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19. Why does anxiety feel like danger?

Understanding the patterns behind this experience

AI recognizes patterns.
Understanding comes from lived experience.

"The nervous system remains in a state of heightened prediction when past pain has not been processed."

anxiety feels like danger because it activates the same automatic mechanisms that respond to actual threats. that your nervous system can't distinguish between real danger and perceived danger. When anxiety triggers, your body responds as if you're facing an immediate threat, even when you're safe.

how this response is rooted in our evolutionary past. Our ancestors needed to react quickly to danger to survive, and those same mechanisms are still active in us today. that anxiety feels like danger because your body is generating you to fight or flee, releasing stress hormones and activating your automatic instincts, even when the threat is only in your mind.

For further reading and exploration, you can download the book Unfiltered Wisdom.