I hope you continue to find this to be a helpful place.1995 single by Beck "It's All in Your Mind"įrom the album One Foot in the Grave (Japanese, Australian and 2009 Deluxe Edition)and Sea Change
These can be very helpful and can be a place to connect to people who understand. Is there someone, even just one person, that you could reach out to for support and friendship? I've mentioned this before in comments about other things, but it applies to so much that I'll mention it here: many communities have brain injury support groups. There are activities that can be done to help your brain recover (simply Googling "traumatic brain injury," "traumatic brain injury recovery activities," etc. You don't have to resign yourself to this if it isn't the life you want. Such a drastic change in functioning/processing that you describe can be disheartening, and it make sense that you want to just stay home. It was such that I was able to recover, but for awhile it was very problematic and frustrating. I can relate at least a little bit (although I would never be so presumptuous as to say I know exatly what it's like to be you), as I experienced a brain injury years ago in a car accident. I'm glad to know that Anxiety-Schmanxiety is a helpful column. You don't have to be a walking arcade your entire life. Understanding these can prevent the ball from lighting up the pinball machine. Third, there are triggers that set anxiety in motion. Second, anxiety is physical, so like other physical conditions, it can be treated. First, you can know with certainty that it is not "in your head " you're not making it up. Anxiety is a steel ball ricocheting through the pinball machine of a brain, affecting every area and stimulating anxiety responses. So yes, anxiety is quite literally in the head. After all, what is it that coordinates and runs every single system in our body? The brain. This pinball game serves to create all of the physical, cognitive, and emotional symptoms associated with anxiety. The anxiety brain is on overdrive, and it tells our bodies to react accordingly. The machine's pinball flippers-hormones, and neurotransmitters such as adrenaline, cortisol, insulin, and dopamine-propel the anxiety ball back and forth and up and down all over the brain.Īs the ball rolls around like wild, buzzers sound, bells ding, and lights flash. The steel ball of anxiety bounces around inside all areas of the brain, ricocheting off bumpers and slingshots, and careening over rollover switches: structures such as the amygdala, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, hippocampus, brain stem, and lateral septum. The pinball-machine brain consists of the neocortex (the area of higher thinking and processing), the limbic system/area (the area of emotion), and the reptilian area (associated with survival, fight-or-flight). It's now loose in the brain, wreaking havoc wherever it hits. The pinball machine's spring-activated ball shooter has propelled the anxiety ball. Sensory information regarding the trigger goes to the brain. Something, whether conscious or subconscious, triggers us. Here's what happens: Anxiety, Your Brain, and the Pinball Machine Anxiety is the round, steel ball that would really hurt if it were hurled at you and you couldn't duck. For a moment, picture the brain as a pinball machine-one of the exceptionally loud, flashy ones. It isn't "in their head," but it is in their brain.Īnd wow, is it in the brain! Areas in every single part of the brain are involved when we're experiencing anxiety. People experiencing anxiety in any form are not making it up. One thing researchers are understanding is that anxiety really is brain-based. Thanks to neuroscience and technology, such as the fMRI, which measures and illuminates brain activity, we are gaining a deeper understanding of the human brain. It's all in your head," or when we question ourselves, wondering if we're going crazy because our anxiety seems irrational but it won't go away, the implication is that we're making up our anxiety or overreacting to something. Anxiety isn't "in your head." Why? Because it is in your head. When you live with anxiety, it's frustrating to be told that it's "all in your head." Great news: you can begin to let go of this maddening annoyance.