Anxiety Overthinking visual
This interactive model shows what happens in the brain and body when a thought or an external threat triggers anxiety, and how the cycle either settles or keeps going.
Press Next to step through it, then choose rational or irrational thinking to see the two different outcomes.
What happens in the body when anxiety takes over
Step through the cycle with Next. Choose what starts it (a thought or an external threat) and, at the end, how the person thinks.
Anxiety level
A simplified teaching model. Real physiology involves more pathways and feedback than shown here.