Chronic Anxiety as a State of Being:
When Uncertainty Becomes an Internal Reality
In recent years, anxiety has shifted from an episodic experience to a persistent psychological condition for a large part of the population in Bulgaria. This article examines chronic anxiety not as an individual weakness, but as a natural response to prolonged social, economic, and emotional uncertainty. The analysis integrates neurobiological, psychodynamic, and clinical perspectives, with a focus on the lived, subjective experience of anxiety.
When anxiety no longer comes and goes
In clinical practice, anxiety that “comes and goes” is increasingly rare. Many people describe a constant internal tension that is not linked to a specific event but is present in the background—as a way of being.
Anxiety is no longer experienced as a signal, but as a continuous backdrop of mental life. A person functions, works, cares for loved ones, yet internally remains in a state of anticipation that something bad may happen, without being able to clearly name what it is.
The social context: why now
Chronic anxiety does not arise in a vacuum. The Bulgarian social context in recent years has been characterized by:
economic instability
a sense of lack of control over the future
chronic distrust in institutions
collective exhaustion
Such an environment maintains a prolonged state of uncertainty that the nervous system cannot “switch off.” When the external world does not provide stable anchors, the psyche is forced to remain in a state of constant vigilance.
Neurobiology of chronic anxiety
From a neurobiological perspective, chronic anxiety reflects a dysregulation of threat and safety systems. The amygdala remains hyperactive, while the prefrontal cortex—responsible for rational evaluation and regulation—gradually loses its regulatory capacity.
Research by Bruce McEwen describes how prolonged stress and anxiety lead to the accumulation of so-called allostatic load—the physiological cost of continuous adaptation.
In this sense, anxiety is not “in the head,” but a bodily and neural state that becomes self-sustaining.
How anxiety is experienced from within
People rarely say “I am afraid.” Much more often, anxiety is experienced as:
inability to relax
constant mental activity
bodily tension
a sense of inner instability
difficulty making decisions
It is important to emphasize that anxious individuals often appear highly functional. This is precisely what makes the condition so exhausting—there is no external justification for the internal tension.
A psychodynamic perspective: internal insecurity
From a psychodynamic perspective, chronic anxiety is often linked to early experiences in which:
safety was inconsistent
support was conditional
stability was lacking
In adulthood, these internal patterns are activated by external uncertainty. In this way, the social context resonates with the individual’s internal history, and anxiety intensifies.
Here, anxiety is no longer only a response to the present, but a repetition of earlier psychic configurations.
Why “just calm down” does not work
One of the most common misunderstandings about anxiety is the attempt to simply eliminate it. However, anxiety is not a defect—it is an adaptive response that has lost its flexibility.
Working with chronic anxiety requires:
restoring a sense of internal safety
gradually training the nervous system in regulation
becoming aware of internal sources of insecurity
This is not a quick process and cannot be resolved through techniques alone, isolated from deeper psychological work.
Chronic anxiety, widely observed in Bulgaria today, is not an individual failure, but a logical response to prolonged uncertainty—both external and internal. Understanding it as a process rather than a symptom opens the possibility for more meaningful and effective therapeutic work.
Sources
McEwen, B. S. (2017). Neurobiological and systemic effects of chronic stress. Neuropsychopharmacology.
Sapolsky, R. (2004). Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers. Holt Paperbacks.
Siegel, D. J. (2012). The Developing Mind. Guilford Press.
Karina Bancheva is a psychologist and psychotherapist with an integrative approach. This article is for informational purposes only and does not replace individual psychotherapy.
