What is anxiety?
Overview
Anxiety is a normal human emotion that everyone experiences from time to time. The word ‘anxious’ derives from the Latin word ‘anxius’ which means to be upset about some future uncertain happening. Anxiety, or nervousness, when faced with a problem at work, before taking a test, or making an important decision is quite normal, as there is the perceived uncertainty about what lies ahead. However, anxiety becomes a disorder when it starts to intrude on our lifestyle and worry and fear have become more persistent, heightened, and overwhelming.
What is the Difference Between Anxiety and Fear?
Anxiety and fear are closely related. The major difference between them is one of timing and intensity. For example, the immediacy of being faced with a roaring, hungry lion would tend to be classed as fear, whereas the contemplation of meeting a roaring, hungry lion before entering a jungle would tend to be classed as anxiety.
What Causes Anxiety?
Anxiety and anxiety disorders are triggered by stress in our lives, and there are several types. In the first type, the original triggering stress may have passed and is no longer responsible for the illness. The sufferer is now concerned with fear of the symptoms this original stress brought. If intervention is not swift at this point, the further stress induced by this fear can be enough to provoke further symptoms and a vicious deteriorating cycle can begin.
In another type, the sufferer may be concerned with some problem, or problems, that may have triggered his illness, and is not cured until this, or these are resolved. In this case, the sufferer needs to find peace of mind about these problems to fully recover.
The distinctions may not be black or white though. Certainly in my case, I had always been a ‘worrier’ and then had a triggering viral illness as well as a vast amount of stress in my life. I was anxious about my symptoms as well as my stress factors, and recovery for me has been about managing my attitude to symptoms as well as dealing with the stress factors in my life.
(For more information, check out My Story and the What is Stress sections of the site)
Symptoms of Anxiety
When you are anxious, the body can produce a range of physical symptoms. These occur when the bodies’ “fight or flight” response is stimulated, which is caused by the release of the stress hormone adrenaline. These symptoms can include:
- abdominal discomfort
- diarrhea
- dry mouth
- rapid heartbeat (above 80 beats per minute) or palpitations
- tightness or pain in the chest
- shortness of breath
- dizziness
- frequent urination
- difficulty swallowing
- shaking
- nausea
- muscle tension
- cold or sweaty hands and/or feet
- numbness or tingling in the hands or feet
In addition to these, sufferers may also experience:
- feelings of panic, fear, uneasiness or impending doom
- uncontrollable, obsessive thoughts
- repeated thoughts or flashbacks of traumatic experiences
- problems sleeping
- inability to be still and calm.
Prolonged anxiety can cause further symptoms that can be much prolonged. A small selection of this can be seen here, and these were just some of the symptoms that I experienced.
How Common are Anxiety Disorders?
Anxiety disorders are surprisingly common, and are the most common mental illiness in the US alone, affecting 40 million adults in the US over the age of 18 (source: ADAA.org). Given my own experience of being undiagnosed for a long while, it would not be surprising if the actual number of people affected was far higher, and with recent studies showing links between Chronic Fatigue and Anxiety, the numbers may be higher still (I was originally diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome myself).
From my own experience, I can attest to the fact that anxiety can affect every aspect of your life, but with the benefit of hindsight, I don’t look at these changes as a negative thing anymore. Nonetheless, I have had to compensate for physiological, emotional and psychological changes, and this episode in my life has, ironically, given me a stronger sense of faith and an even deeper interest in spirituality. It has also tested my relationships with family and friends, with not every relationship surviving, but also made me extremely grateful for all the support that was there for me during such a difficult period. Without this help, I would probably be in a much worse place, and this is part of my motivation for writing this site.
Also see:
Physical anxiety and how symptoms arise
What is Stress?
