Why Logic Doesn’t Turn Anxiety Off
Do you find yourself thinking “I don’t know why I feel this way”? One of the most frustrating parts of anxiety is this: You can know everything is okay… and still feel like it’s not.
There is always a reason — even if it’s not obvious. All behavior has perceived purpose. Our system is trying to accomplish or prevent something. Anxiety doesn’t just originate in the logical part of your brain. It comes from deeper, faster systems designed to protect you. So even when your thoughts say: I’m fine”, your body may still be saying: “Something’s wrong.”
Common Signs Your Nervous System Is Driving Anxiety
- You feel tense even when you’re trying to relax
- Your mind jumps ahead to “what if” scenarios
- You feel a constant sense of urgency
- You have difficulty shutting your thoughts off – they spin and gain momentum.
These are not signs of weakness. Anxiety is not just in your thoughts — it’s in your nervous system. Your brain is always scanning for danger based – that’s part of its job. It then filters now through your past experiences – that’s automatic. When your system senses something similar to the past, your body doesn’t feel safe and you are “triggered”. This is why anxiety can feel disconnected from what’s actually happening.
It is not an issue of will power. These are signs that your system is stuck in a state of hyper-vigilance. It becomes a pattern that automatically repeats. The good news is that patterns can be broken! But that does not infer that it is easy – and you likely will need help.
Anxiety isn’t a flaw.
It’s your system trying to protect you — some times a little too aggressively, seeing danger where there really isn’t any.
The result? Anxiety. Some times even panic.
You can’t “talk yourself out of anxiety.” You need to help your body feel safe enough to let go of it. Can this be done? Absolutely! There is no reason to remain in those patterns. We can help yiou break free.
Learn more about Anxiety Therapy.
Janet Schryer Donahue, LPC, NCC, CCTP, ADHD-CCSP is a licensed professional counselor and founder of TADAS Counseling in Michigan, specializing in Trauma, Anxiety, and ADHD using both traditional therapy and advanced brain- and body-based approaches.
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