Understanding The Anxious Brain

Have you ever wondered why your mind races with worry or why your body reacts so strongly to stress? Anxiety isn’t just “in your head”, it’s rooted in the way your brain processes fear and perceived danger. In this blog, we’ll explore how the anxious brain works, why it reacts the way it does, and most importantly, how you can start to take back control.

By reading this, you’ll gain valuable insights into:

• The science behind anxiety and how your brain processes fear.
• Why certain triggers cause anxious thoughts and physical symptoms.
• Practical strategies to calm your mind and reduce anxious responses.

We know that understanding anxiety is the first step to overcoming it, and we want to make this journey as easy as possible for you. That’s why we’ve also created a video to help explain these concepts in a clear and engaging way.

Plus, don’t miss out on our FREE anxiety resources! Download our specially designed workbooks to help you apply what you learn and start managing anxiety with confidence.

Anxiety is something many of us experience, and it’s perfectly normal to feel worried or stressed at times.

However living with anxiety can feel overwhelming and exhausting, and understanding what’s happening in our brain is a helpful step toward taking back control. Anxiety isn’t just "in your head", it’s a real, biological response involving three parts of our brain.

Knowing how our brain processes anxiety can help us feel less helpless and more empowered to take steps toward calmness.

 

The Evolution Of Our Brain

Our brains evolved when the world was very different, when we were cave dwelling nomadic hunter gatherers, living in tribal communities, more than 200,000 years ago. Back then, we had to be able to survive sabre tooth tigers and bears if the human species was to continue.

Our society and technology have evolved very quickly, thankfully, however much more quickly than the evolution of our bodies and brains.

So sometimes, our brain can’t keep up with what’s going on, and responds to everyday stress and anxiety as if we are being chased by a tiger or bear.

What’s Really Going On When We Feel Anxious?

Anxiety is our brain’s smoke alarm system. While this response is designed to protect us from danger, it can sometimes become overactive, making everyday situations feel overwhelming.

There are three main parts of our brain involved in anxiety.

• Our brain stem also known as our reptilian brain or survival brain. The brain stem is triggered by feelings of fear, stress, anxiety, anger, or upset. It is constantly alert and scanning for threats, and is designed to keep us safe and stop us from taking dangerous risks.
• Our limbic system which includes our hippocampus and amygdala, also known as our emotional brain. The amygdala acts as our emotional smoke alarm and the hippocampus is our memory processor and context provider. This part of our brain is responsible for regulating our emotional and behavioural responses.
• Prefrontal cortex, also known as our executive brain, thinking brain, rational brain or smart brain, is the brain’s voice of reason. Our prefrontal cortex is responsible for things like planning, decision-making, problem-solving, self-control, and acting with long-term goals in mind.

When these areas of our brain don’t work well together, it can create what’s commonly known as the "anxious brain."

 

The Amygdala

The amygdala is an almond-shaped cluster of neurons buried deep within our brain. It is the brain’s fear centre and plays a key role in detecting and responding to threats.

When our brain perceives something as dangerous, whether it’s a real threat like an approaching car or a perceived one like giving a presentation, the amygdala sends an urgent signal to the rest of our brain and body to prepare for action. This activates the fight, flight or freeze response, which is the survival mechanism designed to protect us from tigers.

When we are anxious, the amygdala is often overactive and hypervigilant, sounding the alarm too frequently or intensely. This is why even everyday situations, such as walking into a crowded room or speaking in public can feel overwhelming or frightening.

The amygdala also triggers physical symptoms like a racing heart, rapid breathing, sweating and muscle tension. It reacts instinctively, before our rational brain can assess whether the threat is real.

Over time, repeated stress and anxiety can make our amygdala more sensitive and anxiety can spiral out of control.

 

The Prefrontal Cortex

The prefrontal cortex, located at the front of our brain, is like the CEO of our mind. It’s responsible for higher-order functions such as problem-solving, decision-making, and self-regulation. In the context of anxiety, the prefrontal cortex acts as the counterbalance to the amygdala, however it is not as fast as our instinctive reptilian brain.

When we sense a potential threat, the prefrontal cortex assesses the situation using logic instead of instinct. It decides whether the amygdala’s smoke alarm is justified in this instance and, if not, works to calm it down. However, during periods of high anxiety or chronic stress, the prefrontal cortex can become less effective. This weakens our ability to think rationally, making it harder to calm our fears or approach situations with a clear mind.

The Hippocampus

The hippocampus, located near the amygdala, is vital for processing and storing memories. It helps us make sense of our experiences and provides context for them. For example, if we’ve had a negative experience with public speaking, the hippocampus might store that memory and associate similar situations with danger.

In the anxious brain, the hippocampus can become less effective at distinguishing between real and perceived threats. This is why safe situations, like meeting new people or walking into a crowded room, can feel just as threatening as genuinely dangerous situations.

