Is Anxiety Exhausting?
Why You Feel Tired When You’re Anxious
In this week’s blog, I want to explain one of the most overlooked yet common symptoms of anxiety: tiredness. Many people don’t immediately associate anxiety with feeling exhausted—but once asked, almost every client I work with says the same thing:
“Yes! I’m constantly tired.”
So, why does anxiety leave us feeling so drained?
Let’s break it down.
The Fight, Flight, or Freeze Response
To understand anxiety-induced exhaustion, we need to revisit our built-in survival instinct, often referred to as the fight, flight, or freeze response.
The human mind has an internal alarm system that gets triggered when it believes you’re in danger.
That word—believes—is crucial. You don’t have to actually be in danger. Your mind just has to perceive it.
Take this example:
You’re stuck in a cable car. You’re not technically in danger—you’re just in an uncomfortable situation. But if you suffer from claustrophobia, your brain interprets this as a threat, and the alarm goes off.
Real Danger vs. Perceived Danger
When your mind believes you’re under threat, it doesn’t matter if the threat is real or imagined. The same physiological response is triggered either way. You might experience a racing heart, shallow breathing, sweating, or shaking—all signs your brain is trying to alert you to “danger.”
Much like how we feel pain when injured (to bring our attention to the wound), anxiety symptoms are designed to force us to act. They’re attention-grabbers, whether we want them or not.
Unfortunately, these responses are often triggered by outdated beliefs—usually subconscious rules we picked up in childhood.
The Inner Conflict
Almost everyone who suffers from anxiety knows the feeling of wanting to do something—but feeling held back.
This is the result of a conflict between the conscious and subconscious mind:
- Your conscious mind wants to act.
- Your subconscious mind, based on an old (and often incorrect) rule, believes it’s unsafe.
That inner conflict is what triggers the fight, flight, or freeze response.
Our Ancestral Brain
To fully understand this, we need to go back—way back—to our caveman ancestors.
Back then, we hadn’t yet developed the neomammalian brain, which gives us conscious thought. We operated purely on instinct—something was either dangerous or it wasn’t. No reasoning. Just reaction. And it kept us alive.
As humans evolved and developed conscious awareness, we gained the ability to reason with our emotions. But there was a flaw…
The subconscious mind doesn’t listen to logic.
Once a rule is set in the subconscious (also known as the reptilian brain or hind brain), it views that rule as essential for survival—even if it no longer makes sense in your adult life.
So even if you know something is safe, if your subconscious says it’s dangerous, it will override your logic and activate the emergency system anyway.
The Cost of Constant Survival Mode
This internal alarm system is meant to be used occasionally—in real emergencies. That’s why it’s so energy-intensive. Let’s look at each response:
- Fight: Your body redirects blood to large muscle groups for strength. Systems like digestion shut down.
- Flight: Same energy shift, but focused on escape.
- Freeze: Your body stays perfectly still, conserving energy to remain unnoticed.
These states were designed for rare life-or-death moments. They’re not meant to be triggered daily, let alone multiple times a day.
But for anxiety sufferers, this alarm is going off constantly.
Imagine revving a car engine at full speed all day. Of course, you’d burn fuel fast.
It’s the same with anxiety. The constant release of stress hormones and energy expenditure is what leaves you feeling physically and mentally exhausted.
A Flawed Evolution
Back in the wild, this emergency system helped us survive.
Now, it’s often misused for things we believe are life-threatening—like public speaking, making a phone call, or being in a crowded room.
These things aren’t dangerous.
But if your subconscious thinks they are? Your body reacts as though your life is on the line.
So… Is Anxiety Exhausting?
Yes. Absolutely.
You’re not imagining it.
You’re not being lazy.
Your body is simply burning through emergency-level energy for situations that don’t actually require it.
And this isn’t your fault. These responses aren’t triggered consciously—but the good news is, they can be retrained.
How BWRT Can Help
One of the tools I use in my practice is BWRT (BrainWorking Recursive Therapy).
BWRT works by intercepting the subconscious response before it reaches your body. It allows the brain to still recognize the trigger—but instead of firing off fear or panic, we replace it with a calm, preferred response.
- No alarm.
- No fight or flight.
- No unnecessary energy drain.
That means more calm, more control—and yes, more energy 😊
Final Thoughts
If you’ve been feeling tired for what seems like no reason, anxiety could be quietly draining you behind the scenes.
You’re not imagining it—and you’re not alone.
If you’d like to explore how BWRT or other therapies could help reset your triggers and restore your energy, I’d love to help.
Get your energy back today! contact me here
Understand how BWRT can promote Rapid Positive Change here
Tim Grover - Bedfordshire Therapies 