Sometimes a vicious cycle can develop which can keep your anxiety going.
When facing a situation which causes you fear, anxious thoughts can trigger some unpleasant physical symptoms. These symptoms are part of the body’s threat response as it gets ready to either fight or fight. Symptoms can include:
- a dry throat
- sweating
- feeling ‘butterflies’ in our stomach
- pounding heart
- dizziness
- shallow breathing
Experiencing these physical symptoms can make you feel physically unwell and this can lead you to think that something bad is happening.
This can then make you feel more anxious and make you fear the situation even more strongly. You may have thoughts such as “I really must be in danger” and “Something horrible really is happening.”
You may then start to feel even more worried and anxious about similar situations in the future as a vicious cycle develops.