What causes anxiety?

Claire Weekes, the 1960’s pioneer into anxiety and panic attacks, discovered that anxiety is 2 fold. First, the trigger that causes the chemical iUnderstanding the Root of Anxiety: The First and Second Fear

Anxiety is often misunderstood. Many people suffer from it without ever truly understanding what’s happening internally. In my experience, anxiety tends to stem from two main components:

The initial imbalance that produces the anxiety symptoms (the First Fear).
The fear of experiencing those symptoms (the Second Fear).

When the source of the first fear is unknown or unclear, the second fear increases dramatically. This creates a vicious cycle that’s difficult for the sufferer to break.

Real-Life Example: The Bus Scenario

Let’s break it down practically.

A person goes to board a bus and suddenly feels anxious. That’s the first fear—the subconscious trigger. However, the symptoms of this fear—such as a racing heart, dizziness, or a tight chest—can be so uncomfortable that the individual then fears the symptoms themselves. This is the second fear. Now the person is anxious about being anxious. This amplifies the original symptoms and prolongs the experience, turning what could have passed in minutes into a long, distressing episode.

Understanding the first fear is crucial. You don’t need to know why it’s there initially—just that it exists and is doing a job: trying (wrongly) to protect you.

So, What Causes Anxiety?

In its simplest form:

“Anxiety happens when there is a conflict between two parts of your psyche.”

That’s it. At the root of almost every anxiety-related issue is a psychological conflict.

The subconscious brain falsely perceives a threat to your survival. This is usually in contrast with what your conscious brain knows to be true. Let’s revisit the bus example: You consciously want to get on the bus, but your subconscious associates the bus with danger. So, it creates symptoms (anxiety) to warn you and stop you from doing it.

Common Examples of Anxiety Conflicts

Here’s how this conflict shows up in daily life:

Indecision or analysis paralysis
You feel torn between two choices. Consciously, you want to decide—but your subconscious says, “Last time we chose, things went badly. Don’t risk it.”
Overwhelm and workload stress
Consciously, you know you only have so many hours in the day. But your subconscious insists, “You must get it all done or you’ll fail.”
Feeling under-skilled or out of your depth
Even if you logically know you’re doing your best, your subconscious says, “You’re not good enough.”
Perfectionism and high self-expectations
Consciously, you’re aware you’ve tried your hardest. But your subconscious insists you’ve fallen short.
Guilt
The punishment doesn’t fit the crime—but your subconscious believes you don’t deserve your success or happiness.
General discomfort in specific situations
The subconscious sees danger; your conscious mind knows you’re safe. The conflict triggers a fear response.

These underlying fears usually stem from deeper concerns:

Fear of rejection
Fear of looking foolish
Fear of being caught out
Fear of punishment
Fear of failure
Fear of emotional pain

Anxiety Symptoms and Their Clever (but Misguided) Purpose

The subconscious is clever. It uses anxiety symptoms as a strategy to help you avoid perceived danger—even if that danger isn’t real.

Here are some examples:

A public speaker loses their voice
A window cleaner develops a fear of heights
A house clearer becomes terrified of spiders
A tube driver develops claustrophobia

Sometimes, the subconscious expresses fear in indirect ways:

A dancer sprains her ankle before a big performance
A band member injures their hand before going on stage
A sore throat develops before giving a speech

Other times, the fear response becomes chronic and automatic:

Dry mouth
Sweating
Rapid heartbeat
Shaking

These symptoms are tied to your autonomic nervous system, which is trying to prepare you for fight or flight—even though you’re not in real danger.

Why the Subconscious Isn’t the Villain

It may sound like the subconscious is working against you—but it isn’t. The subconscious doesn’t think or reason. It operates on instinct and past experience. If it once learned that something is dangerous (even if it isn’t anymore), it will act accordingly.

And when do most of these subconscious beliefs form? Childhood.

For example, a child who was regularly shouted at by a teacher may grow up with a fear of authority figures—even if that connection no longer logically makes sense.

The conscious mind forgets, but the subconscious never does. So, adult anxieties are often being governed by outdated, irrelevant rules formed in childhood.

Understanding the First and Second Fear

So, let’s recap:

First fear: A rule from the past (often from childhood) is triggered in the present. The subconscious says, “Danger!”
Second fear: The conscious mind doesn’t like the feelings that come with the first fear and starts to panic about the symptoms.

What can you do? The goal isn’t to change the symptoms in the moment. The goal is awareness—to acknowledge what’s happening and understand it’s just your brain trying (wrongly) to protect you.

Here’s the golden rule:

“Anxiety happens when there is a conflict between two parts of your psyche.”

If the problem is conflict…
The solution is resolution.

So How Do You Resolve It?

This is where the therapies I use—Hypnoanalysis and BWRT® (BrainWorking Recursive Therapy)—come into their own. Both are designed to remove the internal conflict, but they do so in different ways.

Hypnoanalysis

A regression technique that allows the adult mind to revisit childhood experiences, uncover the subconscious rules created back then, and reframe them. Once those outdated rules are released, they no longer affect your present life.

➡️ Read more about Hypnoanalysis here

BWRT®

BWRT® doesn’t look for the original cause. Instead, it works at the level of the subconscious response. By changing how you feel in reaction to a trigger, the emotional charge is removed. The conflict disappears because the brain now responds with the feeling you want instead of fear. here