our thoughts impact our feelings

Physiological

The physiological component of anxiety involves physical symptoms and sensations such as:

• Increased heart rate; shortness of breath; tightness in chest
• Dizziness; weakness or tingling in your legs; feeling like you’re going to faint
• Muscle tension; tension in the face and head; headaches
• Lump in the throat
• Nausea or other discomfort in the stomach
• Feeling hot; sweating; sweaty palms; blushing

Cognitive

The cognitive component of anxiety involves thoughts and worries that often take the form of “What if?” questions. These “What ifs” can be related to the anxiety-provoking situation:

• What if I fail?
• What if I embarrass myself?
• What if something bad happens to me or my partner/spouse/child?
• What if I don’t fit in and nobody like me?
• What if I have a panic attack?
• The “What ifs” can also be related to the the physiological symptoms you’re experiencing:
• What if I have a heart attack?
• What if I pass out?
• What if I need medical attention?
• What if I don’t fit in and nobody like me?

Behavioral

The behavioral component of anxiety can involve reduced performance due to the anxiety. If you’re focused on your worries or physiological symptoms, you might find yourself distracted, and so concerned with what’s going on in your mind and your body that you feel removed from the outside world. As a result, things that would be simple if it weren’t for your anxiety—such as a work-related task, or socializing—become much more difficult to perform.

Another behavioral feature of anxiety is avoidance. Avoiding what you’re anxious about usually makes the anxiety subside in the short-term. If you’re anxious about socializing, or flying, or public speaking, or leaving the house, then by avoiding those situations leads you can avoid feeling anxious for the time being. However, avoidance winds up severely restricting what you can do and negatively affecting your day-to-day life. And when you do try to—or are forced to—face one of those situations, the anxiety returns stronger than ever.

Emotional

The emotional component of anxiety consists of emotions typically associated with anxiety such as fear, dread, panic. Anxiety can also lead to other emotions such as frustration, anger, disappointment, sadness and depression.

Dorter, G. (2019, August 8). Greg Dorter's therapy blog. Greg Dorter Therapy Blog. Retrieved December 5, 2021, from https://www.guelphtherapist.ca/blog/four-components-of-anxiety/.