Anxiety Is Not Just in Your Mind: When the Brain Forgets to Turn Off the Alarm

She’s in her early sixties and usually calm and rational. That day, she only needed to make one choice — whether to move to a city closer to her daughter. The moment she hung up the phone, her chest tightened sharply, her heartbeat went off rhythm, and her palms turned sweaty. She tried to breathe deeply, but the faster she breathed, the blanker her mind became. Thirty minutes later, she was slumped on the sofa, feeling utterly drained — as if she had just escaped from danger.

At the very moment of an anxiety attack, your brain’s survival program is running. It’s the ancient “defense system” shaped by millions of years of evolution. When we must choose, face uncertainty, or feel out of control, the amygdala automatically sounds the alarm, and the sympathetic nervous system plus cortisol quickly take over the body.

Except this time, there’s no predator — only life. But the brain can’t always tell a “real” threat from a psychological one, so it mobilizes the whole body to fight a danger that isn’t there — palpitations, trembling, sweating, nausea, and a mind that can’t think.

The Brain’s Survival Logic: Why Anxiety Is a Protective Response

Imagine this scene:
Long, long ago, deep in the ancient forest,
one of our human ancestors hears a rustling sound in the bushes.
Before they can even see what it is, the brain immediately presses the alarm button —
heart pounding, breathing quickening, muscles tightening, pupils widening.
It might just be the wind... but if it’s a predator,
that one-second reaction could mean the difference between life and death.

The “commander” of this system is a tiny structure deep in the brain — the amygdala.
It works like a vigilant guard, constantly scanning for signs of danger.
Once it senses something might be risky, it sounds the alarm:
it signals the hypothalamus to coordinate the body’s response, while the adrenal glands release adrenaline.
Soon after, the body releases cortisol to sustain the state of alertness.

Within seconds, the entire “defense system” of the body ignites —
the heart beats faster, sending blood to the limbs for quick escape;
breathing speeds up, filling the lungs with oxygen;
digestion shuts down, because now is “not the time to eat”;
and the skin starts to sweat, cooling the body to prevent overheating.

This whole chain reaction is the body’s automatic survival program,
initiated by the amygdala and carried out through the sympathetic nervous system and cortisol.

Today, our “dangers” are no longer wild beasts — but meetings, bills, relationships, and uncertainty about the future.
Yet the amygdala doesn’t know the difference.
It still faithfully sounds the alarm, keeping us in a state of constant small stress —
until we slowly become a machine that never relaxes.

The Essence of Chronic Anxiety: When the Brain Forgets How to Turn Off the Alarm

In moments of brief danger, anxiety serves as a protective mechanism.
The problem is — modern “dangers” rarely ever end.
Unanswered emails, unprepared meetings, a comment from family, or a phone notification —
all can make the brain believe that the “threat” is still there.
The amygdala acts like an overzealous security guard,
sounding the alarm throughout the body at the slightest trigger.
The sympathetic nervous system lights up again, and cortisol keeps flowing.

When this alarm system stays on for too long,
several key players in the brain and body start to struggle —

The prefrontal cortex, your “executive and decision center,” manages focus, planning, and choices;
The hippocampus, your “memory and emotional archive,” integrates memory and regulates emotion;
The immune system, your “repair and defense force,” maintains energy recovery and fights infection.

Chronically elevated cortisol acts like a slow-burning fire,
quietly weakening these systems, leading to:

• Overloaded prefrontal cortex → poor concentration, slower decision-making, overthinking;
• Suppressed hippocampus → mood swings, memory decline, heightened stress sensitivity;
• Paused immune system → fatigue, frequent colds, recurring minor illnesses, slower recovery.

When this goes on too long,
the brain gets confused — it stays anxious even when safe.
Anxiety stops being a defense mechanism
and becomes a never-ending alarm loop.

This is where the line is drawn between anxiety and an anxiety disorder:
When the brain can no longer exit the alert state,
anxiety stops being your ally
and becomes the silent thief of your energy.

Anxiety vs. Anxiety Disorder: When the Brain Loses Its Resilience

When the brain’s defense system gets “stuck,”
it’s no longer ordinary anxiety —
it becomes an anxiety disorder.

Why do some people recover quickly while others get stuck in a loop?

Everyone feels anxious — before an exam, an interview, or when a child is ill.
Most people can return to calm once the event is over.
However, people with an anxiety disorder seem “stuck” in the anxious mode.

The problem isn’t how intense the anxiety is — the key is the inability to return to balance.
We call this recovery capacity the brain’s resilience.

Core mechanism of anxiety disorders: a recovery-system imbalance

When anxiety persists, three key brain–body systems fall out of sync:

• Amygdala — an oversensitive alarm, signaling “danger” at the slightest cue;
• Prefrontal cortex — weakened control over the amygdala; rational control fades;
• HPA axis (hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal system) — chronically elevated cortisol keeps the body tense.

In short,
when the brain’s “accelerator” (amygdala) is too active
and the “brake” (prefrontal cortex) is too weak,
anxiety becomes an automatic loop that won’t switch off.

Psychology definition: What is an “anxiety disorder”?

According to the DSM-5:
Anxiety disorders are conditions in which —
in the absence of a real, present threat — a person experiences persistent fear, tension, or anticipatory anxiety,
accompanied by prominent physical symptoms (e.g., palpitations, sweating, muscle tension, insomnia),
lasting more than six months and significantly impairing daily functioning.

Repair requires more than psychological tools —
it also involves supporting neurotransmitters, cortisol balance, and energy metabolism.

Follow us as we explore —
which nutrients and physiological strategies can help the brain relearn how to “stand down.”