Before attempting to battle what the medical field refers to as "anxiety", we must first define it, and identify its causes and symptoms. So we're clear, when I'm referring to "anxiety", I'm talking about extreme negative cases of it, not being a little anxious before going on a first date or trying some shit like skydiving for the first time. This is natural and serves as a defense mechanism, especially when there is a lot on the line.
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What Is Anxiety?
As far as definitions, the best medical one I could find was from the American Psychological Association :
Anxiety is an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes like increased blood pressure. Anxiety is not the same as fear, but they are often used interchangeably. Anxiety is considered a future-oriented, long-acting response broadly focused on a diffuse threat, whereas fear is an appropriate, present-oriented, and short-lived response to a clearly identifiable and specific threat.
Adapted from the Encyclopedia of Psychology and the APA Dictionary of Psychology
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Why do I say this is the best definition? Because it clearly makes the distinction between anxiety and fear. These are not the same thing, nor is one inherent in the other. A good number of the other definitions, even from medical organizations, actually included "fear" in the definition as a feeling that is caused by anxiety. This is a fallacy and can be detrimental to one's efforts to overcome it.
Primarily, these terms get wrongfully interchanged because they pretty much have the same mental and physical effects on the body. Some of the more common symptoms are:
- Increased heart rate
- Sweating
- Muscle tension
- Increased blood pressure
- Rapid breathing
- A feeling of "impending doom"
Now back to what makes them different, and how making that determination can give you the master key to taming anxiety. The contrast lies in their causes, or triggers. Let's refer back to the APA for the definition of fear and see what we can determine from there.
And there it is...the first distinction we're looking for. Do you see it?
Fear differs from anxiety in that the former is considered an appropriate short-term response to a present, clearly indentifiable threat, whereas the latter is a future-oriented, long-term response focused on a diffuse threat.
The key terms to focus on here are: appropriate, clearly identifiable (referring to fear); future-oriented, and diffuse threat (referring to anxiety). These are the key variables that tell us all we need to know. I gotta admit, working with @nobleanpu over the last few years has really elevated my insight on these types of matters. When you're aware of what is actually happening in your brain during feelings of anxiety, the solution becomes apparent.
I want to focus on the "diffuse threat" concept. It can't be overlooked. A diffuse threat is in direct opposition of the "appropriate, clearly identifiable and present danger" that produces fear. A diffuse threat is vague, uncertain, unidentified. What does this tell us? It tells me that a large part of being anxious involves mentally projecting ourselves into a negative circumstance that we don't want to experience. It's like hoping (not intentionally) for the worst. This destroys confidence and performance. Its literally the opposite of the human-only superpower that is "optimism".
I'll give a great sports analogy that should help you battle anxiety in your own experiences. In sports, I think there are two scenarios that are the ultimate test of mental-fortitude. I give them this distinction because they both are extremely high-pressure and at the same time almost solely rely on the performance of the individual, not the entire team, even though one possesses a few more variables.
The two scenarios are very similar - free throws with under a minute left in regulation (basketball) or field goals with under a minute left in regulation (American football), in both scenarios the game must be on the line. If the game isn't up for the grabs, clutch time is insignificant. Also, I must clarify that the field goal kicker has more outside variables like the quality of the snap, the other team attempting to block the field goal, etc. But in most cases, its all on the individual performance of the kicker. These scenarios have made legends and destroyed careers. A good question is "why does the success rate in these scenarios fall so dramatically", nearly a whopping 11% according to some sources.
Being a ball player myself I know the answer. Its the polarity that lies between the opposing forces of anxiety and optimism. While most athletes suffer a minor to moderate decline in these situations, there are a select that excel in them. They excel because of the conversation they have with themselves before the actual event.
Let's take 2 basketball players, 1 that suffers at clutch free throws (a) and 1 that excels (b), in the exact scenario: down by one point, 0 seconds left on the game clock, 2 free throws. Here are the 3 possibilities:
- Make 0 free throws = lose
- Make 1 free throw = tie
- Make 2 free throws = win
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Its more pressure because of the potentiality to lose. For example, if the game is tied and a player has one free throw to shoot, they can't lose the game. The potential to lose the game for the whole team and the fans even further intensifies the moment.
Here's a rough interpretation of how these internal conversations typically go:
Player (a):
- Man I can't miss these free throws.
- If I miss these we lose and I'll let everyone down.
- I wish someone else had to shoot these instead of me
- All eyes are on me
Player (b) is having an entirely different self-talk.
Player (b):
- Another opportunity to prove I'm great.
- Let's get this win and go home.
- Y'all (the opposing team) fouled the wrong one if you wanted somebody to miss these free throws.
- Its just another shot
- My team can depend on me to come up big in these moments.
Here we see plainly the polarity I touched on earlier - anxiety vs optimism. The clutch player (b) actively stops anxiety in its tracks by being proactive with highly optimistic self-talk. The significance here is understanding that while we're having these self-talks, our brains are simultaneously producing mental images of what we are telling ourselves. The next step is realizing that we have a choice. This is the "mental projection" I mentioned earlier.
Player (a) is likely experiencing sweaty palms, lack of focus, rapid heartbeat, and tension once he/she steps to the line - all distinct symptoms of anxiety. Why? Because they have placed their mental focus entirely on the negative possibilities instead of the positive. This mentality, combined with the physical symptoms makes it pretty obvious why player (a) underachieves in these moments, while player (b) shines.
So what did we learn?
- Anxiety and fear are not the same, even though they produce some of the same symptoms.
- Bad cases of anxiety are primarily triggered by our own negative thoughts.
- Whatever result we "project" ourselves toward, becomes more likely. The effects of the projection on our body chemistry speaks to this point.
- Performance during significant or new experiences is heavily predicated on our state of mind when going into that experience.
- You can't just hope anxiety goes away, you have to proactively combat it.
What's our solution? There are other ways to combat this intense battle of the mind, the most notable ones probably being Stoicism, prayer, meditation, and breathwork. But let's look to our sports analogy and see if we can extract the underlying principle. Our clutch player (b) proactively combats anxiety by positive internal conversation, high optimism, and a level of Stoicism about the result. This mentally projects him/her into the positive outcome they desire before the actual event.
Its also important to note that extreme confidence and optimism causes the brain to release seratonin, a chemical that directly combats all the symptoms of anxiety. In this instance seratonin is countering the chemical norepinephrine, which produces those symptoms. This quote from my previous blog post on the Law of Vibration speaks directly to this point:
We must identify what experiences in our lives trigger certain moods and feelings. When these vibrational triggers take place, its important to note that they are largely due to the result of our brain releasing certain "cocktails" instantaneously, based on our perception of these experiences.
Solution
It appears we can tame anxiety by proactively engaging in (constant) positive self-talk and high optimism. This optimism causes the brain to release seratonin, a chemical that directly combats the symptoms of anxiety. Other no-cost activities that cause the brain to release seratonin are prayer, meditation, and breathwork. We should recognize the success of these alternative methods are more or less predicated upon them being routine behaviours.
Peace & Light ✨