Anxiety

Overview

A psychological and physiological state characterized by cognitive, emotional and behavioral components form anxiety. When combined together, they create a feeling of fear or worry. Anxiety differs from fear by the fact that fear is related to specific behaviors of escape and avoidance, whereas anxiety is the result of threats that are perceived to be uncontrollable or unavoidable.

Types

Anxiety comes in many different forms. The various forms of anxiety are:

• Existential anxiety, test anxiety, stranger and social anxiety and trait anxiety.

Because there are many different forms, sometimes it's hard to classify which type you may have. The most common classifications are:

• Panic Disorder - Unpredictable attacks of anxiety accompanied by physiological manifestations.
• Agoraphobia - A fear of being helpless in an embarrassing situation. They to tend to avoid public places.
• Specific Phobias - Persistent fear of objects or situations.
• Social Anxiety Disorder - A persistent irrational fear of being closely watched or scrutinized by others.
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - A psychiatric illness that occurs after a traumatic event.
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - They use ritualistic and repeated behaviors to get rid of this illness.
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder - A common condition of excessive worry due to any event or circumstance.

Symptoms

Experiencing feelings of anxiety when your physical being isn't threatened and there's no real need for emotional fear is an anxiety symptom. For some, an anxiety symptom sharpens other senses and causes a hyper-alert state of mind which helps many get through their day. For others, such an anxiety symptoms are not only unwelcome, but also alarming and to be avoided at all costs. The other common physical effects are heart palpitations, fatigue, nausea, chest pain, stomach aches or headaches. External signs include sweating, trembling and papillary dilation. Most of the sufferers have more of emotional symptoms than the physical symptoms.

Causes/Risk Factors

Anxiety is part of daily life, a result of experiencing new or unfamiliar events, places and people. Situations arise every day that can test our nerves and some thrive on that feeling of being "on the edge." Remember that people feel and react to different situations in different ways, but perhaps there are some key factors that will help you determine where you fall in the "anxiety" scale.

Some people taking medications or drugs may cause sensations, worry, uncertainty and overall nervousness. You may be having a reaction to such drugs, either legal or illegal, and are experiencing an anxiety symptom. If you're not taking any medications and you continue to have these feelings, major reason may be if you have quit smoking or drinking recently, or gotten off some drugs or medications. If it is not due to any of the above reasons, then it may just be a sign of general anxiety.

Tests/Diagnosis

There is no laboratory test to diagnose anxiety, but various physical tests may be taken to identify if any of them has caused anxiety. The reports are based on the intensity and duration of symptoms.

Treatment

Though medications are available for treating anxiety, there are other options like lifestyle changes, psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy that are found to be more effective. The treatment also varies depending on the condition of the person, age and severity of the illness and environmental factors.