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There’s a moment in almost every hard season where anxiety starts to whisper louder than anything else. 

You feel the weight in your chest before you even open your eyes. The thoughts race ahead of you, faster than you can catch. You replay what went wrong. You dread what might still go wrong. And you question whether you're built for the pressure you feel. 

Last week, we explored the crushing force of adversity, the kind that flips your life upside down and leaves you searching for meaning in the mess. But what often comes right on its heels, or runs quietly underneath it, is anxiety. 

And not just nervousness. Not just stress. 

We’re talking about the kind of anxiety that lives in your bones. That convinces you you're in danger, even when you're not. That floods your system with tension, tightens your breathing, makes your skin buzz with invisible alarms. That steals your clarity and strength one thought at a time. 

At Tiger Resilience, we don’t believe anxiety is a personal flaw. We believe it’s a message. One that can either trap you in a cycle of fear, or teach you how to rewrite your relationship with uncertainty. 

This week, we’re breaking it all down: 

• What anxiety really is (and how it’s different from fear),   
• What it does to your brain, body, and identity,   
• How training with intensity and recovery can build resilience at a physiological level,   
• And what it means to stop fighting anxiety and start listening to it instead, so you can rise stronger, not just calmer.   

This isn’t about eliminating anxiety. It’s about understanding it. Reframing it. And reclaiming your power within it. 

Let’s dive in. 

What Is Anxiety? 

Anxiety is not the same as fear. It is not just nervousness or stress. It is what happens when your body starts reacting to a threat that only exists in your mind, and then does not know how to shut off. 

At its core, anxiety is a future-focused survival response. It is your brain trying to predict danger, your body preparing to respond, and your thoughts racing to stay in control. Even when there is no clear threat, the system stays activated. 

Scientifically, anxiety is defined as a state of heightened arousal and anticipatory tension, marked by persistent worry, physiological activation, and difficulty returning to baseline. It is often linked to dysregulation between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex, which can cause false alarms that feel very real. 

Anxiety is not weakness. It is a system designed to protect you that gets stuck in overdrive. 

Here is how it shows up through what we call the Five C’s of Anxiety: 

• Control: A constant need to manage outcomes, often driven by fear of uncertainty   
• Catastrophizing: Jumping to the worst-case scenario without evidence   
• Checking: Repeating behaviors or thoughts to feel temporarily safe or prepared   
• Criticism: Harsh inner dialogue focused on mistakes, failure, or “not enough”   
• Contraction: A physical sense of tightness, tension, or pulling back from engagement   

Recognizing these patterns does not eliminate anxiety, but it gives you the tools to meet it differently, with clarity instead of fear. 

Michael’s Perspective: When the Pressure Is the Point 

This week, I came across something that helped me put words to a feeling I’ve known for a long time, the difference between trait anxiety and state anxiety. 

Trait anxiety is more stable. It’s tied to your personality and shows up across situations. State anxiety is temporary. It hits when something matters, when you care about the outcome, when the pressure’s real. 

That’s the kind of anxiety I’ve always felt most. Especially as an athlete. I train hard, I show up to compete, and I still get nervous, not because I’m not ready, but because I care about how I perform. 

It happened again just yesterday. I was lining up for the Broad Street 10-Mile race, hoping to push myself to a new PR. Ten miles isn’t my usual distance. My background is on the track, shorter stuff, but my recent training gave me confidence. Still, there was that edge of the unknown. And that’s where anxiety usually lives. 

I didn’t run the time I wanted, not even close really, which left me feeling disappointed. But I did run over five minutes faster than I did last year. That trait anxiety I mentioned? It didn’t ruin my race. But it did change how I experienced it. My body felt tighter than I expected. I went out maybe a little too fast. I spent more time negotiating with my own thoughts than I usually do. 

And in the middle of all that, I thought about my close friend who was running too. His training week before the race had gone poorly. He didn’t feel confident. He was carrying his own version of anxiety, not about the race itself, but about whether he could even deliver anything worthwhile. And then he went out and crushed it. He raced incredibly well. 

That contrast hit me. We both felt anxiety. His came from doubt. Mine came from pressure. But the outcomes didn’t match the stories we told ourselves beforehand. 

That’s the thing about anxiety, it shows up in the body, but it’s driven by meaning. Heart rate spikes. Your hands get shaky. You question your pacing or second-guess your preparation. But underneath all of that is something simple: this matters to you. 

The work is not to shut that down. The work is to notice it, interpret it clearly, and build a response that keeps you grounded even when the nerves show up. Talking to my fiancée after the race about how you respond really enforced this on me.  

Because how you talk to yourself after a race, how you make sense of the outcome, that’s what determines what kind of story you bring into the next one. 

