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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
If anxiety is in my brain, why is my heart pounding? A psychiatrist explains the neuroscience and physiology of fear
Heart in your throat. Butterflies in your stomach. Bad gut feeling. These are all phrases many people use to describe fear and anxiety. You have likely felt anxiety inside your chest or stomach, and your brain usually doesn't hurt when you're scared. Many cultures tie cowardice and bravery more to the heart or the guts than to the brain. But science has traditionally seen the brain as the birthplace and processing site of fear and anxiety. Then why and how do you feel these emotions in other parts of your body? I am a psychiatrist and neuroscientist who researches and treats fear and anxiety. In my book 'Afraid,' I explain how fear works in the brain and the body and what too much anxiety does to the body. Research confirms that while emotions do originate in your brain, it's your body that carries out the orders. While your brain evolved to save you from a falling rock or speeding predator, the anxieties of modern life are often a lot more abstract. Fifty-thousand years ago, being rejected by your tribe could mean death, but not doing a great job on a public speech at school or at work doesn't have the same consequences. Your brain, however, might not know the difference. There are a few key areas of the brain that are heavily involved in processing fear. When you perceive something as dangerous, whether it's a gun pointed at you or a group of people looking unhappily at you, these sensory inputs are first relayed to the amygdala. This small, almond-shaped area of the brain located near your ears detects salience, or the emotional relevance of a situation and how to react to it. When you see something, it determines whether you should eat it, attack it, run away from it or have sex with it. Threat detection is a vital part of this process, and it has to be fast. Early humans did not have much time to think when a lion was lunging toward them. They had to act quickly. For this reason, the amygdala evolved to bypass brain areas involved in logical thinking and can directly engage physical responses. For example, seeing an angry face on a computer screen can immediately trigger a detectable response from the amygdala without the viewer even being aware of this reaction. The hippocampus is near and tightly connected to the amygdala. It's involved in memorizing what is safe and what is dangerous, especially in relation to the environment – it puts fear in context. For example, seeing an angry lion in the zoo and in the Sahara both trigger a fear response in the amygdala. But the hippocampus steps in and blocks this response when you're at the zoo because you aren't in danger. The prefrontal cortex, located above your eyes, is mostly involved in the cognitive and social aspects of fear processing. For example, you might be scared of a snake until you read a sign that the snake is nonpoisonous or the owner tells you it's their friendly pet. Although the prefrontal cortex is usually seen as the part of the brain that regulates emotions, it can also teach you fear based on your social environment. For example, you might feel neutral about a meeting with your boss but immediately feel nervous when a colleague tells you about rumors of layoffs. Many prejudices like racism are rooted in learning fear through tribalism. If your brain decides that a fear response is justified in a particular situation, it activates a cascade of neuronal and hormonal pathways to prepare you for immediate action. Some of the fight-or-flight response – like heightened attention and threat detection – takes place in the brain. But the body is where most of the action happens. Several pathways prepare different body systems for intense physical action. The motor cortex of the brain sends rapid signals to your muscles to prepare them for quick and forceful movements. These include muscles in the chest and stomach that help protect vital organs in those areas. That might contribute to a feeling of tightness in your chest and stomach in stressful conditions. The sympathetic nervous system is the gas pedal that speeds up the systems involved in fight or flight. Sympathetic neurons are spread throughout the body and are especially dense in places like the heart, lungs and intestines. These neurons trigger the adrenal gland to release hormones like adrenaline that travel through the blood to reach those organs and increase the rate at which they undergo the fear response. To assure sufficient blood supply to your muscles when they're in high demand, signals from the sympathetic nervous system increase the rate your heart beats and the force with which it contracts. You feel both increased heart rate and contraction force in your chest, which is why you may connect the feeling of intense emotions to your heart. In your lungs, signals from the sympathetic nervous system dilate airways and often increase your breathing rate and depth. Sometimes this results in a feeling of shortness of breath. As digestion is the last priority during a fight-or-flight situation, sympathetic activation slows down your gut and reduces blood flow to your stomach to save oxygen and nutrients for more vital organs like the heart and the brain. These changes to your gastrointestinal system can be perceived as the discomfort linked to fear and anxiety. All bodily sensations, including those visceral feelings from your chest and stomach, are relayed back to the brain through the pathways via the spinal cord. Your already anxious and highly alert brain then processes these signals at both conscious and unconscious levels. The insula is a part of the brain specifically involved in conscious awareness of your emotions, pain and bodily sensations. The prefrontal cortex also engages in self-awareness, especially by labeling and naming these physical sensations, like feeling tightness or pain in your stomach, and attributing cognitive value to them, like 'this is fine and will go away' or 'this is terrible and I am dying.' These physical sensations can sometimes create a loop of increasing anxiety as they make the brain feel more scared of the situation because of the turmoil it senses in the body. Although the feelings of fear and anxiety start in your brain, you also feel them in your body because your brain alters your bodily functions. Emotions take place in both your body and your brain, but you become aware of their existence with your brain. As the rapper Eminem recounted in his song 'Lose Yourself,' the reason his palms were sweaty, his knees weak and his arms heavy was because his brain was nervous. Leer en español. