Why Do I Feel Anxious All the Time - Even When Life Is Going Well?

Emma Draycott
Jun 24
3 min read

Young woman with long blonde hair resting her head on a cluttered desk covered with open books and notebooks, appearing exhausted or overwhelmed.

You’ve ticked the boxes: career, relationships, family, health.

On paper, everything looks good. So, why do you still feel anxious? Why does your mind race at night, your chest tighten in meetings, or your stomach churn during moments of quiet?

If you’re asking yourself, “Why do I feel anxious all the time, even when things are going well?” your in the right place and many others feel like this too.

Let’s explore what’s really going on beneath the surface.

1. Your Nervous System Doesn’t Know Things Are “Fine”

Anxiety isn’t just a mental state it’s a physiological response. Even when life appears calm, your nervous system might still be on high alert. Past experiences, chronic stress, or unresolved trauma can condition your body to remain in a state of vigilance, interpreting safety as unfamiliar or even threatening.

2. Fear of Happiness or Success

It might sound counterintuitive, but for some, happiness triggers anxiety. This phenomenon, sometimes referred to as "aversion to happiness," stems from the belief that joy is fleeting or that good times are followed by bad. If you've experienced sudden losses or disappointments in the past, your mind might associate happiness with impending doom.

3. Anticipatory Anxiety: Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop

Even in moments of peace, you might find yourself bracing for disaster. This is known as anticipatory anxiety, a state where the fear of potential future threats overshadows present calm. It's a protective mechanism, but one that can keep you in a constant state of unease.

4. The Perfectionism Trap: When Nothing Ever Feels “Enough”

Even when things are going well, you might feel an undercurrent of restlessness—the sense that you should be doing more, feeling more, achieving more. This is the perfectionism trap.

It’s the pattern of constantly raising the bar, then barely feeling relief before setting the next goal. You rarely allow yourself to fully land in your success or feel satisfied with what you’ve created—because your nervous system has learned to feel safest in motion, not stillness.

This creates a loop where “good” is never quite good enough. And it feeds ongoing anxiety, even in the absence of external stress.

5. Unresolved Emotional Patterns

Sometimes, anxiety persists because underlying emotional patterns haven't been addressed. These could be beliefs like "I'm not good enough" or "I must be in control." Such patterns can create internal conflicts, making it hard to relax even when circumstances are favorable.

How Therapy for Anxiety Can Help

Understanding the root causes of persistent anxiety is the first step toward healing. Therapy for anxiety, especially approaches that address both the mind and body are transformative. Techniques that focus on nervous system regulation, cognitive restructuring, and emotional processing all help recalibrate your internal responses.

Introducing The Freedom Formula™

In my practice, I've developed The Freedom Formula™—a 1-1 trauma-informed, nervous system-led, and subconscious-rooted approach designed to address anxiety at its core. This method has helped many women transition from a state of constant alertness to one of calm and clarity.

Such as my client Ellen who shared:

“I didn’t realise how much I was living in survival mode until I wasn’t anymore. For the first time in years, my mind is quiet, and I actually feel present in my life. This work gave me back my energy, my confidence, and my peace.”