When somebody reports nervousness, several interconnected processes are likely occurring within their mind and brain.
Mental Processes Contributing to Nervousness:
- Negative Self-Talk and Anticipation: Individuals experiencing nervousness often engage in negative self-talk, predicting unfavourable outcomes and dwelling on potential failures or judgment. The anticipation of negative situations can generate threatening thoughts and images, significantly increasing anxiety. Thoughts like “Everyone will judge me,” “I will fail,” or “Something will go wrong” are common. This “fortune-selling” of negative outcomes can fuel feelings of nervousness.
- Cognitive Biases: The way individuals process information can be skewed by cognitive biases. For instance, they might engage in “danger sorting,” focusing on potential risks while overlooking safety cues. They might also engage in “mindreading,” assuming they know what others are thinking, often negatively.
- Overthinking and Worry: Nervousness can be associated with overthinking and constant worrying about various aspects of life. This worry often involves imagining worst-case scenarios and engaging in rumination, a cycle of repetitive negative thoughts.
- Unhelpful Interpretations: Individuals might interpret neutral or ambiguous situations negatively, leading to increased nervousness. For example, a suggestion might be perceived as criticism.
- Inflexible Thinking: Absolute and rigid thought patterns, using words like “always,” “never,” “must,” or “can’t,” can exacerbate feelings of nervousness by creating a sense of being trapped or incapable.
- Focus on Internal Sensations: Increased awareness and negative interpretation of bodily sensations (e.g., racing heart, trembling) can contribute to nervousness, particularly in the context of panic. Fear of these symptoms themselves can worsen the experience.
- Language and Storytelling: The way individuals talk to themselves and others about their experiences of nervousness can be influential. Using inflammatory language and repeatedly recounting negative experiences can reinforce the problem.
Brain Processes Underlying Nervousness:
Nervousness and anxiety involve specific neural pathways and brain regions:
- Cortex Pathway: This pathway is involved in sensations, thoughts, logic, imagination, and conscious memory. Cortex-based anxiety manifests as worries, obsessions, and interpretations that create anxiety. The anticipation of negative situations, fuelled by the cortex’s ability to use language and imagine the future, can trigger anxiety even without an immediate threat.
- Amygdala: This is a key area in initiating the body’s stress response, including the fight, flight, or freeze reaction. The amygdala can be activated by thoughts and images from the cortex, leading to physiological symptoms of nervousness. It can also react more directly to sensory information.
- Basal Ganglia: This area is associated with feelings of being keyed up or on edge, as well as anxiety-related habits.
- Right Hemisphere: This part of the cortex is more active during anxious arousal and is involved in visualising distressing events, potentially initiating an anxiety response. It also processes nonverbal cues and can increase sensitivity to perceived threats.
Reducing the Impact of Unhelpful Thought Patterns:
Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) for anxiety that we have previously explored, individuals can take several steps to reduce the impact of these thought patterns and alleviate nervousness:
- Become Aware of Thoughts: The first step is to increase awareness of anxious thoughts as they arise. Keeping a thought journal can help in identifying recurring negative patterns.
- Challenge Negative Thoughts: Once identified, negative predictions and interpretations should be questioned. Individuals can evaluate the evidence for and against these thoughts. Asking questions like “What is the likelihood of this actually happening?” can create distance from the thought.
- Reframe Thoughts: Instead of focusing on negative possibilities, individuals can consciously try to reframe situations in a more balanced or positive light. Replacing doubting thoughts with positive affirmations or “coping thoughts” can be beneficial.
- Use Flexible Language: Identify and replace rigid, absolute language with more flexible terms that allow for different possibilities and reduce the sense of pressure.
- Focus on the Present: Techniques that anchor individuals in the present moment, such as sensory awareness exercises, can help to interrupt cycles of worry about the future or rumination about the past.
- Change Your “Story”: Be mindful of how you talk about your nervousness. Reduce the use of inflammatory language and shorten the recounting of every negative sensation. Focus on factual descriptions rather than interpretations of doom.
- Practice Self-Compassion: Treat yourself with kindness and understanding, especially when feeling nervous. Avoid self-criticism for experiencing anxiety. Acknowledge that nervousness is a common human experience.
- Engage in Values-Driven Activities: Focusing on activities that are personally meaningful can shift attention away from anxious thoughts and create a sense of purpose and engagement.
- Monitor and Adjust Sensory Input: Making conscious changes to the sensory environment (e.g., reducing clutter, avoiding negative media, spending time with positive people) can influence perception and reduce triggers for nervousness.
- Mindful Communication: When interacting with others, focus your attention on the conversation itself rather than internal anxious thoughts about the interaction.
Summary:
Nervousness involves a complex interplay of mental and brain processes. Mentally, negative self-talk, cognitive biases, overthinking, unhelpful interpretations, and rigid thinking contribute significantly. Neural pathways involving the cortex and amygdala play key roles in initiating and maintaining the physiological and cognitive aspects of nervousness. Reducing the impact of these thought patterns involves increasing self-awareness, challenging and reframing negative thoughts, using more flexible language, focusing on the present, altering the narrative around nervousness, practicing self-compassion, engaging in valued activities, and managing sensory input.