How Are They Similar And Different?
Whether you’re struggling with state anxiety or trait anxiety, it’s important for you to consider anxiety treatment.
Here’s An Interesting Story For You (Really Two)…
Science tells two basic stories about how people “begin” to feel anxious… and two basic stories about how people “turn out” with anxiety.
Going back in time, I’m sure many people lived these stories. And going into the future, I’m sure many more people will keep doing so unless they get therapy for anxiety.
The Stories About How Things “Begin”
OK, here’s “Anxiety Story #1”:
Person A feels anxiety right now in this moment, which is called state anxiety. (Unfortunately, Person A is probably in a life situation that provokes anxiety, like a romantic relationship, a high-performing job, or a recent loss.)
Here’s “Anxiety Story #2”:
Person B feels anxiety all the time in general, which is called trait anxiety. (Fortunately, Person B is what others might call “an anxious person,” which means there’s a ton of therapeutic research that’s been done on how to help.)
As I’m sure you can guess…
In story #1, Person A is experiencing something temporary that changes over time.
In story #2, Person B is experiencing something consistent that lasts over time.
The Stories About How Things “Turn Out”
Let’s assume that, as time passes, Person A and Person B keep feeling anxious. Life usually goes down in one of two ways after that…
Here’s “How Things Turn Out Story #1”:
Person A can get nervous and tense, but only in certain situations. Sure, anxiety attacks can be triggered, but the state anxiety isn’t on a “personality” level.
Here’s “How Things Turn Out Story #2”:
Person B feels trait anxiety all the time. Person B probably has both trait anxiety and state anxiety, which means not only more symptoms but also one can trigger the other.
And this is all because, again, as I’m sure you can guess…
In story #1, Person A is experiencing something temporary that changes over time.
In story #2, Person B is experiencing something consistent that lasts over time.
If you struggle with anxiety, I’m sure you’ll think one of these two stories captures most of your experience. Scientists are still looking for why we get trait anxiety vs. state anxiety, but one thing’s for sure:
You need to understand how anxiety works for you… and how to get your attention off looking for threats when you experience anxiety.
If someone doesn’t take the time to understand their anxiety, then they’re choosing to keep living out these same anxiety stories. Fortunately, if you’re ready to work with an anxiety therapist, you can comfort and recover from either kind of anxiety by looking into how you pay attention.
Attention Is Different For State Anxiety Than It Is For Trait Anxiety… Very Different
The reality is you can treat these negative patterns if you choose to. But the key is:
1) Understanding how attention plays a role with anxiety.
2) Understanding yourself, so your attention won’t work against you but instead help you keep everything on track.
If you know how to work with your focus of attention, then you have more influence over your outcomes with anxiety. If you don’t know how to work with your focus of attention, then you have less influence over your outcomes with anxiety. Reflect on this for a bit before you read on.
All right, so I said attention is very different for state anxiety than it is for trait anxiety. But what do I mean?
On page 60 of Aaron Beck’s book “Cognitive Therapy of Anxiety Disorders,” he reports some important scientific research…
Generally speaking, for a person with state anxiety, their attention is automatically looking for threats… which is called “bias.” But it’s low intensity, and it becomes stronger or weaker depending on how much the anxious person understands how it works.
For a person with trait anxiety, their attention is also automatically looking for threats… but the bias gets so intense it becomes “preconscious.” It can get so powerful and out of control the anxious person needs help shifting attention into other directions.
Think of your attentional threat bias like a volume knob that gets turned up or down… not like a light switch you flip on or off. Anxiety treatment can offer you skills to turn that volume knob up or down that you practice in session.
Here’s a secret: if you study how your anxiety interacts with your attention, you’ll start to see things differently… and your relief will make the time you spent with an anxiety therapist seem like one of the best investments you ever made.
A Few Specific Ways Your Attention May Interact With Your Anxiety:
1) CATASTROPHIZING.
When a person struggles with anxiety (state or trait), any situation seems like it could turn into a bad outcome. Stepping onto a plane stirs up images of plane crashes, and so on. Not only that: the consequences are worse, so that plane crash can mean a ruined family or other fears.
But you might realize your attention is making you think there’s a catastrophe. And if you’ve practiced how to cope in anxiety therapy, you’ll start to process through the experience. That’s your sign to keep going.
2) SELECTIVE ABSTRACTION.
One of the ways anxiety changes your thinking is it becomes highly selective. This means that once you feel signs of anxiety attack, your mind actively searches for proof from the past or the present to confirm your fears are true. But just because you might think a situation is threatening doesn’t mean you’ve got zero ability to take back control. Quite the opposite!
Search for reasons to disprove your fears about the situation. Learning how to rethink like this is so important that I devoted an entire modality of anxiety treatment to it. If you want to learn how to rewire your thinking patterns to heal how you focus attention, then look at this.
3) DICHOTOMOUS THINKING.
The word “bad” has many layers of meaning for a person with anxiety. Attention becomes skewed into black-and-white extremes like safe and dangerous. The more anxious this person gets, the more they might think they’re “bad” or “wrong.”
Thankfully, therapy gives you the perspective needed to truly understand what’s going on beneath this symptom. This will enable you to take a bigger view on how you see yourself and the world, helping you experience renewed confidence and lasting recovery.
It’s Time For A Fresh Approach In Anxiety Treatment
As you read through this, do you see a deeper message? The message is if you understand how attention produces state anxiety or trait anxiety, then you’re on your way to treating and managing your anxiety levels. An d where does this all start? With you!
It starts with you learning how your attention interacts with your anxiety uniquely. It starts with you understanding how and why people feel anxiety. It starts with you knowing how anxious thinking perpetuates your state anxiety or trait anxiety.
And what’s the best way to get this done? You can work with a counselor on anxiety therapy and how to get ahold of your anxious thinking. I invite you to contact me about anxiety treatment.
Find out more about Anxiety Treatment.
About The Author
John Younes, JD, MA, LPCC, NCC is a trained counselor who owns a private practice in Denver, CO. In general, he specializes in depression treatment and anxiety treatment using existential and cognitive therapy practices.
And by the way, if you’re thinking about suicide and are in immediate danger, please call your local emergency number… so for Denver, Colorado, call 1-844-493-8255 or text TALK to 38255. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.