The Science of Anxiety Disorders Part 2

Part 2: Defining hyper-sensitivity, worry, & panic attacks

What causes some people to be hypersensitive?

Some individuals with extremely sensitive nervous systems may react to anxious events more readily and more deeply than the average person. These individuals are sometimes called hyper-sensitives or empaths. This means that hyper sensitive’s may be more vulnerable to anxiety because they feel things so intensely. This intensity occurs primarily because empaths are organically more sympathetic to events that transpire in the external universe, including in particular events that surround, discomfort pain or suffering. This means that they have a sympathetic nervous system that is literally more sympathetic, as if someone had turned up the biological volume on their capacity to feel the experiences of others and just left it on high. They must respond intensely to events that are marked as significant by their mind while their mind in turn activates their sympathetic nervous system to summon energy to deal with the event that now requires their sympathy. This even occurs with empaths at moments and times when they do not feel the need or desire to be sympathetic. Therefore, in order to protect and conserve their psychological energy hyper-sensitives need strong emotional survival skills otherwise they might quickly burn out emotionally. They have to work twice as hard as most folks to protect themselves from the emotional neediness of the external universe. This is a difficult task for most hyper-sensitives who carry strong tendencies towards altruism and caregiving within their psychological character. Empaths often take on the role of the martyr believing that it is their duty to serve the external universe. This martyr character follows the 4- mantras of the martyr code including, working harder and longer than everyone else, performing service work at a higher quality than everyone else, performing daily acts of self-sacrifice, and maintaining silence as they meet their high expectations for longsuffering. Hyper-sensitives who follow the martyr code hold themselves to a personal expectation that no need is allowed to go un-met and they must treat all persons seeking aid with the utmost care and respect even when they suspect they are being used. They feel extreme measures of guilt when they say no to requests for help or care. For these reasons hyper-sensitives are at high risk for anxiety disorders. This risk surrounds the hyper-sensitive’s struggle with a sympathetic nervous system that is stuck in overdrive and often accompanied by personal character agendas that discourage even the thought of turning down the sympathy/empathy volume.

What drives individuals to worry? 

Individuals who are struggling with high levels of anxiety tend to worry and ruminate more frequently and more intensely than the average person. The contributing factors to the event of worrying surround not only high levels of adrenalin but also the individual’s attempt to control the external universe to align with their personal expectations. The idea is that the work of worrying facilitates the illusion that we are in control. Worry work accomplishes this feat by producing the feeling that putting in some good worry time brings us a little closer to our expectation destinations. When we look at the psychology of worrying by tracking worry thought streams pulled directly from the mind of the anxiety disordered individual, we find some interesting data.

First, we find that the thought streams share a common thread. Each worry could be traced to a survival maintenance problem, a specific fear problem or outcome control problem. Survival maintenance problems surround the 3 – creeds of maintaining our survival including means-comfort-gratification. Regarding these survival maintenance problems, we note that to maintain our survival, we must secure a means to provide for ourselves and our loved ones, we must establish and maintain personal comfort spaces, and we must secure our personal reward program. Fear concerns surround real or imagined threats to the survival of ourselves and/or our loved ones. Outcome control concerns surround our human desire to rule over our little universes. Thus, controlling outcomes surrounds pursuing our wish to determine real world outcomes to align with our individual agendas, which is to say that humans sometimes play at being God.

Second, some of those worry thought streams are concerned with fears that are both rational and irrational. Whether the fear is real or imagined worrying about a fear means that at least now at the present time there may be time to solve the fear problem. Solving the fear problem is a far more effective way to reduce anxiety in the moment. Worrying is far less helpful. It should be noted that worrying about threats to survival tends to produce higher levels of adrenalin than worrying about survival maintenance problems. This is true because threats to survival call for more energy and therefore more adrenalin.

Third, we would find that the goal of the worrying seemed to be less about solving means-comfort-gratification problems or fear problems and more about juggling possible outcomes. This means that worry seems to be focused on what ifs, maybe’s, would haves, could haves and should haves than actual events that had occurred in the external universe. This information suggests that individuals seemed to worry more about controlling outcomes than about solving the problem surrounding the possible outcomes. Controlling outcomes is a bit like being God. In spite of the fact, that we know such control is not realistic we try anyway. We try partially because we want things to go our way and partially because we like the idea that we are in control and that such control is within our grasp. This pursuit tends to facilitate a dependence on the notion of control which in turn facilitates a reliance on worry.

