Overcoming the Fear of Fear: How to Reduce Anxiety Sensitivity

Description

Anxiety sensitivity (AS) refers to the fear of anxiety-related bodily sensations (i.e., 'fear of fear'). This fear arises from beliefs that these sensations have harmful physical, psychological, and/or social consequences. Most people who notice they are anxious - they may notice a pounding heart, sweaty palms, or the 'shakes' - expect the anxiety to dissipate when the situation that is worrying them is resolved. A person with low AS would perceive such sensations to be unpleasant, but transient and harmless, consequences of being in an anxious state. But a person with high AS might fear heart palpitations believing they portend a heart attack; fear dizziness believing it to signify imminent mental breakdown; and/or, fear trembling in anticipation of public ridicule.Anxiety symptoms drive people into emergency rooms in fear of non-existent heart attacks or brain tumours, and it results in some people going from doctor to doctor thinking something is physically wrong with them. Hypersensitivity to anxiety can be successfully treated with cognitive-behavioural therapy, which reduces fear by correcting unreasonable ideas about the meaning of body sensations like breathlessness. Cognitive-behavioral treatments for panic disorder aim to reduce anxiety sensitivity in order to prevent recurrence of panic attacks.