17. You see the world differently
In a study that took place at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, it was found that anxious people were unable to discriminate between an experienced initially, threatening stimulus and a newer, similar one that was safe. Researchers found that emotional experiences induced changes in sensory representations in the brains of patients with anxiety. These plastic changes in the patients’ brain circuits affected the way they responded to new safe stimuli. They over-generalized emotional experiences due to this fundamental difference in their brains.
People are not usually born with anxiety. They form it after a traumatic experience that leaves them with unresolved fears and worries. They often develop triggers that cause these events to resurface. This is why they may proceed very cautiously and overreact in circumstances that do not bother others at all. They may jump when a door slams or keep looking over a shoulder when walking down the street.
For instance, you get on the train, and the person next to you looks suspicious and is wearing a hoodie. He reaches into his pocket, and you expect him to pull out a knife when he is only reaching for his cell phone. You probably can’t even see the damage yourself, and it may be somewhat like an invisible wound that you could bump and tear open at any time.
Your anxiety creates a fundamental difference in the way you perceive things. When you are focused on discerning threats, negative information dominates your consciousness. Developing self-awareness of the way your anxiety may be driving your perception of the world and a bias for threat may be the first step towards preventing it from instilling fear and distorting reality.