Understanding Anxiety and Your Nervous System
It never feels like “just” anything.
When your heart is pounding, your chest feels tight, your breathing changes and your body feels like it is spiralling out of control, your mind goes straight to one place.
Am I having a heart attack. Am I dying?
That question alone can intensify everything that is already happening in your body.
Both a heart attack and a panic attack are physical experiences. They are happening in the body and they can feel frighteningly similar. This is why many people end up seeking emergency help, convinced something life-threatening is taking place.
Heart attack or panic attack – what’s the difference?
A heart attack is a medical emergency. The heart muscle is not receiving enough oxygen, often due to a blockage in the arteries, and immediate medical care is essential.
A panic attack is different. It is not life-threatening, but it feels urgent and overwhelming. This is your nervous system in a state of high alert, often linked to anxiety.
One is the body in crisis.
The other is the body trying to protect you.
What is happening in a panic attack?
Your body is responding as though there is danger, even when there isn’t.
This is how anxiety works through the nervous system.
Your feelings are not “just in your head” in a dismissive sense. They are body-based signals.
They move through your nervous system and create:
- changes in breathing
- increased heart rate
- muscle tension
- a heightened sense of threat
They are giving you information.
Understanding anxiety as a signal, not a threat
Think of the oil warning light on your dashboard.
It doesn’t mean the car is about to explode. It simply tells you something needs attention.
Your feelings work in the same way.
They are signals from your nervous system, letting you know that something within you needs care, not panic, not over reaction, but understanding.
When those signals are ignored or fought against, your system escalates.
Trying to “stop” a panic attack often makes it worse.
Why anxiety gets stronger when you fight it
It is very similar to how a frightened child responds.
If a child is scared and is told to go away or stop being silly, the fear does not disappear. It grows.
What that child needs is reassurance, softness and calm guidance, safety.
Your nervous system responds in the same way.
When you begin to approach yourself differently, something shifts.
Instead of seeing your body as something that is failing you, you begin to see it as something that is trying to protect you.
Working with your nervous system, not against it
You can:
- soften your response.
- ground yourself.
- speak to yourself internally in a way that reduces fear
This is not about control. It is about relationship.
No longer at the mercy of your anxiety, you are in a relationship with your mind and your nervous system and that means you can influence it. It is not separate from you. It is a very special part of you that has kept you alive your whole life.
How past experiences shape anxiety
I experienced this in a very real way through night terrors, which were symptoms of PTSD from childhood trauma.
My nervous system did not feel safe, even when my environment had changed.
Those night terrors were information, not weakness. Not something to dismiss. They were something to understand.
When I began to see my nervous system as something working for me, rather than against me, everything started to change.
How your beliefs affect your anxiety
Your internal beliefs shape what you experience.
If your belief is:
I am safe and calm
Your world feels manageable.
If your belief is:
I am not safe, I am not in control
Everything feels overwhelming.
Your mind informs your nervous system.
Your body responds.
Your perception of the world follows.
I’ve written more about how your thoughts and beliefs influence anxiety here.
Are you ready to talk?
I offer a low-cost confidential service. I offer space to speak, find your voice, be really heard and validated. I am a trained professional counsellor who specialises in anxiety and trauma. Make an appointment to meet me and tell me what you want from counselling. See if you feel comfortable. The first session is over Zoom for both of our safety and then you can do sessions over Zoom from your own home or in person, counselling in Wallsend in my safe, comfortable therapy room.
Book your appointment today
Click here and book a free initial consultation with me today. Read what people are saying about working with me in counselling here. I hold a private, confidential space for you. I’m looking forward to meeting you and hearing you very soon. Best wishes, Karen.
Disclaimer: I am a UK qualified person centred counsellor specialising in anxiety and trauma within the context of counselling. I write from my experiences and from my client work in counselling. My work is dependent on the therapeutic relationship and the meeting of two minds. It is a humbling experience and that is all part of the healing process that I witness every day. It is the best job in the world. This is not an emergency service. If you need to speak to someone urgently outside of my sessions, please call the Samaritans on 116 123 (24/7 confidential helpline in the UK).
