Anxiety is not a
thinking problem.

Humans have been around for some 300,000 years, yet for only a few hundred of those — a relative blink of an eye — has the world resembled anything akin to the one we inhabit today. Make no mistake, our nervous systems did not evolve for the contemporary modern world. Yes, we deal with many of the same fears and concerns of even our most distant ancestors — safety, health, security, and death, to name a few. But consider the rapid succession of environmental changes that humans have endured in little more than 100 years — the telephone (1876), the lightbulb (1879), radio (1880s), the modern automobile (1885), flight (1903), the digital computer (1930s) and even the atom bomb (1945) — and it becomes clear that society has evolved far beyond our nervous systems’ ability to keep up.

We expect the comforts and convenience of modern life to provide a buffer for our nerves, when in fact, they are often only adding to anxieties that are endemic to our species. Research is clear: we are exposed to too much information and are unable to process all that we receive. In fact, the primitive parts of our brain do not understand the difference between what is imagined and what is real. This is why, when stuck in traffic or unable to meet a deadline, our bodies experience a response not unlike one in which a tiger is lurking nearby. And for highly sensitive people, the sensory overload deriving from the constant stimuli of modern life often leaves us feeling anxious and gasping for air.

Yet here’s the catch: anxiety is in fact a signal of heightened awareness, and not the by-product of a mind gone awry. In the game of natural selection, highly sensitive, hyper-vigilant people were survivors — they became aware of the proverbial lurking tiger before their more aloof companions. And while it rarely feels like any kind of advantage when you are suffering from what feels like debilitating anxiety, we will help you learn to regard that feeling with understanding and curiosity, in order to benefit from the gift of sensitivity that is present in all people who suffer from anxiety.

Anxiety is one of the most common mental-health struggles in the U.S., and it is highly treatable. It stems from genetics, brain chemistry, temperament, daily hassles, and stressful life events.