Anxiety is usually normal when you are under stress. When anxiety becomes chronic and leads to difficulty functioning at work or socially it is deemed a disorder. Anxiety disorders can cause excessive worry and physical discomfort, either in specific situations or what would otherwise be considered an everyday event.
Features
The body has a natural "fight or flight" response when you are under stress. Adrenaline is released by the adrenal glands, increasing your heart rate and blood pressure, and tensing your muscles so you can fight or run. If stressors continue, or if you are predisposed to neurochemical imbalances in your brain, this response occurs when it is unnecessary. Anxiety -- chronic physical and mental symptoms of the fight or flight response -- is the result.
Types
There are several different types of anxiety disorders. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is chronic, excessive anxiety over broad or daily issues such as work, health and relationships. Panic disorder involves acute episodes of intense anxiety and physical symptoms. Social anxiety is intense fear around social situations -- fear that you will be laughed at or judged by others. Phobias are fears and anxiety related to specific events or objects, such as flying or spiders. Posttraumatic stress disorder is anxiety and flashbacks around a specific event in someone's life, such as an accident or disaster. Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) involves anxiety around chronic thoughts (obsessions) that lead to performance of specific actions (compulsions).
Significance
Anxiety affects a significant portion of the American population, about 40 million adults. Children can also be affected by anxiety disorders such as phobias and GAD. Anxiety can be debilitating, reducing productivity at work or making you socially isolate yourself from others. Some forms of anxiety, like panic disorder, can send you to the emergency room or to your doctor for frequent checkups because you are certain that you are having a heart attack or some other medical crisis. Anxiety can also increase your risk of certain health conditions like ulcers and heart disease.
Identification
Physical symptoms of social anxiety, panic disorder and phobias include heart palpitations, chest pain, excessive sweating, trembling, fear of dying and consistent negative thoughts that something bad is going to happen. GAD symptoms can include irritability, difficulty sleeping, muscle tension and chronic or excessive worry about small issues. Symptoms of OCD include obsessing over events such as whether you have turned off the stove, and compulsions to try to alleviate the anxiety of these events, such as checking the stove dozens or hundreds of times to ensure you have turned it off.
Prevention/Solution
Find a therapist to help you manage your anxiety. Behavioral therapy can help you learn to control anxiety in specific situations. Cognitive therapy can help you control the negative thoughts that can trigger and foster your body's physical reaction. A combination of both types of therapy is most effective.
Ask your doctor if medications such as antidepressants may be useful to help manage your anxiety while you learn to manage your anxiety with a therapist.
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