Anxiety is a natural function of the human mind.  Anxiety is the mechanism which assesses danger and is the trigger for the fight or flight response system.  Without anxiety, we could not live.

Anxiety becomes a disorder when it assigns danger to a non-dangerous situation.  If we were to be in a real life or death situation it would be anxiety that helps us to save ourselves.  However, when danger is assigned to a non-dangerous situation, it causes us great suffering.

There have been many discussions regarding the cause of anxiety disorders.  Out of all the research that I have read and from professionals I have spoken to, I believe that anxiety disorders originate from individuals having a specific personality trait, along with certain life experiences that create the disorder(s).

In other words; I do not believe that anxiety disorders are caused solely by genetic factors, hormone imbalances, or any other defect within us.  Anxiety is a conditioning.  It is a learned behavior.  And in the overwhelming majority of people, recovery is possible.

Recovery is, in essence, creating a new response to our triggers.  For an example, this is like a bridge phobic being able to approach the bridge without having the fight or flight mechanism being triggered.

High levels of anxiety start with a single thought.  Regardless what the trigger is, all anxiety starts with a single thought.  This first thought may just pop into our heads on its own, or it may be an association to something we see or hear, but whatever it is, once this first thought arises that is what gets our anxiety is gear and starts the domino effect.

The first thought sets off our defense mechanism and we instantly go into the mode of trying to protect ourselves.  The main problem here is that there is nothing to protect us from.  This then creates a sense of confusion and frustration in our mind, which in turn escalates the anxiety even further.

Panic attacks are the result of adrenaline being released into our bodies.  Adrenaline is released by the fight or flight mechanism and is meant to give us an extra boost of energy to more effectively protect ourselves from a perceived dangerous situation.  Unused adrenaline in our bodies cause physical sensations, which we associate with the anxiety, and this elevates our fear to an even higher level.

Recovery lies in what we do after we have the first thought.  Do we follow up with additional thoughts?  Or do we ignore the anxious thought and start a whole new thought pattern?

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