Hi again and welcome back to the savvy psychologist podcast. I'm your host Dr.

Ellen Hendrickson and every week I'll help you meet life's challenges with evidence-based research, a sympathetic

ear, and zero judgment.

When FDR famously proclaimed, there is nothing to fear but fear itself, little did he know he was forecasting a

psychological phenomenon known as anxiety sensitivity. Now this term wasn't

coined until 1985 but when the concept was defined, it was kind of a big deal.

And I'll stop short of calling anxiety sensitivity the mother of all anxiety disorders,

which kind of sounds like a Freudian comic book villain, but high anxiety

sensitivity does put you at greater risk for developing a problem with anxiety, from panic

to PTSD to phobias and beyond. So what exactly is this fiendish phenomenon?

Well, it is a belief that the physiological experience of anxiety itself, like a racing heart, sweating or

shaking, is dangerous and could lead to devastating outcomes. In other words, it's

the tendency to interpret anxious sensations as catastrophic.

It really is fear of fear.

For example, someone with high anxiety sensitivity

might fear the dizziness that comes with being anxious, thinking it means they're

going to snap and have a mental breakdown. Another might fear the pounding heart

that comes with walking into a room full of strangers, thinking a heart attack is

around the corner.

And yet another might interpret their nervous trembling as a sign that they're losing control of

their faculties.

Of course, most, if not all, people find anxiety-related sensations uncomfortable.

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