Anxiety definition: Views from psychology
The source of the term of anxiety frequently influences how we define it. Different psychologists have different approaches to explaining anxiety. Anxiety is defined as “an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes like increased blood pressure” by the American Psychological Association. “Anxiety is considered a future-oriented, long-acting response broadly focused on a diffuse threat, whereas fear is an appropriate, present-oriented, and short-lived response to a clearly identifiable and specific threat,” the article continues, drawing a comparison between anxiety and fear.
Numerous additional definitions of anxiety are offered by different groups and publications. In general, anxiety is defined as extreme concern or trepidation that is out of proportion to the situation.
Anxiety symptoms
The manifestation of anxiety might vary according on the kind of disorder a person is dealing with. With the right care, people with anxiety can usually learn how to control them. Typical signs of anxiety include the following:
Excessive, unreasonable, and/or persistent worry
A persistent feeling of peril or disaster
Being agitated or tense
Inability to concentrate
Intolerance
inability to fall or keep asleep
There are instances where anxiety presents as bodily symptoms as well, such as:
Headaches
Emesis
Breathlessness
Shakiness
Upset stomach
Heart rate accelerating
Aches in the muscles
Perspiration
Typical anxiety conditions
Mental diseases includes anxiety disorders. Although they are all associated with some clinical expression of anxiety, each one may have different causes, symptoms, and approaches to therapy. The following are a handful of the most prevalent kinds of anxiety disorders.
Anxiety disorders in general (GAD)
The hallmark of GAD is excessive and/or nearly continual concern, which can last for weeks, months, or even years. These moderate to severe anxiety levels may be linked to particular occurrences or they may be widespread and generic with no clear explanation. These emotions may manifest as major barriers to an individual’s ability to function in relationships, in the workplace or in school, and in daily life.
Anxiety disorders
When someone has unprovoked panic attacks, usually for no apparent reason or cause, it’s known as panic disorder. The typical symptoms of a panic attack include extreme emotions of dread, terror, helplessness, and impending disaster. A person may mistakenly think they are having a heart attack due to the intense physical symptoms of panic attacks, which include sweating, nausea, chills, tingling or numbness in the extremities, rapid heartbeat, and erratic breathing. (Most panic episodes do not result in bodily injury or necessitate medical intervention.) After having one or more panic attacks, a person may develop panic disorder, which is usually associated with a severe dread of having another one.
OCD, or obsessive-compulsive disorder
Unwanted, unreasonable, and compulsive thoughts are common in OCD sufferers, a type of anxiety that frequently results in compulsive actions. Particularly, the need to engage in compulsive behaviors, such as constant cleaning, checking, counting, arranging, etc., can seriously impair a person’s ability to function and quality of life.
PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder
Some persons who have watched or experienced a traumatic event—such as a violent crime, a natural disaster, active conflict, or abuse—may develop post-traumatic stress disorder. If they don’t receive treatment, the painful memories of the event may keep affecting them in the long run, frequently to the point that it becomes impossible for them to function. Nightmares, flashbacks to the incident, intrusive thoughts, extreme anxiety, and other symptoms are frequently experienced.
Anxiety disorders related to social situations
A person with social anxiety disorder, also known as social phobia, may be diagnosed when they have a chronic, severe fear of being scrutinized or embarrassed in public. Shyness alone is not enough to describe social anxiety disorder; additional symptoms include avoidance of social situations and/or moderate to severe anxiety symptoms when in them.
Particular fear
Specific phobia, which is characterized by extreme anxiety in reaction to particular things or situations, can have a major negative impact on a person’s life. Most of the time, a person experiences severe anxiety that is disproportionate to the threat that the stimuli they are afraid of poses. Hemophobia (the fear of blood), acrophobia (the fear of heights), and arachnophobia (the fear of spiders) are a few examples of specific phobias.
Anxiety disorder related to separation
People with separation anxiety disorder may be extremely anxious and fearful when they think about breaking up with an attachment figure. A person suffering from separation anxiety disorder may often fear that the object of their connection would suffer injury or be unable to come back to them. As a result, they could act irrationally to prevent being separated from you, such refusing to leave the house.
How to make a diagnosis of anxiety
An occasional feeling of uneasiness is experienced by most people. But if these emotions are ongoing, strong, and/or interfere with your day-to-day activities on a regular basis, you might want to think about scheduling an assessment with a medical specialist. To rule out any potential physical reasons of your symptoms, a medical professional might examine your medical history, analyze your symptoms, and do testing. After that, they might suggest that you see a mental health expert, who will probably assess if your symptoms fit the criteria for a clinical mental health problem by comparing them to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Usually after that, they will suggest a course of treatment. Your symptoms might not meet the criteria for a disorder, but a therapist can still assist you in learning coping mechanisms to manage them.
Treatments for anxiety
A person’s unique anxiety disorder, the intensity of their symptoms, any comorbid disorders, and their individual medical and mental health history all influence the suggested course of treatment. Talk therapy of some kind is typically an important part of treatment, just like it is for many other mental health issues. For many anxiety disorders, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is regarded as “the current gold standard of psychological treatment,” and research backs up this claim. The primary goal of cognitive behavioral therapy is to assist a patient in identifying and modifying maladaptive or incorrect thought patterns that underlie uncomfortable emotions and/or actions.