WHAT IS ANXIETY ?

WHAT ANXIETY DID TO THE BODY ?

Anxiety is the mind and body's reaction to stressful , dangerous , or unfamiliar situations . It's the sense of uneasiness , distress , or dread you feel before a significant event. A certain level of anxiety helps us stay alert and aware , but for those suffering from an anxiety disorder , it feels far from normal - it can be completely debilitating.

TYPES OF ANXIETY DISORDERS :

1. ANXIETY DISORDERS : Anxiety disorders are characterized by a general feature of excessive fear (i.e. emotional response to perceived or real threat) and /or anxiety (i.e. worrying about a future threat) and can have negative behavioral and emotional consequences.
2. OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE AND RELATED DISORDERS : Obsessive compulsive and related disorders are characterized by obsessive , intrusive thoughts (e.g.constantly worrying about staying clean , or about one's body size ) that trigger related , compulsive behaviors (e.g. repeated hand-washing , or excessive exercise). These behaviors are performed to alleviate the anxiety associated with the obsessive thoughts.
3. TRAUMA AND STRESS RELATED DISORDERS: Trauma and stress related anxiety disorder are related anxiety disorders are related to the experience of trauma ( e.g. unexpected death of the loved one , a car accident , or  a violent incident like war or sexual assault ) or stressor ( e.g. divorce , beginning college , moving ).

Anxiety disorders may be a specific phobia if you have a persistent and excessive fear of a specific object or situation , such as flying , heights , animals , toilets or seeing blood.

Fear is cued by the presence or anticipation of the object/situation and exposure to the phobic stimulus results in an immediate fear response or panic attack. The fear is disproportionate to the actual danger posed by the object or situation. Commonly , adults with specific phobias will recognize that their fear is excessive or unreasonable .

An excessive fear of becoming embarassed or humiliated in social situations , which often leads to significant avoidance behaviors may be an indicator of Social Anxiety disorder (SAD) .

POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER(PTSD) : It is the most well known trauma and stress related disorder . These are disorders that are related to the experience of a trauma (e.g. unexpected  death of  a loved one , a car accident , combat , or a violent incident) or stressor . This category also includes Acute Stress Disorder and Adjustment disorder.

GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER(GAD): It is characterized by excessive , uncontrollable worry over events and activities and potential negative outcomes. The anxiety and worry must cause significant distress or interfere with the individual's daily life , occupational , academic or social functioning to meet diagnosis . The symptoms cannot be better accounted for by another mental disorder or be caused by substances , medications , or medical illness.

PANIC DISORDER : It reflects the experience of sudden panic symptoms in combination with persistent , lingering worry that panic symptoms will return and fear of those panic symptoms. Symptoms include recurrent expected or unexpected panic attacks that can last from a few minutes to up to an hour.

CAUSES AND RISK FACTORS :

It's important to note that everyone feels anxiety to some degree regularly throughout their life. Fear and anxiety are helpful emotions that can function to help us notice danger or threats that keep us safe and help us adapt to our environment. Anxiety disorders occur when significant distress impairs your ability to function in important facets of life, such as work , school , or relationships. There are many potential risk factors for anxiety disorders , and most people likely experience multiple different combination of risk factors , such as neurobiological factors , genetic markers , environmental factors and life experiences.

However , we do not yet fully understand what causes some people to have anxiety disorders.