Anxious worried stressed tense – all ways of describing a more or less state of fearfulness. Many psychologists consider OCD and Phobia also as part of the spectrum of ‘anxiety disorders’.
Can we take the view that some fears are well grounded as a realistic response to stay safe? Fight flight freeze – our old friends trying to protect us as usual and in the main doing a great job.
So where does it go wrong when rationally we know we are not at risk of death or injury?
Many therapists and psychologists now believe that the ‘irrational’ fear response is triggered by events/thoughts/feelings/body sensations that have been stored implicitly in our younger vulnerable self/parts. These clever hypervigilant parts are still trying to protect us from hurt, pain humiliation, and shame. And they are not that irrational really – they still work hard to help us stay safe! They need acknowledgment, understanding, and love.
Maybe we can find those parts and help them go off duty a bit?