Getting Anxiety Over Things You Don't Fear

When it comes to anxiety disorders, we are often taught one of three things:


1. When we react with anxiety towards a specific stimulus, that must mean we have an inner fear of that very thing, and in turn, we must have that innate fear addressed in order to heal from the anxiety.
2. We react with anxiety towards a specific stimulus because our systems are automatically on-edge due to a chemical imbalance in our brains. Thus, our brains think we fear a certain stimulus, even though we might never fear it if it weren't for our anxiety disorder.
3. A combination of both of the latter

Any of the latter three can be correct. Anxiety disorders, or even a temporary period of anxiety not tied to a psychological disorder, can certainly start with a specific fear of something. However, an anxiety disorder or temporary period of anxiety can also begin with a chemical imbalance, vitamin deficiency, or something unrelated to fear. This then causes us to experience anxiety and leads us to believe that certain stimuli that we come in contact with are our true, innate fears.

The idea of this post is to point out that it is possible to get anxiety over things you know you don't fear deep down. Anxiety is a complex sensation, cognitive process, experience, and emotional rollercoaster. Anxiety can seem like a chicken-or-the-egg scenario. The truth is, anxiety can seem like an endless cycle because your true fears can trigger your anxiety, and your anxiety can trigger new fears.

For example, if Maria was involved in a traumatic car accident and developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a result of it, her anxiety disorder would have started with fear, or specifically, trauma. However, if Nolan has suffered from an anxiety disorder since he was 10-years-old and never really knew why but then suddenly developed a phobia regarding eating foods of certain colors and textures once his anxiety disorder got worse over time, the assumption might be that he developed the phobia after and even as a result of his general anxiety. However, it is still possible that Nolan had an innate, underlying fear of eating specific foods even before his anxiety disorder came into play and that his phobia was merely exasperated rather than caused by the anxiety disorder itself or vice versa.

Based on the latter examples, it's obvious that anxiety disorders are never a one-fits-all situation. They are incredibly intricate and are rarely easy to decipher and completely understand.

Nevertheless, as you delve deeper into your anxiety journey, it's important that you are aware that just because you are anxious regarding something does not mean you necessarily fear it. Understanding that there are some things that make you anxious but don't fear can allow you to learn how to separate your true self from your anxious self.

Knowing how to pinpoint whether your anxiety or fear(s) "came first" is vital as it can help you and professionals understand how to get you the help you need to aid with your anxiety. For instance, in Maria's scenario, she might require some sort of therapy to talk through her fear post-accident and possibly medication to aid with some of the symptoms. However, in Nolan's case, he may or may not only require medication, that is, if his initial anxiety disorder preceded his food aversions and general fears regarding eating certain foods, and thus, if his anxiety disorder is addressed, his eating phobia may also disappear along with it.

How Can An Anxiety Disorder Cause False Fears?

It should be pretty clear how a fear can trigger the start of an anxiety disorder. However, you might be wondering how having an anxiety disorder can cause someone to develop fabricated fears, fears that they might have ever had if their anxiety disorder never came into existence.

There isn't truly a single answer for this. However, I can still provide my insight as someone who also struggles with anxiety disorders.

For me personally, my generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) begun for seemingly no apparent reason; it was something I always seemed to have and could not explain for the life of me. Then my anxiety developed into agoraphobia, the fear of being in certain places, away from one's comfort zone (e.g., home) for fear overbearing panic or anxiety would strike.

Like my GAD, my agoraphobia was not a result of trauma, abuse, or any sort of fear directly related to no longer wanting to leave the house. I didn't get in a car accident, witness a heart-racing violent encounter, nor did I suffer from a near-death experience. Rather, my agoraphobia began after suffering from prolonged, severe anxiety and stress that were never tended to, which then resulted in me struggling with panic attacks, and eventually, led to me being completely housebound due to my false fear of leaving the house.

While I knew deep down that it wasn't leaving the house that scared me (in fact, I wanted to so badly), it was the anxiety and panic themselves that I feared. Ironically, my brain was the one who thought I feared leaving the house, and thus, led me to believe I should stay home forever. In reality, all it wanted to do was protect me and help me meet my basic need to feel safe and secure, but like us, our brains can misunderstand.

What's interesting is that an anxiety disorder can begin or exasperate due to one fear and then cause you to develop a new "fear." This technically happened to me. While my agoraphobia didn't begin due to a fear of leaving the house, it did start as a result of a series of other, more mild fears (which may also have been fabricated once I developed GAD). As a result of the stronger anxiety and newly-developed agoraphobia, I then began to suffer from hypochondria, a fear of breathing, a fear of my heart beating too quickly or too slowly, the list goes on – all because my system was already in a heightened, anxious state and clicked so easily with new phobias and fears. Interestingly, prior to developing agoraphobia, I struggled many years with a fear of failure, not being perfect, and generally a phobia of messing up or embarrassing myself. The latter fears can be due to underlying self-consciousness or even a flawed perception of what life truly is: imperfect, spontaneous, and not always according to plan.

All in all, my point here isn't to get insight or an evaluation for my own struggles with anxiety, but rather, allow sufferers of anxiety and others to understand how complicated an anxiety disorder can really be. The good news is, though, that just because you have an anxiety disorder does not mean you always have underlying fears or a "distorted consciousness." Anxiety can absolutely erupt seemingly out of the blue and can be a disorder on its own rather than something "caused by you." Likewise, the fears your brain creates can also come about merely due to your already-anxious state of mind, not necessarily because you "choose" to fear those things or because you have a deep trauma or dark past with the fear you've developed.

Although it can be frightening when you have anxiety towards something when you are 100% sure you don't genuinely fear that thing, this can be a good thing. It means your brain is not only working in terms of trying to protect you (though it may be doing more harm than good), but this also is a reminder that you are not your anxiety; your anxiety is a disorder, sometimes a result of your brain misunderstanding your surroundings and the stimuli it comes across. As hard as it is, bask happily in the idea that you and your anxiety disorder are two distinct "parts" of you. Often, you and your anxiety disorder will not see eye-to-eye, and that is okay because in the end, you are still your beautiful, unique self.