driving on a busy highway suddenly experiences increased heart rate and blood flow when she sees someone screech to a halt in the lane next to her The immediate increase in heart rate prepares her for action so she can steer toward safety if she needs to These kinds of anxiety responses may not be saving our lives but they are adaptive and keep things running smoothly Anxiety becomes a problem when a response is triggered by cues that are not threatening at physically or otherwise For instance the person who obsessively worries about their health even though tests have ruled out a medical condition This person is unable to be present with the people around them because constantly preoccupied by what might or might not be going on medically Or take the person who fears using public bathrooms and eventually avoids all business travel in order to not have to confront this fear If travel is necessary for work this career will be limited or ended by what is at its core an irrational fear Anxiety just a problem of overreacting to things happening our anxiety response can be triggered by things that exist only in our minds This