mental health disorders
Overview of Anxiety Disorders
Introduction
Anxiety is a feeling of nervousness, worry, or unease that is a normal human experience. It is also present in a wide range of mental health conditions, including generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and phobias. Although each of these disorders is different, they all feature distress and dysfunction specifically related to anxiety and fear. When people experience anxiety, they also often have physical symptoms, including shortness of breath, dizziness, sweating, rapid heartbeat, and/or tremor. Anxiety disorders often substantially change people's daily behavior, including leading them to avoid certain things and situations. These disorders are diagnosed using standard medical criteria. Medications, psychotherapy, or both can substantially help most people with anxiety disorders. Anxiety is a normal response to a threat or to psychologic stress. Normal anxiety has its root in fear and serves an important survival function. When someone is faced with a dangerous situation, anxiety triggers the fight-or-flight response. With this response, a variety of physical changes, such as increased blood flow to the heart and muscles, provide the body with the necessary energy and strength to deal with life-threatening situations, such as running from an aggressive animal or fighting off an attacker. Anxiety can help a person adapt to more ordinary stressors by motivating them to prepare, practice, and rehearse. It can even prompt a person to approach potentially dangerous situations with an appropriate amount of caution. However, anxiety is considered a disorder when it Occurs at inappropriate times Occurs frequently Is so intense and long-lasting that it interferes with a person's normal activities (that is to say, it leads to maladaptive behavior) Anxiety disorders are more common than any other category of mental health disorder and affect about one third of adults in the United States at some point during their lifetime. Significant anxiety can persist for years and begin to feel normal to the person with the anxiety. For this and other reasons, anxiety disorders are often not diagnosed or treated. They can also be associated with Suicidal Behavior . There are many anxiety disorders: Separation Anxiety Disorder None Selective mutism Specific Phobias (animal, natural environment, blood-injection-injury, situational, other situations) Social Anxiety Disorder None Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder None Agoraphobia None Generalized Anxiety Disorder None Substance-induced/medication-induced anxiety disorder Anxiety due to another medical condition Other specified anxiety disorder (applies when a person has significant symptoms but does not meet the criteria for any specific anxiety disorder) Most of these disorders develop in adulthood, but separation anxiety and selective mutism usually start during childhood. Doctors also evaluate people who present with severe anxiety for substance-induced/medication-induced anxiety disorder and anxiety due to another medical condition. Other disorders that often present with prominent anxiety include Acute Stress Disorder , Anxiety disorders tend to occur with other medical and mental health conditions: Mental health disorders: Depression , Medical disorders: Overview of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) , The effects of anxiety on performance can be shown on a curve. As the level of anxiety increases, performance efficiency increases proportionately, but only up to a point. As anxiety increases further, performance efficiency decreases. Before the peak of the curve, anxiety is considered adaptive because it helps people prepare for a crisis and improve their functioning. Beyond the peak of the curve, anxiety is considered maladaptive because it produces distress and impairs functioning. 