38 | When Anxiety Shows Up Out of Nowhere

You’re sitting on your couch, minding your business, when your heart starts racing and your chest feels tight. There’s no test, no fight, no deadline. Just anxiety that appears out of nowhere.

In this episode, Jessica Davis, licensed therapist and creator of the C.O.U.R.A.G.E. Method, explains why anxiety doesn’t need a reason to show up and what’s actually happening in your brain when it does. She breaks down how to calm your body when your mind feels hijacked, why your brain thinks it’s protecting you, and what to do when you can’t find the “why” behind your anxiety.

✨ In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• Why anxiety can hit even when nothing is wrong
• What your amygdala does and how it tricks your brain into panic
• The hidden triggers that cause anxiety to feel random
• Why anxiety isn’t the enemy, but a poor communicator
• What your body needs to calm down when your brain spirals
• Three grounding tools to stop the panic cycle and regain control

RESOURCES:
Get your FREE Anxiety Survival Toolkit to help you when your anxiety is overwhelming!

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🎙️ Presented by Davis-Smith Mental Health

This podcast was created by Davis-Smith Mental Health, offering counseling for teens & young adults in Illinois (only). We accept BCBS PPO, Aetna PPO, and self-pay clients.

Links: 
Anxiety Survival Toolkit:
https://www.blockoutthenoisepodcast.com/anxiety-survival-toolkit/

Newsletter:
https://blockoutthenoisepodcast.substack.com/welcome

Davis-Smith Mental Health:
https://www.davis-smithmentalhealth.com/

1:1 Confidence Coaching:
https://tidycal.com/blockoutthenoise/confidence-coaching

⚠️ Disclaimer:  Block Out the Noise provides personal insights and practical stra...

