Anxiety

Anxiety refers to anticipation of a future concern and is more associated with muscle

tension and avoidance behavior. Fear is an emotional response to an immediate threat and is

more associated with a fight or flight reaction – either staying to fight or leaving to escape

danger.

Anxiety is an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and

physical changes like increased blood pressure. People with anxiety disorders usually have

recurring intrusive thoughts or concerns. They may avoid certain situations out of worry.

They may also have physical symptoms such as sweating, trembling, dizziness, or a rapid

heartbeat. Anxiety is not the same as fear, but they are often used interchangeably. 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 American Psychological Association (APA) defines anxiety as “an emotion

characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes like increased

blood pressure.”

Anxiety is a feeling of fear, dread, and uneasiness. It might cause you to sweat, feel restless

and tense, and have a rapid heartbeat. It can be a normal reaction to stress. For example, you

might feel anxious when faced with a difficult problem at work, before taking a test, or before

making an important decision. It can help you to cope. The anxiety may give you a boost of

energy or help you focus. But for people with anxiety disorders, the fear is not temporary and

can be overwhelming.

Fear is an automatic neurophysiological state of alarm characterized by a fight or flight

response to a cognitive appraisal of present or imminent danger. Anxiety is linked to fear and
manifests as a future-oriented mood state that consists of a complex cognitive, affective,

physiological, and behavioral response system associated with preparation for the anticipated

events or circumstances perceived as threatening (Chand & Marwaha, 2022)

It’s normal to feel anxious sometimes. It’s how we respond to feeling threatened,

under pressure or stressed: for example, if we have an exam, job interview or doctor’s

appointment. Anxiety isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It can spur us on, help us stay alert, make

us aware of risks and motivate us to solve problems. However, anxiety can be a problem if it

affects your ability to live your life. If your anxiety is ongoing, intense, hard to control or out

of proportion to your situation, it can be a sign of a mental health problem.

By definition, anxiety is an emotional response characterized by feelings of tension and

worry often combined with physical changes, like an increase in blood pressure. It is

perfectly normal to experience anxiety in response to stressful circumstances. For instance,

it’s pretty normal, even healthy, to feel anxious when you hear someone break into your

house. Many people will also feel anxious about challenges—making important presentations

at work, for example, or learning to skydive for the first time. As with stress, good or bad

anxiety is really a matter of degrees. Everyone feels anxiety, and it’s pretty easy to manage

when it pops up only when we’re facing real dangers or challenges, never becomes

overwhelming, and then drifts away once we have overcome what we need to. Anxiety is

abnormal and problematic when it seems to have no real cause, when worry seems to take

over your life, when you can’t help but worry about very minor things (did that stranger give

me a funny look?) or that something pretty unlikely is going to happen to you (will I be the

victim of a terrorist attack?). Anxiety, definition aside, is also a problem when it’s
overwhelming. The most extreme form of anxiety, known as panic, can prevent you from

functioning at all.

Cause of Anxiety

Research shows that having a close relative with anxiety problems might increase

your chances of experiencing anxiety problems yourself. This is sometimes called ‘anxiety

sensitivity’. At the moment there is not enough evidence to show whether this is because we

share some genes that make us more vulnerable to developing anxiety, or because we learn

particular ways of thinking and behaving from our parents and other family members as we

grow up.

Past or childhood experiences. Difficult experiences in childhood, adolescence or

adulthood are a common trigger for anxiety problems. Going through stress and trauma when

you’re very young is likely to have a particularly big impact. Experiences which can trigger

anxiety problems include things like physical or emotional, neglect, losing a parent, being

bullied or being socially excluded experiencing racism. Having parents who don’t treat you

warmly or are overprotective can also be a factor.

Your current life situation. Current problems in your life can also trigger anxiety.

