This is one of the best articles I've found for explaining how anxieties form. Enjoy!
Why do we worry ourselves sick? Because the brain is hardwired for fear, and sometimes it short-circuits
By Christine Gorman Posted Sunday, Aug. 18, 2002; 16.38 a.m. BST
It's 4 a.m., and you're wide awake — palms sweaty, heart racing. You're worried about your kids. Your aging parents. Your 401(k). Your health. Your sex life. Breathing evenly beside you, your spouse is oblivious. Doesn't he — or she — see the dangers that lurk in every shadow? He must not. Otherwise, how could he, with all that's going on in the world, have talked so calmly at dinner last night about flying to Florida for a vacation?
How is it that two people facing the same circumstances can react so differently? Why are some folks buffeted by the vicissitudes of life while others glide through them with grace and calm? Are some of us just born more nervous than others? And if you're one of them, is there anything you can do about it?
The key to these questions is the emotional response we call anxiety. Unlike hunger or thirst, which build and dissipate in the immediate present, anxiety is the sort of feeling that sneaks up on you from the day after tomorrow. It's supposed to keep you from feeling too safe. Without it, few of us would survive. (Read the rest of the article here...)
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