The 6 Types of Anxiety (And Why They Happen)
Anxiety isn’t a flaw in your personality.
It’s not a sign that you’re “broken,” dramatic, or too emotional.
Anxiety is your nervous system trying to protect you, often using patterns you learned years ago—long before you had the tools you have now.
And here’s the part most people never hear:
Anxiety is not one thing.
It shows up in six distinct patterns.
Each type has its own:
symptoms
emotional tone
cognitive loop
nervous system activation
triggers
root causes
When you understand your type, everything changes:
your tools become clearer, your self-compassion deepens, and your path forward gets simpler.
This guide is designed to help you understand what’s actually happening inside your system—and why.
Let’s get into the six types.
1. Generalized Anxiety (The Constant Background Hum)
Generalized anxiety isn’t loud—it’s persistent.
It’s the quiet “hum” that follows you throughout your day.
What It Feels Like
A sense that something might go wrong
Mental noise or subtle tension
Worrying about multiple things at once
Feeling unable to fully relax
Waking up with a knot in your stomach
People often describe it as:
“I don’t even know why I’m anxious. I just am.”
The Nervous System Pattern
Generalized anxiety is linked to chronic hyperarousal—your nervous system is operating slightly above baseline, scanning for possible threats.
This creates:
tight breathing
subtle muscle tension
shallow sleep
low-level vigilance
Why It Happens
Common roots include:
Growing up around unpredictability
Emotional responsibility at a young age
High pressure or achievement-oriented environments
Being the “responsible one”
A mind that uses thinking as protection
Your system learned:
“If I stay alert, I stay safe.”
2. Social Anxiety (Fear of Being Seen or Judged)
Social anxiety isn’t about being introverted.
It’s about a nervous system that perceives people as possible sources of threat.
What It Feels Like
Fear of embarrassing yourself
Overthinking what others think
Feeling “on stage” in conversations
Worrying about being judged, misunderstood, or disliked
Feeling physically tense around groups
Social situations become performance arenas rather than opportunities to connect.
The Nervous System Pattern
This type activates the social threat system.
Your brain scans for:
rejection
disapproval
criticism
exclusion
The body responds with:
blushing
sweating
heart racing
stomach drops
mental distress
Why It Happens
Often rooted in:
Genetic predisposition
Early social rejection
Strict, critical, or unpredictable environments
Feeling “watched” or evaluated growing up
Perfectionism
Highly sensitive emotional wiring
Your system learned:
“If I’m not perfect, I’ll be rejected.”
3. Health Anxiety (Fear Something Is Wrong With You)
This type of anxiety centers around your body and its sensations.
What It Feels Like
Fixation on symptoms
Googling sensations
Fear something serious is wrong
Checking, monitoring, scanning your body
Difficulty trusting medical reassurance
Interpreting normal sensations as danger
It’s not “imagining things”—
your interoceptive system (internal sensing) is overactive.
The Nervous System Pattern
Health anxiety stems from:
hypervigilance to internal signals
misinterpretation of bodily sensations
catastrophic “what-if” thinking
adrenaline spikes
Your brain experiences:
“Sensation → danger → fear → more sensation.”
It becomes a self-reinforcing loop.
Why It Happens
A past health scare
Family illness
Medical trauma
High sensitivity to bodily signals
Overactive fight-or-flight response
Your system learned:
“If I notice every sensation, I can stay safe.”
4. Panic-Based Anxiety (The Body Hijacks You)
Panic anxiety is intense, sudden, and physical.
What It Feels Like
A rush of fear
Chest tightness or heart pounding
Feeling trapped, dizzy, or out of control
Difficulty breathing
Feeling like something terrible is about to happen
People often describe panic attacks as:
“My body just went rogue.”
The Nervous System Pattern
This type is an acute sympathetic surge.
Your system goes:
calm → alarm → survival mode
in seconds.
This creates:
adrenaline release
rapid heartbeat
cortisol activation
airway tightening
tunnel vision or dizziness
pressure, tingling, or lightheaded sensations in the head
Your body is preparing for threat, even though no threat exists.
Why It Happens
Stored adrenaline
Accumulated stress
Nervous system overload
Fear of fear (anticipatory anxiety)
Genetic sensitivity
Your system learned:
“Any intense sensation might be danger.”
5. Overthinking Anxiety (The Cognitive Loop)
Overthinking isn’t a personality trait—
it’s an anxiety subtype.
What It Feels Like
analyzing everything
what-if scenarios
replaying conversations
“mental over-responsibility”
trouble making decisions
fear of choosing wrong
Overthinking is mental overprotection.
The Nervous System Pattern
This type stems from:
prefrontal cortex overactivity
rumination loops
hypervigilant thinking
low emotional recovery
You’re not “thinking too much”—
your system is trying to create certainty where none exists.
Why It Happens
High intelligence
High sensitivity
Perfectionism
Pressure to get things “right”
Fear of consequences
Highly imaginative mind
Your system learned:
“If I think enough, I’ll stay safe.”
6. Somatic Anxiety (Nervous System Overload)
Somatic anxiety is anxiety that begins in the body, not the mind.
What It Feels Like
chest tightness
stomach drops
internal buzzing
pressure or heaviness
sudden waves of discomfort
feeling overwhelmed for no reason
The mind jumps in after the body activates.
The Nervous System Pattern
Somatic anxiety is rooted in:
chronic sympathetic activation
low vagal tone
unresolved stress cycles
emotional overload
Your body is running “hot,” even when nothing is wrong.
Why It Happens
chronic stress
burnout
trauma patterns
HSP sensitivity
dysregulated lifestyle
long-term emotional suppression
Your system learned:
“Stay activated to stay prepared.”
How These Anxiety Types Overlap
It’s extremely common to experience more than one type.
For example:
overthinking + generalized anxiety
panic + somatic activation
social anxiety + rumination
health anxiety + generalized worry
These patterns can reinforce each other if not understood.
Understanding your type reduces:
confusion
shame
self-criticism
urgency
It gives you clarity—and clarity is calming.
How to Know Which Type You Have
Check the statements that resonate:
“My mind is always busy.” → Generalized & Overthinking
“I worry about how people see me.” → Social
“I fear something is wrong with me.” → Health
“My body suddenly freaks out.” → Panic
“I don’t feel anxious mentally—but my body does.” → Somatic
“I think and think and think.” → Overthinking
Your anxiety is not random.
It follows a pattern—one you can retrain.
What to Do Next
Now that you know the six types, your next step is exploring the tools that help your system shift from threat → safety.
For a complete, practical guide, read:
👉 The Anxiety SlayKit™: A Practical Guide to Calming Your Mind, Body & Life
If You Want Personalized Support
I help people who struggle with:
anxiety
overthinking
panic
stress
nervous system overload
emotional burnout
👉 Let’s talk — if what you’ve read resonates, we can explore how coaching can support you.