For example; exhaustion or a build-up of stress, lots of change or uncertainty, feeling under

pressure while studying or in work, long working hours, being out of work, money problems,

housing problems and homelessness, worrying about the environment or natural disasters

(sometimes called climate anxiety or eco-anxiety), losing someone close to you (sometimes

called bereavement), feeling lonely or isolated, being abused, bullied or harassed, including

experiencing racism, big changes to your day-to-day life can be a particular trigger for
anxiety, so you may find that you’ve experienced anxiety problems during the coronavirus

pandemic.

Physical or mental health problems. Other health problems can sometimes cause

anxiety, or might make it worse. For example; Physical health problems – living with a

serious, ongoing or life-threatening physical health condition can sometimes trigger anxiety,

other mental health problems – it’s also common to develop anxiety while living with other

mental health problems, such as depression.

Drugs and medication. Anxiety can sometimes be a side effect of taking: some psychiatric

medications, some medications for physical health problems, recreational drugs and alcohol

The exact cause of anxiety is unknown. Some scientists wonder if genetics play a role in the

development of anxiety disorders. Others square the blame more on the environment and certain

lifestyle factors. Regardless of how or why it occurs, it’s clear that it’s a problem for many. Anxiety

disorders are the most prevalent types of mental health illnesses in America. In fact, approximately

40 million adults experience some form of anxiety disorder—ranging from generalized anxiety

disorder (GAD) to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). But it’s not just those who live with acute

anxiety disorders that experience this mental discomfort. Just ask anyone who has lived . . . well,

during 2020. They’ll tell you, anxiety can, at times, be hard to avoid. Plus, anxiety can even play

havoc with your physical health.

In reality, there are a number of factors that contribute to anxiety. Whether a genetic predisposition

places you at a higher risk of experiencing anxiety or not, these environmental and lifestyle

components can place you in its crosshairs.

What causes anxiety?

Experts aren’t sure of the exact cause of anxiety. But it’s likely that a combination of factors
play a role. The causes of anxiety may include: stress, other medical issues such
as depression or diabetes, first degree relatives with generalized anxiety disorder,
environmental concerns, such as child abuse, substance use, and situations such as surgery or
occupational hazard. .*⁸In addition, researchers believe that it stems from the areas of the
brain responsible for controlling fear and the storing and retrieval of emotional and fear-
related memories.

Some causes of anxiety disorders are:

Genetics. Anxiety disorders can run in families. 

Brain chemistry. Some research suggests anxiety disorders may be linked to faulty circuits in

the brain that control fear and emotions. 

Environmental stress. This refers to stressful events you have seen or lived through. Life events

often linked to anxiety disorders include childhood abuse and neglect, a death of a loved one, or

being attacked or seeing violence.  

Drug withdrawal or misuse. Certain drugs may be used to hide or decrease certain anxiety

symptoms. Anxiety disorder often goes hand in hand with alcohol and substance use.

Medical conditions. Some heart, lung, and thyroid conditions can cause symptoms similar to

anxiety disorders or make anxiety symptoms worse. It’s important to get a full physical exam to

rule out other medical conditions when talking to your doctor about anxiety. 

Anxiety is the feeling we get when our body responds to a frightening or threatening

experience. It has been called the fight or flight response. It is simply your body preparing for
action, either to fight danger or run away from it as fast as possible. The purpose of the

physical symptoms of anxiety therefore is to prepare your body to cope with threat.

To understand what is happening in your body, imagine that you are about to be attacked. As soon

as you are aware of the threat, your muscles tense ready for action. Your heart beats faster to carry

blood to your muscles and brain, where it is most needed. You breathe faster to provide oxygen

which is needed for energy. You sweat to stop your body overheating. Your mouth becomes dry and

your tummy may have butterflies. When you realise that the attacker is in fact a friend, the feelings

die away, but you may feel shaky and weak after the experience. The fight or flight response is a

really basic system that probably goes back to the days of cave men, and is present in animals who

depend on it for their survival. Fortunately, nowadays we are not often in such life or death

situations, but unfortunately many of the stresses we do face can’t be fought or run away from, so

the symptoms don’t help. In fact they often make us feel worse, especially if we don’t understand

them.
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https://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/guide/anxiety-disorders