Anxiety doesn’t mean you’re weak. It means you care. 

And performance is never about avoiding that feeling. It’s about learning to run with it, through it, beyond it. 

That’s the version of anxiety I’m learning to trust. The one that means I’m still in the game. 

This photo was taken after the race, still feeling the sting of not hitting my goal time, but also realizing I took over five minutes off last year. The trait anxiety showed up hard, but the outcome reminded me that progress isn’t always about perfection. It’s about perspective. 

Bernie Perspective: Anxiety Stole My Map, But the Tiger Gave Me My Compass 

When my aunt turned to me outside Morristown Memorial Hospital and told me I was now the man of the house, anxiety didn’t feel like a word. It felt like thunder behind my ribs. I was 12. My father had just passed away from cancer. The weight of that moment didn’t just steal my childhood—it erased any map I thought I had for life. From that day forward, I wasn't just grieving. I was carrying a pressure I didn’t know how to name: a restless panic that followed me into every room, every relationship, every decision. 

Back then, we didn’t talk about anxiety the way we do now. But I can tell you from experience, anxiety doesn’t always come screaming. Sometimes, it whispers. 

It whispered that I wasn’t safe. 

That I wasn’t enough. 

That I had to keep moving or I’d fall apart. 

That no one was coming to help. 

For years, anxiety shaped the rhythm of my life. I didn’t realize it, but I was constantly scanning for danger, for failure, for rejection. And that silent hypervigilance? It’s exhausting. It’s the kind of fatigue that sleep can’t fix. So I filled the void—at first with risky behaviors, then with alcohol. I chased silence in all the wrong places, thinking maybe adrenaline or numbness could quiet the noise. 

But no matter where I ran, the storm followed. 

It wasn’t until I began my recovery that I realized what anxiety had really cost me: presence. I had been living in a state of future panic and past pain, never grounded in the moment. My nervous system had forgotten what calm even felt like. I had forgotten who I was beneath the noise. 

And that’s when everything began to change. 

It started with one thing—purpose. 

Purpose became my compass in the chaos. It gave my pain meaning. It gave my fear direction. It didn’t silence anxiety overnight, but it gave me something stronger to anchor to. From there, I built a life—not perfectly, but powerfully. Through planning, daily practice, relentless perseverance, and faith that something greater was guiding me, I found my way forward. 

This is what I call the Tiger Mindset. 

The Tiger doesn’t deny fear. It acknowledges it—and still moves with power and precision. The Tiger pauses, breathes, watches. And when the time is right, it acts—not out of panic, but out of alignment. 

That’s the mindset I had to develop. Not because it came naturally—but because I refused to let anxiety be the author of my story. I learned to breathe inside the storm. I practiced holding steady in the tension. And I rebuilt my life, one choice at a time. 

So if you’re feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or like you’re drowning in the noise of your own nervous system—please hear this: 

You’re not broken. You’re overloaded. 

You don’t need to be fearless. You just need a direction. 

And the map is within you—right now. 

That’s what Tiger Resilience is here for. To remind you that with Purpose to guide you, a Plan to steady you, Practice to ground you, Perseverance to push through, and Providence to lift you when your strength runs dry—there is always a path forward. 

You are not lost. 

You are not alone. 

And you are far stronger than your anxiety would have you believe. 

Anxiety, when uncontrolled, feels like free-falling from a plane—chaotic, overwhelming, and without a parachute. But when harnessed, like steering a boat through calm waters, it becomes manageable, purposeful, and a guiding force. The choice lies in how we navigate the storm—will you let it control you, or will you take the helm? 

Science of Anxiety: Brain and Body 

🧠 The Brain on Anxiety 

Anxiety begins in the brain’s fear circuitry, especially the amygdala, which acts like a smoke detector for danger. When it senses uncertainty, it signals the body to prepare for threat, even before anything actually happens. 

The longer this system stays active, the more your brain starts to change how it works. It becomes harder to regulate emotion, think clearly, or recognize safety when it’s present. 

Here is how anxiety impacts brain function: 

• Amygdala: Becomes hyperactive, increasing emotional reactivity and scanning for danger   
• Prefrontal Cortex: Weakens in its ability to regulate thoughts and override panic responses   
• Hippocampus: May shrink under chronic anxiety, impairing memory and context processing   
• Anterior Cingulate Cortex: Over-involved in error detection, leading to excessive self-monitoring   

This is why anxious thoughts feel so intense. The brain is not just reacting. It is adapting to expect something to go wrong. 

🩺 The Body on Anxiety 

Once anxiety triggers the brain, the body shifts into a stress-response state. It prepares for action, even if no action is needed. 

