As we briefly discussed above, anxiety depends on activation of the fear circuit—the same neural circuitry that keeps us out of danger. Fear activates the body’s stress response, readying you to either face the danger or run from it. This is mediated by the limbic system, mainly in connections between the amygdala and hypothalamus. The amygdala is responsible for recognizing dangerous situations, and the hypothalamus activates the fight-or-flight response (a.k.a. the sympathetic nervous system), triggering the release of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline.
