So, What Is Anxiety?

The American Psychological Association describes anxiety as “an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes, like increased blood pressure.”

Now, if you’ve ever struggled with symptoms of an anxiety disorder, you know that the effects often encompass so much more. Understanding the various answers to the question “what is anxiety?” is the first step toward taking control of your physical and psychological reactions to certain stimuli.

On the surface, anxiety is a normal and even healthy emotion that starts as a necessary reaction to a threatening or potentially dangerous stimulus. It becomes problematic when the effects of anxiety do not dissipate upon resolution of the threat - this disconnect between external stimuli and internal reaction is one of the most common causes of anxiety disorders. In today’s society, anxiety is not nearly as primal as it once was. Instead of experiencing these feelings of tension, worry, and stress in the rare life-or-death scenario, we experience them regarding work, money, family, relationships, and various other factors we face daily. This disproportionate level of anxiety to non-life threatening scenarios causes the nervous system to be overloaded, which is unhealthy for your mental state.

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What Are The Most Common Symptoms Of Anxiety?

Anxiety disorders are highly personal, and every individual may experience unique stimuli and the associated symptoms of anxiety differently. The specific anxiety symptoms are as varied as those who experience the disorder. Most commonly, in patients suffering from anxiety disorders, we see:

• Headaches

• Stomach and digestive issues

• Uncontrollable feelings of fear or worry

• An inability to calm thoughts/brain

• Increased irritability

• Concentration difficulties

• Restlessness

• Perfectionism

• Phobias

• Feelings of being trapped

• Racing heart

• Sweaty palms

• Sleep problems

• And more.

In some scenarios, mild anxiety symptoms can easily triumph, but in others, the effects of an anxiety disorder can be debilitating, interrupting your everyday life. Therein lies the distinction between anxiety, a biological reaction to dangerous triggers, and an anxiety disorder, where anxiety symptoms cannot be easily overcome, despite mitigation of the threat. Anxiety disorders often require some professional attention. With the proper support and treatment, the number of debilitating days you experience due to anxiety symptoms can be significantly reduced.

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Traditional Causes Of Anxiety Disorders

The brain is complicated; thus, for almost everyone suffering from anxiety symptoms, it is hard to pinpoint a singular cause of their anxiety disorder. It’s not as simple as exposure to the flu and getting sick. Instead, we see that the causes of anxiety disorders range from genetics to environmental impacts and everything in between.

 

Your Anxiety Disorder Is Unique, But You Are Not Alone

Anxiety is an umbrella term for various presentations of different anxiety disorders. As the effort to de-stigmatize mental illness becomes more engaged, the idea of anxiety and anxiety disorders seems to become more and more generic. For those suffering from the effects of anxiety, this can add to feelings of hopelessness and the misconception that no one will be able to understand precisely what they are experiencing. At Neuroplastree Centers, we have extensive experience treating all types of anxiety disorders, including:

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

• Panic Disorder

• Specific Phobias, including Agoraphobia

• Selective Mutism (most common in children)

• Social Anxiety Disorder

• Separation Anxiety Disorder

• And others.