A long time ago I read about a study which examined people’s physiological reactions to riding a rollercoaster. They compared coaster lovers to mildly-phobics.

A long time ago I read about a study which examined people’s physiological reactions to riding a rollercoaster. They compared coaster lovers to mildly-phobics. Their conclusion was the two groups experienced the same physiological reactions. What differed was their mental state, how they contextualized the event. If that study was accurate (and god knows whether it was), then I would conclude that anxiety isn’t strictly “in the body.” It’s more like a feedback loop with the mental state.