Somatic anxiety
![A graph showing the Inverted-U hypothesis. In this context, arousal refers to somatic anxiety.](/Images/godic/202502/12/HebbianYerkesDodson.svg1221.png")
Somatic anxiety is the physical symptoms of anxiety, such as butterflies in the stomach. It is commonly contrasted with cognitive anxiety which is the mental manifestations of anxiety, or the specific thought processes that occur during anxiety, such as concern or worry. These different components of anxiety are especially studied in sports psychology, specifically relating to how the anxiety symptoms affect athletic performance.