Over time, the body begins to live in a loop of over-preparation and incomplete recovery. This leaves systems depleted, tense, and more prone to breakdown. 

Here is how anxiety shows up in the body: 

• Nervous System: Stuck in sympathetic mode (fight-or-flight), disrupting rest, digestion, and recovery   
• Cardiovascular System: Increased heart rate and blood pressure, elevating long-term heart risk   
• Respiratory System: Rapid, shallow breathing that reinforces feelings of panic or breathlessness   
• Musculoskeletal System: Chronic muscle tension, jaw clenching, and restlessness   

Endocrine System: Elevated cortisol and adrenaline levels that interfere with hormone balance, energy, and sleep   

This is why anxiety is not just in your head. It is a full-body experience, one that can wear you down physically, even when the stress is invisible. 

📊 By the Numbers: The Real Impact of Anxiety 

Anxiety is not just common , it is one of the most widespread mental health issues in the world. And when it becomes chronic, it reaches far beyond emotions. It alters your physical health, daily functioning, and long-term life satisfaction. 

Here is what the numbers tell us: 

Mental and Emotional Impact 

• Over 31% of U.S. adults will experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives (NIMH, 2023)   
• 1 in 3 teens in the U.S. reports persistent feelings of anxiety or hopelessness (CDC, 2023)   
• Anxiety is linked to a 4.5x higher risk of developing major depression if left untreated   
• More than 50% of people with anxiety disorders also experience sleep disturbances that affect daily functioning   

Physical Health Effects 

• Chronic anxiety raises cortisol levels by up to 50%, disrupting immune function, metabolism, and cardiovascular health   
• Individuals with long-term anxiety are at double the risk of developing heart disease compared to non-anxious peers   
• Anxiety is associated with increased inflammatory markers (like CRP and IL-6), which are linked to higher risk for chronic illness   

Recovery and Resilience 

• Regular aerobic exercise can reduce symptoms of anxiety by 20 to 40%, even without therapy or medication   
• People who actively treat their anxiety (through movement, therapy, or mindfulness) report 2x higher life satisfaction than those who do not   
• Exposure to moderate, manageable stress (like challenging workouts or cold exposure) improves emotional tolerance and autonomic flexibility, helping buffer future anxiety 

🐅 Tiger Resilience Lens: Anxiety vs Fear 

Anxiety and fear are often lumped together, but they are not the same. 

Fear is immediate. It shows up in response to real, present danger. It is adaptive and often lifesaving. 

Anxiety is anticipatory. It shows up when the threat is uncertain, imagined, or future-based. It is persistent and often self-reinforcing. 

Understanding the difference changes how you approach both your thoughts and your body’s responses. 

🏋️‍♂️ Michael’s Training Corner: Intensity, Regulation, and the Anxiety Loop 

Part 1: Why RPE Matters More Than You Think 

If you’ve ever done a hard workout and felt your thoughts quiet afterward, that wasn’t a coincidence. It was your nervous system recalibrating, and it often starts with intensity. 

When we talk about intensity in training, we’re not just chasing numbers. We’re using stress as a tool. The goal is not to avoid discomfort, but to guide it, and RPE, or Rate of Perceived Exertion, is one of the most powerful tools for learning that skill. 

The RPE scale is subjective, but that’s the point. It teaches awareness. It teaches honesty. It helps you understand how effort feels in your body, not just how it looks on a watch or lifting app. 

Here’s a simple breakdown of how RPE applies to training: 

The key with anxiety? Learning how to operate in the 7–8 range with control. That’s where you train your body to handle arousal without panic. Where you build trust in your effort. Where your mind learns the difference between discomfort and danger. 

True intensity isn’t about going to failure. It’s about learning to stay in it, just long enough to grow. 

Part 2: Cortisol, Stress, and How Training Rebuilds Your Baseline 

Cortisol gets a bad rap, but it is not the enemy. It’s your body’s primary stress hormone, and in the right doses, it is essential to both physical and emotional adaptation. 

Here’s the paradox: when you intentionally increase cortisol through structured training, your body actually gets better at lowering it afterward. That’s because exercise activates your stress system, but it also strengthens your recovery system, the parasympathetic response that anxiety often disrupts. 

Here’s how the cortisol response works during training: 

• Acute Spike: During high-effort training, cortisol rises to mobilize energy, sharpen focus, and increase alertness   
• Post-Workout Drop: After training ends, cortisol decreases, and calming hormones (like serotonin and GABA) rise   
• Adaptation Over Time: With consistent training, your baseline cortisol levels can become more stable throughout the day   

This is why strength work, speed intervals, or even intense cardio sessions can leave you feeling calmer, more focused, and less reactive, not just physically, but mentally too. 

