WEBVTT - How Does Anxiety Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain stuff from how stuff works. Hey, brain stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>it's Christian Sager here. Listen. I get anxious. You do too,

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<v Speaker 1>But hey, it is a totally normal and healthy response

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<v Speaker 1>that keeps us from doing things that might actually be dangerous,

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<v Speaker 1>like sticking your hand in a fire, for instance. But

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<v Speaker 1>when anxiety is so pervasive that it interferes with your

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<v Speaker 1>daily life, it becomes a disorder, and most researchers believe

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<v Speaker 1>that disorder begins in your brain. There's several types of

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<v Speaker 1>anxiety disorders. Phobias, PTSD and o c D are just

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<v Speaker 1>a few, and some forty million American adults suffer from

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<v Speaker 1>an anxiety disorder, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

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<v Speaker 1>But let's focus today on general anxiety disorder, which affects

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<v Speaker 1>close to seven million adults and is twice as likely

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<v Speaker 1>in women. You're constantly anticipating a threat or disaster that

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<v Speaker 1>isn't actually present. Maybe you're worried about money, health, family,

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<v Speaker 1>or work, and despite reality, you'll expect the worst. The

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<v Speaker 1>symptoms include restlessness, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, irritability, muscle tension, and

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<v Speaker 1>sleep disturbances. The symptoms officially become a disorder when you

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<v Speaker 1>can't control your worry for at least six months. You

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<v Speaker 1>may still be social or even employed, but people with

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<v Speaker 1>general anxiety disorder can have difficulty carrying out even the

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<v Speaker 1>simplest of daily activities. Experts believe that general anxiety disorder

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<v Speaker 1>is caused by both biological factors and life experiences good

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<v Speaker 1>old combination of nature and nurture, But anxiety is also

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<v Speaker 1>recognized by many as an emotional response with neurobiological roots.

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<v Speaker 1>Simply put, the neural pathways in our brains sometimes lead

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<v Speaker 1>to irrational anxiety, and stressful situations encourage us to develop

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<v Speaker 1>associations with those pathways by in fluencing which neurochemicals passed

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<v Speaker 1>through them. The same way you learn to tie your shoe,

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<v Speaker 1>you can also learn to be anxious. The neurons in

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<v Speaker 1>your brain fire, and over time they get wired together.

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<v Speaker 1>One stressful thing like being stuck in traffic, leads you

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<v Speaker 1>to think of another stressful thing, like a car crash

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<v Speaker 1>you once survived, and this activates a part of the

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<v Speaker 1>brain stem called the locus ceruleus. This triggers the symptoms

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<v Speaker 1>of anxiety by releasing neuro epinephrin into your spinal cord

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<v Speaker 1>and parts of your brain while hormones like adrenaline and

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<v Speaker 1>cortisol spread through your body. It's supposed to initiate an

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<v Speaker 1>analgesic response to suppress pain and initiate defense when you're

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<v Speaker 1>under threat, like if you were actually in a car

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<v Speaker 1>crash and injured. But when there isn't any actual threat,

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<v Speaker 1>all were left with is the jitters of anxiety. A

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<v Speaker 1>couple other things about the brain contribute to anxiety. Researchers

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<v Speaker 1>at Massachusetts General HOSTI but WILL have found that people

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<v Speaker 1>with a thicker ventrol medial prefuntal cortex are less likely

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<v Speaker 1>to get anxiety. Basically, some brains have more armor against

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<v Speaker 1>anxiety inducing situations than others. We don't have enough time

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<v Speaker 1>in this episode for a full accounting of the treatments

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<v Speaker 1>available for anxiety disorders, but you should know that only

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<v Speaker 1>one third of the people suffering from anxiety are actually

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<v Speaker 1>getting help, even though it's highly manageable. Treatment usually involves

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<v Speaker 1>a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy a k a. Talking

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<v Speaker 1>to a therapist, and medications to relieve the symptoms. Other

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<v Speaker 1>treatments include relaxation techniques like meditation, improve nutrition, exercise, and

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<v Speaker 1>adequate sleep. Medications will change your brain chemistry temporarily, and

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<v Speaker 1>some even dispute that, but they are not a cure

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<v Speaker 1>for anxiety. For that, you'll need to change your neural

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<v Speaker 1>pathways associations by learning new behaviors through therapy. This method

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<v Speaker 1>of learning new everyday strategies can be slow going and repetitious,

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<v Speaker 1>but scan show that you can literally change your brain

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<v Speaker 1>with enough practice. Check out the brainstuff channel on YouTube,

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<v Speaker 1>and for more on this and thousands of other topics,

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<v Speaker 1>visit how stuff works dot com