Fourth we find that the worry seems to focus with some deliberation on things that are specifically and irretrievably outside the control of the individual engaged in the worry. Why we might wonder of all things to worry about would we choose those things over which we have no regulation or government? One reason surrounds the idea that we do not seek a solution. On the contrary the worrier seeks to do more worrying and what better way to produce more worry material than to worry about things that have no viable solution. This may even include worrying about not having anything left to worry about.

This suggests that worrying at large may be more about devotion to the illusion of control and less about seeking solutions to problems. This means that the act of worrying makes us feel as if we are controlling something. This supports the idea that the core reason that we obsess and ruminate is because worry feels like control. This means that the notion of control is so compelling to us, something we so urgently need to believe in within our fragile human condition, that we employ worry to sustain control’s grand illusion.

This suggests that the reward of worry is the feeling of control. The feeling of control is the state of consciousness that brings that sense of security that suggests that I am in control of my world, and all is well because of this control. The problem is that security sensations built upon a platform of control illusions are houses built upon foundations of sand.

This is true because worry and control are attempts to work around the truth that sentient beings are limited in our capacity to dictate and determine outcomes. Our limits as humans seem to surround the truth that there is an autonomous design within a metaphysical intelligence that is running a program which is independent from our individual wishes. This means that there is something bigger than our agendas and more important than our desired outcomes. If this is a truth, we will either accept it by surrendering the notion of control or resist it by exercising worry to pursue the illusion that control is possible.

Ideally the act of making a connection with that which is bigger seems to be a way to step away from the cyclical nature of worry and control. This connection also seems to offer an alternative path that leads to linear growth and the promise of fulfillment. What we do know for certain is that acceptance and serenity do generate oxytocin rather than adrenalin. We also find that this oxytocin does appear to facilitate satisfaction states  of consciousness in contrast to the gratification states of consciousness that surround the pursuit of worry and control.

What is the difference between and anxiety attack and a panic attack? 

The average levels of worry that lead individuals to problem solve and design what are most commonly known as stress management practices run at a range of 15-45 units of adrenalin. This means that individuals who are not experiencing disordered anxiety levels live their lives at much lower adrenalin levels throughout their day. Lower adrenalin means less worry. The worry is less because the individual is effectively regulating the worry with successful problem solving. The efficient problem solving means higher levels of self-regulation, self-confidence and self-reliance. This translates to the maintenance of lower worry and anxiety levels. Anxiety disorder adrenalin levels on the other hand which range from 50-125 units tend to accelerate the intensity and frequency of worry and rumination. This acceleration generates what are frequently called racing thoughts. When individuals feel forced or compelled to worry at these higher frequencies, they may experience what is known as an anxiety attack. This accelerated worry event is different from a panic attack. These differences are noted in the definitions outlined below.

Confusion surrounding how anxiety attacks and panic attacks are different is more common than we might think. Differentiating these 2-experiences is critical in order to treat the condition more effectively. While both conditions share the properties of the biochemistry of anxiety there are specific differences in the adrenalin levels that accompany these 2- attacks.

Anxiety attacks surround the condition defined as an anxiety disorder. The anxiety attack involves the episodic event of a flood of worry surrounding excessive and persistent rumination over an event that might threaten one’s ability to maintain survival including minor events such as being late for an appointment or other uncertain outcomes. Worry may also include survival level fears or fears surrounding life or death events such as illness or violence. Worrying about a fear, however, is different than experiencing the fear firsthand. Thus, the event of worrying about seeing a snake is different than the event of actually seeing a snake. Symptoms of anxiety attacks include fatigue, hypervigilance, restlessness and irritability — and are often chronic. Adrenalin levels are moderately high to high falling just below the adrenalin measure required to produce a panic attack.

Panic attacks, on the other hand, are short bursts of intense fear often marked by increased heart rate, brief chest pain or shortness of breath. These attacks surround both real and perceived threats to one’s survival. The attacks typically last fewer than 30 minutes, they could occur once or repeatedly — sometimes without reason. These episodes can send patients to the emergency room, as they are sometimes mistaken for a heart attack. Adrenalin levels are high to severe rising above the measure required to produce a panic attack which includes the fight, flight freeze response. Over time individuals who suffer numerous panic attacks develop what is called a fear of fear. This means that the individual is afraid of the feeling of the adrenalin spike that provides the energy required to fight, run, or freeze. This fear of fear leads to feelings of helplessness that may lead to debilitating states of dependence on a comfort zone.