Wrapping Your Mind Around Anxiety

The brain is a very complex place. It triggers our emotions, gives us ideas, organizes memories,
and is what makes us all unique. Our minds have created everything from the seven wonders of
the world, to the clothing that we wear, to the algorithms that make space travel possible.
That said, the brain can also be a place of destruction and chaos. It shows what makes a
person tick and how they react to certain situations. It is our own thinking that lead us to make
irrational decisions and can harm us in more ways than we even know. It is because of this that
we study the brain to learn more about it and possibly how to change our own minds for the
better.
The neurons in our body send out different signals for our organs and other body parts to
respond to. For instance when you eat a cheeseburger, the neurons might signal chemicals
called endorphins, which make you happy, that tell you that you are enjoying your meal. In the
same way, the nerve endings in our brain can tell us whether what we should feel and how we
should act.

Scientists around the world have been studying anxiety, the complex brain waves and paths we
have that tell us how much to fear and when. An online source called Brain and Behavior claims
that about 18% of grown US adults have some kind of anxiety disorder, which makes this all the
more important.
Anxiety can affect everyone differently.
The amygdala plays a major role in the organization of anxiety. The two parts, the central and
the BNST, are incharge of
The frontal lobe of our brain is in charge or most of our rational thinking and is what can prevent
some unnecessary anxiety.

“Scientists Show How Brain Circuit Generates Anxiety.” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 29 May
2018, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180529132059.htm.

“Brain Facts Book Form.” BrainFacts.org, www.brainfacts.org/diseases-and-disorders/mental-

health/2018/what-part-of-the-brain-deals-with-anxiety-what-can-brains-affected-by-anxiety-tell-
us-062918.

“Anxiety Disorders.” Cleveland Clinic, my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9536-anxiety-

disorders.

“Symptoms.” Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA, adaa.org/understanding-

anxiety/panic-disorder-agoraphobia/symptoms.

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/anxiety-monkeys-linked-hereditary-brain-traits

https://www.bbrfoundation.org/research/anxiety
https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/monkeys-pass-on-brain-activity-patterns-linked-to-
anxiety-64584

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3684250/

http://www.brainfacts.org/diseases-and-disorders/mental-health/2018/what-part-of-the-brain-
deals-with-anxiety-what-can-brains-affected-by-anxiety-tell-us-062918

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180529132059.htm

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9536-anxiety-disorders