Break the anxiety cycle by embracing willingness over avoidance—learn how accepting discomfort can reduce anxiety and foster emotional resilience.
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The more precisely you describe a problem, or an emotion, the greater ability you have to do something about it. In this video you’ll learn the difference between stress, anxiety and worry because knowing the difference can give you a ton of tools to change your relationship with all three.
Anxiety is, in essence, your reaction to the perception of being in danger. Especially physical danger, so if you were the roof of a skyscraper, your brain would perceive the potential danger and trigger the limbic system to send out a super loud warning to you in the form of thoughts and physical sensations of anxiety.
Anxiety Serves a Function
Emotions aren’t just “bad things that happen to you”, emotions serve a function. I go into depth on the function of emotions in my “How to Process Emotions course”. But the emotion of anxiety is meant to help keep us safe from danger, to motivate us to move away from the edge of cliffs, or to stay away from venomous snakes and spiders.
And to make emotions powerful motivating forces, they aren’t just in our mind, they’re in our bodies too. Stress, Anxiety and Worry aren’t the same thing, they’re three different aspects of our Fear response. And when we know the difference, we can tailor different skills and tools to work through them. Just like with people, when we know their names, we can learn how to relate to them.
00:00 Intro
02:39 Anxiety Serves a Function
03:14 Stress
Click the link below to access the transcript:
https://therapyinanutshell.com/what-is-anxiety/
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Join Therapy in a Nutshell’s membership and get instant access to all 10 life-changing courses, live weekly Q&As, and a supportive community for just $27/month. Learn how to manage anxiety, process trauma, regulate emotions, and build lasting resilience. Take small, powerful steps toward healing and a richer, more meaningful life. Start your journey today! https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership
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Therapy in a Nutshell and the information provided by Emma McAdam are solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health.
In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a bio-psycho-social approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mind-body connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life's direction.
And deeper than all of that, the Gospel of Jesus Christ orients my personal worldview and sense of security, peace, hope, and love https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/believe
If you are in crisis, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ or 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or your local emergency services.
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