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Arash Javanbakht, Wayne State University Read more: Pain and anxiety are linked to breathing in mouse brains – suggesting a potential target to prevent opioid overdose deaths Medication can help you make the most of therapy − a psychologist and neuroscientist explains how New research supports brain cell transplantation as a treatment for some neurological disorders Arash Javanbakht does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
The Sun
02-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Modern luxuries include noise-cancelling headphones and quilted loo roll
Modern life's little luxuries include noise cancelling headphones, quilted loo roll, and pre-chopped vegetables. A poll of 2,000 adults found they typically enjoy a touch of luxury five times a month. 2 2 With robot vacuum cleaners, smart thermostats, and having an after dinner treat also considered to be indulgences. Others include high-end scented candles, a mid-week glass of wine, and boiling water taps. Commissioned by Müller Bliss, the research found almost 46 per cent of adults feel like they don't have time to add luxury to their daily life. Great British Menu winner Kate Austen, who has teamed up with the yoghurt maker to show us how to inject a little extra into our daily grind, said: 'For me, little luxuries are basically edible happiness, from a comfort dish to a sneaky ready-made dessert, it's my instant mood elevator.' Kate has created "Bliss Bites" inspired by two new flavours: Whipped Greek Style Strawberries & Cream with miniature biscuits, and Whipped Greek Style Yogurt Lemon Meringue Pie. The study also identified the things adults believe used to be considered luxury which aren't any more – including holidays abroad, air travel, and owning a personal computer. Others include subscription TV, buying clothes, and fast food. For 38 per cent, getting the chance to enjoy 'little luxuries' has become more important than it used to be. With 72 per cent of the opinion being able to enjoy such things is also much easier now than it has been previously. And this is reflected by the 34 per cent who 'always' or 'often' incorporate indulgences into their daily lives. Brits renting spend nearly £700 on décor to make rentals feel like home As many as 82 per cent believe small luxuries have a positive impact on their mood, suggesting making a concerted effort to enjoy them is worthwhile. However, it can be very much a private pleasure - 70 per cent have secretly enjoyed their luxuries alone. While 35 per cent have resorted to 'extreme' lengths to do just this – including hiding away in the bathroom (43 per cent) and repackaging it up in disguise (32 per cent). Carried out through the research identified food as the most common type of indulgence (39 per cent), with dessert being seen as the most luxurious meal (58 per cent). A decadent taste (51 per cent) is the number one reason for food feeling more luxurious, followed by the sensation they get when eat (44 per cent) and how it enlivens more than one sense (33 per cent). Marina Lazu, Müller Bliss brand manager, said: 'Luxury is enhanced convenience, it is important we indulge in luxuries to give us those dopamine hits. "We believe luxury isn't about extravagance, it's about those small moments that bring joy. Our new Whipped Greek Style flavours offer a way to elevate the everyday with a little bit of luxury in every spoonful." TOP 30 MOST COMMON LITTLE LUXURIES: 1. Peace and quiet 2. High-speed internet 3. Good quality coffee 4. Next day delivery 5. Grocery delivery 6. Good quality skincare 7. A TV show with no ads 8. Robot vacuum cleaners 9. Having an after-dinner treat 10. Ad-free TTV 11. Air fryer 12. Unlimited data when abroad 13. Priority boarding 14. Boiling water taps 15. Getting your nails done 16. Subscription boxes e.g. food, beauty products 17. Heated blankets 18. Scented candles 19. Having a mid-week glass of wine 20. Quilted loo roll 21. Noise cancelling headphones 22. Heated clothes airers 23. Pre-chopped vegetables 24. Electric bikes 25. Smart thermostats 26. A fully charged electric toothbrush 27. His and her sinks 28. More than one type of cheese in the fridge 29. Ordering food/drinks using a QR code rather than getting up to order 30. Phone charger nearby so you don't have to get up
Times
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
One certainty on assisted dying: this is an awful way to introduce it
A few years ago, when I was writing a book about the acceleration of modern life, my publisher gave me some advice. If I wanted the book to sell, I had to argue that it was a good thing or a bad thing. It didn't really matter which I picked. The important thing was to be certain. In politics, as in publishing, certainty is what sells. But sometimes uncertainty is the only reasonable option. Take the assisted dying bill. Some people, on both sides, are absolutely certain: certain that it is the next great liberal reform, or that it is a moral abomination. But for everyone who asserts irrefutably that we should have an absolute right to live or die as we wish, many
