additionally, being present with our environment (especially in nature) is also very helpful for getting more physically grounded.

All of this means that our bodies are critical to finding calm and managing anxiety. So, next time, instead of trying to think your way out of your anxiety, try asking your body what it needs to calm down.