If you look up synonym for the word anxiety, depending on where you are looking up, the first word you get is worry. Worry is a common human emotion; everyone experiences worry at one time or another. Some of course more than others. It can be when faced with a problem at work; before taking an examination; or having to make an important decision. Anxiety disorders, however, are different.

The distress they cause interferes with a person’s ability to lead a normal life. For people with anxiety disorders, worry and fear are constant and overwhelming and can be crippling.

Anxiety disorders include panic attacks, social anxiety disorders, specific phobias, and generalised anxiety disorder.

Brain researchers believe anxiety disorders may be caused by problems in the functioning of brain circuits which regulate fear and other emotions (fight or flight). Studies have shown severe or long-lasting stress can change the way nerve cells within these circuits transmit information from one region of the brain to another. Other studies have shown people with certain anxiety disorders have changes in certain brain structures controlling memories linked with strong emotions.

Anxiety disorders run in families, meaning they can be at least partly inherited from one or both parents, like the risk for heart disease. Moreover, certain environmental factors — such as a traumatic event — can trigger an anxiety disorder in people who have an inherited susceptibility to developing the disorder.

Anxiety disorders affect millions of adults around the world. They occur slightly more often in women than in men.

This process of swallowing, “un-swallowing”, re-chewing, and re-swallowing is called “rumination,” or more commonly, “chewing the cud.” Rumination enables cows to chew grass more completely, which improves digestion. Your rumination tends to make you relive the emotions of what you are ruminating about … which of course are almost always negative.

People ruminate for a variety of reasons, including: the belief that by ruminating you’ll gain insight into your life or a problem; or having a history of emotional or physical trauma; or facing ongoing stressors you can’t control.

You are not bad, weak, or flawed for ruminating. But focusing on the past, (and putting yourself down for ruminating) might reinforce negative thinking and increase your distress. Funny, but we don’t tend to ruminate about the good things that happen to us.

Going over what you did or didn’t do right won’t change anything. You did what you could with the resources at hand.

Although rumination and anxiety might seem similar, they differ in their focus. While rumination often revolves around prolonged contemplation of past events, anxiety is characterised by apprehension about future uncertainties.

Instead of focusing on the things you don’t want, try to be intentional and identify what you do want in your life. This can be relationships, jobs, hobbies, or places to be.