CYEAT: Chapter 10

I don’t have much to say on this chapter other than it seems weirdly out of place. It probably would have made a better Chapter 1 or even part of the Introduction.

It discusses what the terms “anxiety” and “stress” mean in detail and the differences between them. Basically this boils down to: anxiety relates more to mental worries (thoughts and emotions), stress relates more to your body’s physiological responses to a perceived threat. Either one can cause the other, and sometimes the words are used interchangeably. Anxiety can be about something in the present moment, or it can be “anticipatory anxiety” - worrying about something in the future (and building it up in your mind so that it does end up being scarier than if you hadn’t worried about it for weeks beforehand).

It’s all a giant feedback loop. If you worry about something and tell yourself it is (or will be) terrible, you become more anxious and stressed. As you become more anxious and stressed, you worry about it more. You may worry so much that you can’t sleep. Not sleeping causes even more stress build-up because your body is not as equipped to deal with it. Stress plus this lack of bodily care can lead to you getting physically sick, which leads to more anxiety and stress (especially for emetophobics). Etc.

If you can intervene in the cycle and try to minimize the effects, it will help in all the other areas too. Fighting your negative thoughts lowers your anxiety, makes it more likely you will get a good night’s sleep, meaning you will be more able to handle the next day’s stress and will stay healthier.