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<\/div>WHEN I was asked to write this article, my heart started beating faster, my hands started shaking and my thoughts went into overdrive coming up with what felt like hundreds of objectively sensible reasons why I couldn\u2019t do it. I could tell you that as chief subeditor at New Scientist<\/i> I don\u2019t often get a chance to write. But the truth is I rarely write because I am very anxious about it. What if the people I contact don\u2019t respond? What if I write something stupid? What if I am stupid? What if, what if, what if.<\/p>\n
Clearly, I chose to write this article, partly because I am stubborn and hate that these anxious feelings hold me back from doing things I might enjoy, and partly because I find that doing the things that make me anxious helps me overcome that feeling (see \u201cFive scientific ways to help reduce feelings of anxiety\u201d<\/a>). But my main motivation was to answer questions that have been bothering me for years: what exactly is anxiety and what is happening in my body and brain to cause this feeling?<\/p>\n Answering that first question is difficult, in part because there is no one way to feel anxious. \u201cI\u2019d say there\u2019s as many types of anxiety as there are people in the world,\u201d says Oliver Robinson<\/a>, head of the Anxiety Lab at University College London.<\/p>\n We do know everyone experiences anxiety \u2013 it helps prime us to be ready in possibly risky situations. Consider walking home alone in the dark, where that feeling\u2026<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n