What is Anxiety?
While everyone may have occasional moments of feeling anxious or worried, an anxiety disorder is a treatable medical condition that causes people to feel persistently, uncontrollably anxious, fearful or worried over an extended period of time. The disorder may result in significant distress in a number of settings, such as work, social settings, and home life, and it may dramatically affect people's lives by limiting their ability to engage in a variety of activities. The tendency to develop an anxiety disorder involves complex genetic and environmental factors, and it is possible for a person to have more than one anxiety disorder.
(Harvard – MADI Resource Center)
Anxiety disorders are the most common of emotional disorders and affect more than 25 million Americans. Anxiety disorders differ from normal feelings of nervousness. Untreated anxiety disorders can push people into avoiding situations that trigger or worsen their symptoms. People with anxiety disorders are likely to suffer from depression, and they also may abuse alcohol and other drugs in an effort to gain relief from their symptoms. Job performance, school work, and personal relationships can also suffer.
University of Colorado Denver Depression Center
Anxiety disorders only infrequently occur in isolated, pure form. They can vary in their presentation and co-exist extensively with other anxiety disorders and with depression and substance abuse. All patients with depression and substance abuse should be screened for anxiety disorders. A significant portion of female alcoholism may be associated with panic and agoraphobia.
Full, functional recovery from anxiety disorders is an achievable goal, but complete resolution of symptoms and invulnerability to relapse are unlikely outcomes. Lingering symptoms, vulnerability to "normal" anxiety, and stress-related intensification of symptoms and anxiety often contribute to an ongoing risk of relapse. These factors are directly addressed in cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT), which is probably why it improves long-term outcomes.
University of Louisville Depression Center
Anxiety disorders only infrequently occur in isolated, pure form. They can vary in their presentation and are extensively co-morbid, with other anxiety disorders and with depression and substance abuse. All patients with depression and substance abuse should be screened for anxiety disorders. A significant portion of female alcoholism may be associated with panic and agoraphobia.
Patients will not present complaining of panic attacks, obsessions or compulsions, or social phobia. When anxiety, obsessional traits, any type of behavioral rituals, significant shyness, depressive symptoms, or substance abuse are detected or suspected, then specific questions, probing for the key features described below, should be asked.
Anxiety disorders cannot be "cured." Full, functional recovery is an achievable goal, but complete resolution of symptoms and invulnerability to relapse are not expected outcomes. Lingering symptoms, vulnerability to "normal" anxiety, and stress-related intensification of symptoms and anxiety contribute to a continuous risk of relapse. These factors are directly addressed in CBT, which is probably why it improves long-term outcomes.
University of Michigan Depression Center
What is anxiety?
Anxiety occurs when thought patterns are disturbed in a variety of ways, including obsessive thinking, excessive worrying, or experiencing either fear in general or fear of a specific thing or event.
It is rare for an anxiety disorders to occur in isolation. Most frequently, people experience more than one anxiety constellation at the same time, or they experience anxiety in combination with other disorders such as depression or substance abuse. In fact, it is estimated that depression and anxiety overlap in three-quarters of those who have one or the other. That’s why doctors diagnosing depression know the importance of also screening for anxiety, in order to treat the whole spectrum of symptoms a patient may be experiencing.
What causes anxiety disorders?
Although the exact causes are unclear, scientists believe that several factors, alone or in combination, may contribute to the development of an anxiety disorder. As is the case with depression, inherited characteristics, brain chemistry, and environmental factors such as stressful life events may all play a role in bringing about an episode of anxiety.
UMDC Toolkit
What Is Anxiety?
"Out of nowhere, my heart would start racing - I'd start sweating and my stomach would cinch up."
Anxiety is your mind and body’s natural response to events that are threatening. The right amount of anxiety can help you, but too much anxiety can interfere with your life.
Some worry and anxiety is normal for everyone. But when anxiety is severe, lasts for several weeks and includes symptoms that keep you from doing things you usually would, it may be something to discuss with your health care professional.
Anxiety symptoms are real. They are not just in your head. They can be treated, and they are nothing to be ashamed of.
Fight or Flight
As long as humans have been on earth, when they have been confronted with threatening situations, their bodies have had automatic responses to prepare them to fight the threat or run away from it.
For example:
- Increased alertness
- Increased heart rate
- More blood flowing in the muscles of the arms and legs, possibly causing shaking or jitters
- Less blood flowing in the digestive system so more blood is available to the arms and legs, possibly causing dry mouth or abdominal discomfort
- Dilated pupils (for better vision)
- Constricted blood vessels in the skin and open sweat glands, leading to paleness or clamminess
In our brains, the hypothalamus, when stimulated, directs nerve cells to fire and starts a chemical release increasing adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol in the blood and causing the reactions listed above.
In people with depression, bipolar disorder and/or anxiety disorders, the fight or flight response may be stimulated more often and for longer periods of time than in people without these illnesses. This means that more things are perceived as threatening. An out-of-balance fight or flight response can cause a person to
- Have a real physical reaction to everyday people, places or things
- Believe danger is around every corner
- Be convinced something terrible will happen if certain things aren’t done a certain way
- Feel constantly keyed-up and on-edge
- Avoid everyday people, places or things in an effort to avoid the anxiety response
All of these things can interfere with people’s lives so much that they aren’t able to do things they would like to do and their relationships are strained or lost.
You are not alone.
DBSA asked web site visitors to take an anxiety survey in March 2005. More than 95% of the people, most of whom were diagnosed with depression or bipolar disorder, had experienced anxiety symptoms.
Anxiety can begin early in life for people with depression or bipolar disorder. More than half the people said they had experienced anxiety some time between birth and age 18. Even if you can’t remember a time when you didn’t feel worried or fearful, there are things you can do today to work toward a life that is not controlled by anxiety.
DBSA: DEPRESSION AND BIPOLAR SUPPORT ALLIANCE
Anxiety Disorders affect about 40 million American adults age 18 years and older (about 18%) in a given year,1 causing them to be filled with fearfulness and uncertainty. Unlike the relatively mild, brief anxiety caused by a stressful event (such as speaking in public or a first date), anxiety disorders last at least 6 months and can get worse if they are not treated. Anxiety disorders commonly occur along with other mental or physical illnesses, including alcohol or substance abuse, which may mask anxiety symptoms or make them worse. In some cases, these other illnesses need to be treated before a person will respond to treatment for the anxiety disorder.
NIMH: National Institute of Mental Health
What Does Anxiety Look Like?