Transcript

Welcome And Resources

How The Amygdala Triggers Panic

Hidden Triggers And The Thought Spiral

Common Causes Behind “Random” Anxiety

Anxiety As A Messenger

Toolkit Invitation And Topic Requests

Grounding Tool 1: Candle Breath

Grounding Tool 2: Cold Water Reset

Grounding Tool 3: Body Shakeout

Reframing Anxiety And Next Steps

Share, Support, And Closing

SPEAKER_00 0:09

You're sitting on your couch a normal Tuesday night, nothing's wrong, and then it hits. Your heart starts racing, your chest feels tight, your brain starts spiraling through every possible catastrophe, even though logically you know nothing bad is actually happening. And the worst part, you can't point to a reason. There's no test tomorrow, no big event, no obvious trigger, just anxiety out of nowhere. But at least when anxiety has a reason, you can tell yourself I'm stressed about the presentation, but when it shows up for no reason, your brain starts asking, what's wrong with me? Why can't I control this? Here's what you need to know there's nothing wrong with you. Your anxiety isn't random, even when it feels that way. Today I'm going to show you exactly what happens in your brain when anxiety appears out of nowhere, why it's actually trying to help you in a really dysfunctional way, and three grounding tools you can use the second it hits. Because understanding your anxiety, that's the first step in managing it. Hi, and welcome to Black Out the Noise, a space to quiet the noise of anxiety, self-doubt, and overthinking, and start building a life filled with confidence, courage, and purpose. I'm Jessica Davis, a licensed therapist, a mindset coach, and the creator of the courage method. I specialize in helping teens and young adults with anxiety, overthinking, and low self-esteem. If you ever wish you had quick tools to use to help when anxiety hits, there's a free anxiety survival toolkit. It's designed to help you stay grounded and fight back against anxiety when your mind starts to spiral and it's completely free to download. Also, before we dive in, I want to remind you: this podcast is here to support and guide you, but it is not a replacement for talking to someone in real life. If you are struggling with your mental health, please reach out to a therapist. And if you're in a crisis, contact emergency services or a local helpline. You don't have to go through it alone. All right, let's talk about why anxiety shows up uninvited and what to do when it does. Here's what most people don't understand about anxiety. It doesn't need logical reason to show up, it just needs a trigger. And sometimes that trigger is invisible to you. Let me explain what I mean by that. Your brain has a part called the amygdala. Think of it as your internal alarm system. Okay, its job is to scan for danger and keep you safe. The problem though, it can't tell the difference between real danger and perceived danger. So when your amygdala detects something, it interprets it as a threat, even if it's not actually dangerous. It triggers your fight-flight response. Your heart races, your breathing becomes shallow, your muscles tense, and your thoughts just spiral, all because your brain thinks you're in danger. But here's the kicker: the threat your brain is reacting to might not be obvious. It might be a subconscious reminder of something super stressful or a physical sensation your brain misinterprets, like caffeine jitters or being tired. It could be the background stress you've been ignoring all week, a change in routine that feels kind of destabilizing, or even just a memory of anxiety itself. Yes, your brain remembers what anxiety feels like. And sometimes it triggers the same response just from the memory. So when anxiety shows up for no reason, what's really happening is your brain has detected a threat, but you're not consciously aware of what it is. And here's where it gets worse, sadly. But stay with me, it will get better. Once anxiety starts, your brain does this thing where it looks for reasons to justify the feeling. Why am I anxious? Is something wrong with me? Did I forget something? Is someone mad at me? Am I in danger? And because your brain is designed to solve problems, it creates scenarios, most of them catastrophic. Thank you, brain. Not really. To explain the feeling, though. That's the spiral. You're not anxious because of those thoughts. You're having those thoughts because you're anxious. The anxiety came first. The thoughts are just your brain trying to make sense of it. If you feel like your anxiety is random and unpredictable, I promise you, you are not alone. Here's why it happens so frequently. One, accumulated stress. You might not have one big stressor, but you can have tons of small ones. And your brain can only handle so much before it hits its threshold. Two, physical triggers. It could be lack of sleep, too much caffeine, low blood sugar, dehydration. All of these can trigger symptoms that your brain then interprets as danger. Three, avoidance patterns. When you've been avoiding uncomfortable feelings or situations, your brain eventually forces you to deal with them through anxiety. It thinks it's healthy. Four, hypervigilance. If you've been anxious a lot, your brain gets stuck in threat detection mode. It starts seeing threats everywhere, even when there aren't any. So no, your anxiety isn't random. It's just responding to things you can't always see. And that's actually the good news because once you understand what's happening, you can start to respond differently. So, what's your anxiety trying to tell you? Here's the part that might surprise you anxiety isn't the enemy, it's just a really bad communicator, the worst communicator, in all honesty. When anxiety shows up as trying to tell you something, usually one of those things is you're overwhelmed. You've been pushing through and ignoring your limits. Your brain is forcing you to try and slow down. It might also be telling you you're avoiding something. There's an uncomfortable feeling, a conversation or decision you've been putting off. Anxiety is the pressure building up. You're not safe right now. And I don't mean that physically, I mean emotionally. Maybe you're in an environment that doesn't feel secure or around people who make you feel judged or even on edge. Or it could be you need to take care of yourself. You're running on empty, you're not getting enough sleep, or you're not even resting. And I don't mean resting in the point of sleeping, I mean resting in the point of restoring yourself. Not enough of what actually nourishes you. It could be something unresolved. There's a situation or feeling you haven't processed. Your brain