When anxiety has you feeling like your stress dial is stuck on high, training becomes a way to reset it. Not by avoiding stress, but by teaching your body how to handle it better. 

📓 Journal Exercise: Rewiring the Anxiety Loop 

Anxiety thrives on repetition. Thoughts spin. Emotions tighten. And without realizing it, we reinforce the same loops over and over. 

Journaling is one of the simplest ways to interrupt that loop, not by fighting anxiety, but by creating space between what you feel and how you respond. 

This week’s exercise is designed to help you slow the spin, name what’s happening, and make more empowered choices. 

Step 1: Name the Loop 

What situation or thought is triggering your anxiety right now? Write it out in one sentence, without judgment, just clarity. 

Step 2: Track the Pattern 

What do you usually do in response to that trigger? Worry? Avoid? Try to control something? Note your typical reaction. 

Step 3: Identify the Reward 

What momentary feeling do you get from that response? (Even if it is just temporary relief or distraction.) 

Step 4: Create a New Option 

What is one small, calming action you could try instead? Movement, grounding, breathwork, reframing, choose something real. 

Step 5: Reflect on the Shift 

After you try it, write a short reflection. Did it change how you felt, even slightly? What did you learn from choosing differently? 

The goal isn’t to eliminate anxiety. It is to respond to it with awareness, not automatic reaction. 

If you want more guided prompts to build emotional strength and self-awareness, our Awaken the Tiger, Rise Like the Phoenix self-esteem journal walks you through these kinds of exercises step by step. 

🛒 Grab your copy on Amazon 

🌟 Final Thoughts: Reclaiming Stability When Anxiety Hits 

Anxiety has a way of convincing you that you are out of control. That something bad is coming. That you are not enough to handle what is in front of you. 

But what we have learned, in the research, in our own lives, and in the people we work with, is that anxiety does not have to define you. You can learn to notice it without becoming it. You can respond instead of react. And you can build a different relationship with it, one that gives you more control, not less. 

That work begins with the Five Pillars: 

Purpose 

Anxiety narrows your vision. Purpose expands it. It brings your focus back to what actually matters, instead of letting you spiral into what-if thinking. 

Planning 

Anxiety thrives in uncertainty. A simple plan gives structure to the unknown. You do not need to solve everything, just take one intentional step forward. 

Practice 

Every time you regulate your breath, anchor your thoughts, or move your body, you are rewiring how your system responds. Practice does not erase anxiety, but it teaches your brain and body how to feel safe inside it. 

Perseverance 

Some days will feel heavier than others. But showing up anyway, gently, consistently, builds strength that anxiety cannot shake. 

Providence 

You are not alone. And you are not meant to carry the weight of anxiety by yourself. Trust that support, insight, and unexpected relief can still find you when you stay open to it. 

Anxiety might show up uninvited. But you still get to decide how you meet it. 

With clarity. With courage. And with the belief that calm is a skill you can keep building, one breath, one step, one moment at a time. 

Stay resilient, 

Bernie & Michael 

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 📚 References

American Psychiatric Association. (2023). What are anxiety disorders? https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/anxiety-disorders/what-are-anxiety-disorders 

Brewer, J. A. (2021). Unwinding anxiety: New science shows how to break the cycles of worry and fear to heal your mind. Avery. https://www.amazon.com/Unwinding-Anxiety-Science-Cycles-Heal/dp/059333044X 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). Data and statistics on children's mental health. https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/data.html 

Harvard Health Publishing. (2021). Understanding the stress response. Harvard Medical School. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response 

Hofmann, S. G., Asnaani, A., Vonk, I. J., Sawyer, A. T., & Fang, A. (2012). The Efficacy of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A Review of Meta-analyses. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 36(5), 427–440. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-012-9476-1 

Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full catastrophe living: Using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain, and illness. Dell. https://www.amazon.com/Full-Catastrophe-Living-Revised-Illness/dp/0345536932 

McEwen, B. S. (2007). Physiology and neurobiology of stress and adaptation: Central role of the brain. Physiological Reviews, 87(3), 873–904. https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00041.2006 

National Institute of Mental Health. (2023). Anxiety disorders. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-disorders 

Sapolsky, R. M. (2004). Why zebras don’t get ulcers: The acclaimed guide to stress, stress-related diseases, and coping (3rd ed.). Holt Paperbacks. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780805073690/whyzebrasdontgetulcers 

 World Health Organization. (2022). Mental health and COVID-19: Early evidence of the pandemic’s impact. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV-Sci_Brief-Mental_health-2022