Anxious people experience overreactions to threatening things in their environment, which causes them to have a more severe stress response in their body than someone else would have to that stimulus. They are not able to tolerate uncertainty about the future very well as they fear many things that may go wrong. This could be about world events - including terrorism and plane crashes - or internal problems such as relationships ("What if he doesn't really love me?") or health concerns ("What if I've got cancer?")

People with an anxious personality tend to believe that the world is dangerous and that they have to be hypervigilant in case there is any potential danger to their body or their emotional well being. In their mind they are frequently thinking about the what-if's and the maybe's.

Behavior is driven by a desire to minimize or eliminate the stimulus or the situation that is causing the stress response. For example, the person who always says YES when the boss asks him to take on more work may be considered an obliging person. It may be however, that he is anxious about criticism or disapproval if he says no.

Sometimes the anxious person is not aware that he experiences anxiety. The physical manifestations of discomfort, and changes to the gut or bowel, or problems with the immune or nervous systems, are often seem as physical problems requiring tests and treatment, and the cognitive (thinking) involvement is not at first recognized.

Often, every anxious or negative thought (which then becomes the stressor) can cause adrenalin to rise in the body. Adrenalin is the stress chemical with the 'fight' or 'flight' mechanism in case the situation is dangerous. This adrenalin gets stored in the muscles leaving the person feeling 'on guard' in the event of any danger. This stress feeling may result in the person having an overreaction to a small event due to the build up of adrenalin already in the body. Others may be surprised by this intense reaction.

It is quite common for an anxious person to also be a sensitive person, prone to worrying. Sensitive people have a brain that is always on guard to any threat, resulting in the body producing adrenalin at the slightest suggestion of there being any "danger" in the environment. This could be in reality an external stimulus (heat, noise, unpleasant smells, bright lights, scratchy clothing, food with strange textures) or a threat from internal appraisals (feeling disapproved of, disliked or criticized).

A person with an anxious personality is likely to have strong floods of adrenalin in an environment where there are raised voices, irritable tones, or any suggestion of conflict, regardless of whether or not they are involved in the conflict. It is common for them to be jumpy and startle easily.

The adrenalin arouses the nervous system, creating the "anxious" feeling, even before the person can rationalize the situation. But once the brain recognizes the adrenalin arousal, it begins to "watch out" for the danger, and the thoughts then commence, 'what if' this and 'what if' that. The thoughts typically flow to the person's vulnerability at the time, which may be about their health, finances, relationships, children, work, being disliked, being inadequate - there is always something the brain will find as dangerous to justify the physical anxious sensation.

Best wishes, Karen Gosling