keeps bringing it back up until you address it. And anxiety will do that over and over again. If you've ever had something where you're like, I need to get this done and you haven't been doing it, thank you, anxiety, for the reminder on the hour, every hour to get it done. The problem is, though, is anxiety doesn't say these things clearly sometimes. So instead of fighting your anxiety or asking, why is this happening to me? Try asking, what is this trying to tell me? Because when you start listening to anxiety as information instead of treating it as an attack, everything changes. If you've been feeling overwhelmed right now and thinking, okay, but what do I actually do when anxiety hits? Go download the anxiety survival toolkit. It's specifically designed for moments when anxiety shows up out of nowhere and you need something concrete to help you calm down. And you can keep it on your phone so you can use it whenever you need it. And if there's a specific anxiety situation you wish that I would cover, social anxiety, panic attacks, or something else, please text it through the link in the show notes. I read every message and I want to create content that actually helps you. Now, I want to go over three grounding tools for when anxiety hits. One, the candle breath. When anxiety hits, your breathing gets shallow and you're stuck in your test. This tells your brain you're in danger, which makes your anxiety feel worse. But here's a fix, and it's so simple. I actually really love this and I truly do hope you try it. Imagine there's a candle in front of you. If you want to, you can picture it as like a cupcake with the candle or a cake that you're blowing out, or candle that you just love, and the smell is so great. But you're gonna breathe in through your nose, like you're smelling the candle, and then breathe out through your mouth like you're gently blowing it out, but not hard enough where it feels like you can blow it out completely, just enough to make the flame flicker, right? Or not, no, we don't want that, we don't want a hard blowout. We want to try and control it as we're doing it. That's it. You can do that for five to ten breaths. This is why it works. When you slow your exhale, you activate your parasympathetic nervous system. That's part of your brain that calms you down. And if the candle doesn't work for you, you can try this. Breathe in like you're inflating a balloon, then let the air out of the balloon slowly. Same effect, just a different visual. Two, cold water reset. This one's immediate and physical. When anxiety spikes, go to your near sink and run cold water over your wrists for 30 seconds, or splash your face with cold water. Or if you can, if you have ice cubes available, hold the ice cubes in your hand. Now, why does this work? Because cold water activates something called the dive reflex. I know weird because you think about water and then you think about diving and yeah, but it's called the dive reflex. It literally slows your heart rate and signals to your brain that you are safe. It's one of the fastest ways to interrupt a panic response. And here's the best part. Again, you don't have to remember anything. You just need access to cold water or ice. If you're out somewhere without access to water, which can happen, try pressing something cold against your wrist or on your neck. Even a cold drink can work. Number three, the body shakeout. Anxiety gets trapped in our body. Your muscles tense, your shoulders creep up, your jaw clenches, and when your body tenses, your brain stays on high alert. So here's what to do: take your hands and shake them out like you're flicking water off of them. And then shake your arms, then your legs, then your whole body. Yes, you will look a little ridiculous, but it works. Why does it work? When you're anxious, your body is hit with adrenaline and cortisol, the stress hormones that prepare you for fight or for running. Shaking literally helps your body release that stored tension and energy. Animals do this instinctively after a threat passes. You're just doing what your body already knows how to do. Of course, the question is, what do you do if you're in public? You can do a smaller version of this. You can tense up your muscles for five seconds and then release. You can even squeeze your fists tight and then release. And that's something you can do under the table without anyone even noticing. The goal is to remove the trap energy out of your body. The key to all three of these, they're physical, not cognitive. When your brain is spiraling, the last thing you need to try to do is remember a complicated technique. These are easier to remember and follow through with and do quickly because they're simple, they're visual, and they are immediate. Anxiety showing up for no reason doesn't mean there's something wrong with you. It means your brain is doing its job. Maybe just a little too well. It's trying to protect you. It's trying to get your attention, it's trying to tell you something. And when you stop treating anxiety as an enemy and start treating it as information, you can finally start responding to it differently. You don't have to fix it. You don't have to fight it. You just have to listen, ground yourself, and remind your brain, I'm safe, I'm here, I'm okay because you are, even when anxiety says otherwise. So the greatest moment. It's to try and push you to do things that maybe you wouldn't normally do and show up with courage. The next time anxiety shows up uninvited, I just want you to try one of these three grounding tools. Pick one that feels the most doable for you. And after you use it, notice what happens. Does the anxiety ease? Does it shit? Does it just give you a little bit of space to breathe? You don't have to be perfect at it. You just have to try. I truly believe you've got this. If this episode helped you make sense of your anxiety, even a little bit, please share it. Share it with a parent who doesn't quite understand why you get anxious for no reason, or share it with a friend who keeps saying, I don't know why I'm like this. Or maybe you're a parent listening. Share it with your team who's struggling and doesn't know how to explain what they're feeling. Because sometimes the hardest part of anxiety isn't just the anxiety itself. It's trying to make other people understand. And if you haven't already, leave a review. It helps more people find this space and realize that they're not alone in this. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you for showing up even when anxiety makes it hard. Until next time, keep moving forward. Trust yourself and never forget you have what it takes to block out the noise.