Over time, chronic anxiety can make it harder to accurately process memories and context. This can create a feedback loop and strengthen neural pathways where the brain becomes more prone to anxiety responses. Constant anxiety can also distort our ability to accurately assess threats, leading to overreactions.

However, we can develop new neural pathways by engaging in activities that force our brain to make new connections. We can strengthen the hippocampus through relaxation techniques, facing our fears and working with an anxiety therapist.

The Anxious Brain

While these parts of the brain have their own roles, they work together closely. In simple terms, the amygdala (smoke alarm) unconsciously detects a potential threat, the hippocampus provides context to determine if it’s safe based on past experience, and the prefrontal cortex makes the final logical decision. However, when anxiety takes over, this system can spiral out of control.

The amygdala overrides logical thinking with intense fear signals and our prefrontal cortex struggles to intervene and regulate our response. The hippocampus misinterprets the situations, adding fuel to the anxiety fire.

Understanding how these areas interact helps us recognise why anxiety feels so overwhelming and what steps we can take to break the cycle.

So I had my first panic attack at the age of 11 when I was asked to read a passage from a book at school. I had to stand at the front of the class, facing everyone. All eyes were on me as I fumbled my words. The class started to laugh and the teacher lost all control and handled the situation really badly.

My legs turned to jelly as my body prepared me to run away from the tiger. My face was bright red due to increased blood flow. I was sweating and shaking, as my body tried to cool me down. My logical brain shut down as we don’t need to do algebra when we think there is a tiger. My breathing quickened until I thought I couldn’t breathe, my heart rate quickened and I thought I was going to die.

I now know these are all the symptoms of anxiety however I didn’t know that back then.

I ran out of the classroom in tears and had a panic attack in the toilets.

As I said, I was 11 when this happened, however I didn’t stand up in front of a room for the next 40 years because I was petrified. I would prefer to leave a job than be forced to present to anyone. It is madness logically and because I avoided it at all costs, I was constantly reinforcing to myself that it was dangerous.

Rewiring Our Anxious Brain

The brain is incredibly adaptable, thanks to a phenomenon called neuroplasticity. This means we can retrain our brain to respond to stress and anxiety in healthier ways. Activities such as anxiety therapy, mindfulness and physical exercise can help strengthen connections between the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala while supporting hippocampal health.

I finally faced my fears in my 50s. My business was going well and I wanted to be able to help more people, especially children, as it is my belief that nobody needs to struggle with anxiety. Knowing I could help more children by going it to schools became more important than my fear.

So I enrolled on a public speaking course. It wasn’t easy the first time, but my “why” was huge. The first school I spoke at was my old school and the school my daughter was attending at the time, so I knew a lot of her friends. There were 300 children in that room.

I felt my hands start to sweat as I walked past the very same classroom where the teacher had lost all control 40 years before. My voice wobbled a bit, I could feel my heart beating faster but what I wanted to say was more important than how I was feeling.

I have now lost count of how many talks I have done to schools, universities and companies. I have won several awards, I have even appeared on a show for ITV where I taught a celebrity to overcome her fear and imposter syndrome of speaking in public. I absolutely love being able to teach so many children how they can overcome anxiety and I could only do this by facing my own fear.

 

Here are some techniques to rewire your anxious brain:

• Anxiety Therapy teaches the brain to challenge irrational fears and create healthier thought patterns and new neural pathways that support us, not hinder us. An anxiety specialist can also provide alternative strategies and techniques to override your nervous system
• Mindfulness Meditation: Enhances the prefrontal cortex’s ability to regulate emotional responses.
• Regular Exercise: Promotes the growth of new neural connections, particularly in the hippocampus.
• Deep Breathing: Activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the opposite to the fight flight and freeze response, which calms the amygdala and sends messages to our body that we are safe.

 

If You Need Further Support

If you need further support with your Mental Health, a trained Anxiety Specialist can prescribe a personalised plan to understand the root cause of anxiety, as well as help develop healthy coping strategies that are focused around your individual needs.

We have had great success helping clients manage anxiety by understanding the root cause, recognising their negative thought patterns and behaviours, and replacing them with healthier, more resourceful ones.

Taking care of your mental health is an essential part of your overall well-being. Left unresolved, anxiety can spiral out of control and have a significant impact on relationships, work, school and family life.

So if you want to take the next steps to have a happier life where your fears no longer hold you back, click the button below and book a free no obligation consultation call.

 

Additional Resources to Ease Anxiety

Read What Causes Anxiety? 

Read What Are The Different Types of Anxiety?

Read Can Mindfulness Help with Anxiety

Watch How to Feel Less Anxious

Watch How To Reduce Anxiety Immediately

Watch Breathing Techniques for Anxiety

Download Circle of Control and Influence worksheet

Download Cognitive Distortions worksheet