We talk about anxiety and stress as if they are synonymous. They are not. Anxiety is heightened emotional intensity brought on by a situation or condition. Stress is the physiological reaction that accompanies that emotional state and which distracts you from problem solving.
In times of emotional arousal, parts of the brain which control the survival response kick in automatically. Think of these parts of the brain as the Old Brain; they are a hold-over from the times when humans had not developed the cognitive capacities we have now. The old brain acts instinctively to pump out hormones that ready the body to fight-flight-freeze-faint.
The part of the brain where we assess and problem solve is the frontal cortex. That part of the brain helps us decide how to handle anxiety. It works slower; as a result, the body is reacting to perceived danger before we have determined if and what kind of threat exists. In essence, a throwdown is happening between the Old Brain and the Frontal Cortex.
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