Why Is It So Hard to Escape Anxiety?

One of the main reasons we remain trapped in anxiety is that we misunderstand what anxiety actually is.

According to Prof Kim, negative emotions such as fear, anxiety, worry, anger, irritation, frustration, and sadness may feel different, but they share the same underlying basis. At their root is a state of threat or fear.

Anxiety begins with changes in the body. When the brain senses danger, the amygdala activates the body’s alarm system and prepares us to fight or flee. The heart beats faster, breathing quickens, muscles tighten and more energy is directed toward the muscles. At the same time, functions such as digestion, immune activity, and complex thinking are temporarily reduced.

This response is useful when there is real danger. The problem is that memories of past events or worries about the future can trigger the same bodily responses even when no immediate danger exists.

The important point is that emotion is based on the body. A thought or memory may trigger bodily changes, and the brain then interprets those changes as fear, anxiety, anger, or another emotion. In this sense, negative emotion can be understood as the brain’s interpretation of a particular bodily state.

Because amygdala activation occurs largely outside conscious control, simply telling ourselves, “Don’t worry,” is often ineffective. Se cannot directly command the amygdala to calm down. What we can do is intentionally change the body.

We can regulate our breathing, relax our muscles, stretch, walk, exercise, and move with awareness. Fear tends to prepare the body to shrink back, freeze, or escape, while anger prepares it to confront or attack. These automatic responses are sometimes described as fixed action patterns.

The key idea is simple:

If negative emotions are rooted in a bodily state of threat, then changing that bodily state is one of the most direct ways to regulate emotion. By calming the body, we can begin to clam the mind.

Source: Joo-Hwan Kim’s Inner Communication YouTube Channel, “두려움과 분노로부터 자유로워지는 법” [How to Free Yourself from Fear and Anger]; “이걸 이해해야 두려움 없는 삶이 가능해집니다” [Understanding This is the Key to Living Without Fear]