Clients with Anxiety Show Differences in Emotional Processing
February 20th, 2010
Modern psychotherapeutic treatments for symptoms of anxiety are often able to help clients overcome panic attacks, feelings of constant or debilitating worry, and other issues frequently experienced when anxiety is diagnosed. But understanding precisely why the brain may react differently to emotional data in people with anxiety has been a less productive quest. Recently, a research team at Stanford University has used MRI brain scanning technology to study the brains of clients with and without anxiety issues as they process emotional stimuli, and has concluded that those with anxiety exhibit distinct behaviors. Further research may help create more precise and effective treatment options, the researchers say.
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the entire perception and the perception of threat from an external agent, all change when a person is anxious. they tend to be more submissive and lack confidence to do things. this will surely show in their reasponse to any external factor.
Have suffered from panic attacks for years, and yeah, I can definitely tell you that I process things emotionally way differently than those who do not suffer from these same attacks. My heart and mind both get to racing and I can’t think straight. Sometimes I can’t even breathe bso your processing is just a bit impaired I would say.
Individuals exhibiting anxiety do tend to take things on a more priority basis,whether those things actually deserve it or not.This leads to them percepting the things differently and also to react in a different manner than those who do not suffer from anxiety.
That’s definitely true with me. There are only so many things that I can handle at one time so I find this to be the only way I can establish any kind of order in my life and I make prioritizing things very high on my list. I know that sometimes people in my family might think that I put the wrong things in order but that is the only simple way that I know to get things crossed off my list without feeling so anxious and overwhelmed. Sometimes it’s all about what helps me get through the day and this has worked well for me over the years.
Do anti- anxiety medications seem to work well for most patients exhibiting this kind of behavior? I am sure that it is like other illnesses, where there is not one treatment method that works for everyone, but I would have to think that therapy along with the right kind of medication would be promising for some who suffer from anxiety related disorders.
When we encounter intense emotions such as anxiety and panic attacks the emotions become embedded within a complex of habitual reactive thoughts with which we become identified. Whenever the emotion is stimulated it leads to the repetition of this cascade of reactive thinking, which in Mindfulness Psychology is called Secondary Reactivity. It is this secondary reactivity that perpetuates and feeds the original emotions.
In Mindfulness Therapy, we learn how to overcome this habitual reactive process and resolve the underlying emotions.
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