Anxiety is a State, Not a Feeling – A Guide to Understanding & Regulating Your Nervous System
- Brainz Magazine
- 6 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
Written by Emma Toms, The Confident Wellness Coach
Emma Toms is an Integrated Wellness Coach, IEMT Practitioner, Reiki Master Teacher, and Certified SSP Provider. Drawing on her own healing journey through autoimmune illness, she empowers clients to restore balance, build resilience, and reconnect with their true nature.
Most people think of anxiety as a feeling, something emotional, something psychological, something we should be able to “think away.” But anxiety is not a feeling. It is a physiological state of activation in the autonomic nervous system, driven by the body’s instinctive attempt to protect you. When we misunderstand anxiety as a personal failing, we overlook the biology, the trauma imprints, and the lived stress loads that push the nervous system into overdrive. When we understand anxiety as a state, we gain a clearer path to healing.
Anxiety as a physiological state: What the science shows
The autonomic nervous system responds to cues of safety or danger. When a threat is perceived, real or anticipated, the sympathetic branch activates, producing:
faster breathing
increased heart rate
muscle tension
digestive changes
heightened sensory scanning
These shifts happen automatically, before the thinking mind creates any story around them.
Research consistently shows:
Anxiety correlates with inflammatory immune activity: A 2018 meta-analysis found that people with anxiety disorders have higher levels of inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, CRP, and TNF-α.[1]
Chronic stress reshapes fear and memory regions in the brain: Long-term stress is associated with increased amygdala activity and reduced hippocampal volume, patterns linked to anxiety and hypervigilance.[1]
Vagal tone influences emotional regulation and stress recovery: Lower baseline vagal tone (measured through heart-rate variability) is associated with a reduced capacity to regulate stress and emotion.[2]
Interoception, the ability to sense internal bodily states, is linked to anxiety: A recent systematic review found that stronger interoceptive awareness supports better emotional regulation and resilience.[3]
The gut-brain axis is affected by stress: Emerging research shows that psychological stress can affect gut barrier integrity and gut-brain signalling, influencing mood and emotional state. While the field is still developing, stress-gut-brain relationships are consistently observed.[1][4]
Sleep changes dramatically affect anxiety levels: A large 2019 study found that a single night of insufficient sleep can increase next-day anxiety by up to 30%.[5]
Anxiety, therefore, is not imagined, dramatic, or irrational, it is embodied physiology.
Why anxiety becomes chronic
A nervous system that has endured too much, too fast, for too long begins to see threat everywhere. Factors that heighten chronic anxiety include:
trauma or adverse experiences
long-term stress without adequate recovery
chronic illness or inflammation
sleep disruption
sensory overload
accumulated emotional suppression
Trauma research shows that the nervous system can even “overcouple” sensations, environments, or memories with danger long after the danger has passed.[1]
Anxiety becomes chronic not because someone is weak, but because the nervous system has adapted to survive.
How IEMT, SSP & somatic awareness support regulation
These modalities are not replacements for medical or psychological care, but they can support nervous system regulation through mechanisms that align with emerging evidence.
1. Integral Eye Movement Therapy (IEMT)
Research on IEMT specifically is emerging, but therapeutic eye-movement work is supported by strong evidence in related fields. Bilateral eye movements reduce emotional intensity, support the reconsolidation of memory, and reduce distress associated with past experiences.
IEMT helps clients:
uncouple emotional triggers from past memories
process identity-based imprints
reduce chronic emotional activation
reorient to present-moment safety
2. Safe & Sound Protocol (SSP)
Grounded in Polyvagal Theory, SSP uses filtered acoustic stimulation to support vagal regulation and nervous system co-regulation. Studies report improvements in:
emotional regulation
sensory sensitivity
autonomic stability
Evidence is promising but still developing, an important nuance for ethical representation.
3. Somatic practices & interoception training
Somatic awareness increases the brain’s ability to track internal states, improving emotional regulation and reducing chronic stress activation. A 2020 review supports interoception as a key mechanism in improving emotional resilience.
Somatic work supports:
grounding
breath regulation
sensory processing
vagal tone
completion of stress cycles
deepened body-awareness
Practical daily tools for nervous system regulation
These practices are not quick fixes, they are daily re-patterning tools that help the system return to balance over time.
The 90-Second Reset: A biochemical stress response peaks and begins to settle within approximately 90 seconds unless fueled by additional thoughts. Try: Exhale slowly, soften your shoulders, name a sensation in your body, and allow the wave to move through.
Orienting to safety: Visually scanning your environment reduces amygdala activation and supports nervous system down-shifting.
Breathwork with extended exhale: Longer exhalation increases parasympathetic activity and lowers sympathetic arousal. Example: Inhale for 4 seconds, exhale for 6 seconds, repeat for 2 minutes.
Interoceptive check-ins: Naming sensations reduces limbic activation and increases regulation.
Prompts:
Where do I feel activation right now?
What does this sensation remind me of?
What is one small adjustment I need?
Humming or soft vocalisation: Humming stimulates vagal pathways through vibrational resonance.
Completing the stress cycle: Movement helps metabolize built-up activation and signals “the danger has passed.”Gentle shaking, brisk walking, long exhale sighs, or slow twisting movements.
Journal prompts to support insight
Where in my body does anxiety speak first?
What increases my activation? What decreases it?
What does my system need more of: rest, nourishment, quiet, or connection?
What 1% shift could I make today?
What part of me expects danger, and is that still true?
Final thoughts
Anxiety is not a flaw. It’s a body trying to protect you, shaped by stress, experience, memory, and biology. When we understand anxiety as a state, not a personal failure, we gain the clarity and compassion needed to heal.
With evidence-informed tools such as IEMT, SSP, somatic awareness, and trauma-informed lifestyle practices, the nervous system can learn safety again. Steadily. Gently. Reliably. You are not broken.
Your nervous system is communicating, and with the right support, it can return to balance.
Read more from Emma Toms
Emma Toms, The Confident Wellness Coach
Emma Toms is an Integrated Wellness Coach, IEMT Practitioner, Reiki Master Teacher, and Certified SSP Provider. With more than 30 years of lived experience following an autoimmune diagnosis, she combines expertise in neuroscience, somatic practice, and energy work to deliver a comprehensive approach to wellness. Her background spans both healthcare and holistic settings, giving her a unique perspective on the intersection of science and spirituality. Having overcome her own challenges with Graves’ Disease and chronic stress, Emma now guides clients to restore balance, build resilience, and reconnect with their true nature.
References:
[1] NCBI Article
[2] PubMed Article
[4] Nature Article
