a: Normal nociceptive reflex: eg., when you bend towards a fire, the normal response from the brain is to cause movements to position your body at a safe distance from the fire.

b: when the above response fails and you get burned by the fire. This stimulus is now associated with pain, a protective response so as to be wary of the stimulus.

c: When anxiety sets in that the threat / stimulus can occur at a different time or place, persistent pain and it’s associations, stress and negative mood starts to occur in different times and situations.

d: If the threat is experienced as or expected to be pervasive, the negative mood also becomes pervasive. Anxiety results in constraining personal space (through social isolation, reduced physical activity, and decreased motivated behavior). Just as nociception and pain protect against bodily injury by limiting behavior, negative moods minimize exposure to danger and promote survival by inhibiting behavior as well

c and d however are maladaptive responses. This means normal adaptive processes gone bad causing it to occur when there are no stimuli or all the time.

What else can we add or work on? Please let us know in the comments. No need to log in…