Has “Anxiety” Become the Catch-All Word for Every Feeling?
Anxiety has become one of the most commonly used words in our vocabulary.
People say:
“I have anxiety.”
“My anxiety is bad today.”
“This situation gives me anxiety.”
But is it always really anxiety?
What Anxiety Actually Is
From a mind-body perspective, anxiety is your primitive survival system at work.
It’s not just a word — it’s a physical and emotional state where:
Your heart races
Your breathing changes
Your muscles tense
Your thoughts speed up
All designed to get you to take action — usually to fight or run from a threat.
So technically, anxiety is not just “feeling stressed” or “feeling a bit off.” It’s a very specific mind-body response: feeling threatened by the sensations and thoughts happening inside you.
Could It Be Another Emotion?
Here’s a radical thought:
Some of what we call “anxiety” might actually be other emotions — frustration, sadness, excitement, fear — all showing up in the body.
Your mind creates emotions to motivate behaviour.
Emotions are the “energy in motion” that help you act.
But if we label everything as anxiety, we might miss what our mind is really asking us to do.
The Role of Meaning
The mind attaches meaning to sensations and thoughts.
You feel your heart race and immediately think:
“This is anxiety. Something’s wrong. I can’t cope.”
But what if your heart is racing because your body is preparing for action, not because something is wrong?
What if the meaning is what’s causing the suffering — not the sensation itself?
Have We Been Conditioned to Expect Anxiety?
Here’s the controversial bit:
Has anxiety become so normalised that we almost feel like we should have it?
We see posts about it every day.
We hear friends, family, and influencers talk about it.
We self-diagnose and identify with it.
And because our minds are wired to pay attention to what’s important to the tribe, we start noticing more and more “evidence” of anxiety in ourselves.
The Problem with Over-Identifying with Anxiety
When we constantly say “I have anxiety,” we send a message to the mind that this is part of who we are — that it’s happening right now.
And what does the mind do when it thinks something is happening now?
It creates more sensations, more emotions, more thoughts — to try to get you to take action.
This is why so many people get stuck in an endless anxiety loop.
How Hypnotherapy Helps Break the Cycle
In hypnotherapy and Rapid Resolution Therapy, I help clients:
✨ Get clarity on what’s really happening.
Is it anxiety — or another emotion?
✨ Update the mind’s meaning.
Once the mind realises nothing needs to be done right now, it stops firing the alarm.
✨ Install a new response.
The sensations stop feeling threatening, and the cycle of panic and worry dissolves.
You Are Not Your Anxiety
Your mind isn’t broken, and you are not destined to live in fear.
Anxiety is not an identity — it’s simply your protection system doing its job too well.
When you help the mind process correctly, you stop being at the mercy of those thoughts and sensations and start living with clarity, freedom, and peace.
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