“The scientists found that those with anxiety experienced lasting plasticity long after an emotional experience (aka a ‘stimulus’) ended. This means the brain was unable to distinguish new, irrelevant situations from something that’s familiar or non-threatening, resulting in anxiety. In other words, anxious individuals tend to overgeneralize emotional experiences, whether they are threatening or not.

Most importantly, researchers noted, this reaction is not something that an anxious individual can control, because it’s a fundamental brain difference.”