Everything You Need To Know About Anxiety, In Under 3 Minutes

If you're a human being on this planet, chances are you've experienced some level of anxiety at some point in your life.

You may feel it when you're about to give a presentation or when you're going on a first date. It might show up when you're facing a fear or are in immediate danger. Now imagine experiencing that emotion for no reason at all, at random, for an extended period of time.

Welcome to the world of someone with an anxiety disorder -- a condition that affects approximately 40 million American adults.

The science behind anxiety is difficult to grasp, regardless of if you have a disorder or just experience it from time to time. Luckily, the Life Noggin video above breaks it down as simply as possible -- from why we experience the emotion to where it's located in the brain.

In short, the narrators explain, research shows that anxiety affects the amygdala, which is a region in the brain that is responsible for emotional reactions (like fear).

"Some studies suggest that in patients with generalized anxiety disorder, their amygdala are less connected to areas of their brain that determine the importance of certain stimuli," the narrators say in the video. "This means that it may be harder for these people to distinguish between something that's mildly annoying and something that's definitely worth worrying about."

In other words, the anxiety is more than just an "emotional issue" or something that's "all in your head."

Take a look at the video above to learn more about the science of anxiety.

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