We have all faced that debilitating feeling of constant over-awareness of a problem while at the same time, feeling powerless to do anything about it. It can be during an exam, a presentation, a situation where a loved one is in danger, or even during a match of your favorite football team. These are all normal and universal emotions. However, the term anxiety comes into play when the feeling is either induced by a non-threatening situation or persists past the existence of such event. In fact, in the words of Will Smith, 'danger is very real but fear is a choice'. And when that fear stops being in anyway regulated by the individual experiencing it, we have crossed into anxiety territory.
A more formal definition of anxiety disorders would be disorders that share features of excessive fear and anxiety and related behavioral disturbances. We usually describe fear as an emotion to a current perceived threat and anxiety, to a future, anticipated threat. The movie Inside Out 2 does a stupendous job of describing these emotions, especially that of anxiety. When we come to the diagnosis of anxiety, people like to use that term often and claim they have anxiety. However, just like any other disease, it has its own sets of criteria to label a person as one suffering from these disorders. And even before we get to that, we need to know the specific type of anxiety a person may have as each have their own set of features. Although there are 10 subtypes as of late, we will be touching upon a select few.
As we get into the specifics, there are some criteria almost all the disorders share. These include: the symptoms lasting longer than 6 months (in more days than not), the symptoms not being attributable to the physiological effects of a substance or another medical condition, the symptoms not better explained by other metal disorders and the disorder causing clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. They are also known to share risk factors, such as: genetic, environmental (e.g. harmful parenting practices, smoking) and temperamental (e.g. reward dependence, harm avoidance, neuroticism) to name a few. Also, it is worth noting, women are more at risk of developing anxiety compared to men.
Starting strong with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), it is a condition where excessive anxiety and apprehensive expectation about a number of events or activities, these can include school or work performances. It usually manifests with restlessness or on edge, being easily fatigued, difficulty concentrating or mind going blank, irritability, muscle tension, sleep disturbance with at least 3 needing to be present. Contrast this with specific phobias which is a condition of marked fear or anxiety about a specific object or situation where the phobic matter almost always provokes immediate anxiety and is therefore actively avoided or endured with intense fear or anxiety. Some common phobias include fear of animals, injections, heights and the list goes on.
There is another anxiety disorder quite similar to specific phobias but here there is marked anxiety in at least two of the following five situations: using public transportation (e.g., automobiles, buses, ships, planes), being in open spaces (e.g., parking lots, bridges), being in enclosed places (e.g., shops, cinemas), being in a crowd or even being outside of the home alone. The problem for these individuals is that they feel like they're put in situations where thoughts of escape might be difficult, or help might not be available in the event of developing paniclike symptoms (to be explained in the paragraph below) or other embarrassing symptoms (e.g. fear of incontinence).
Another very commonly referenced disorders, especially in movies is a panic disorder. It is defined as recurrent unexpected panic attacks. So, the next question would be, what is a panic attack? A panic attack is a surge of intense fear that reaches a peak within minutes, and during which time at least four of the following symptoms occur: palpitations or accelerated heart rate, sweating, shaking, sensations of shortness of breath, feelings of choking, chest discomfort, nausea or abdominal distress, feeling dizzy, light-headed, or faint, chills or heat sensations, numbness or tingling sensation, derealization (feelings of unreality) or depersonalization (being detached from oneself), fear of “going crazy" and fear of dying. Now these attacks have to be followed by at least 1 month of one or both of the following: persistent worry about additional panic attacks or their consequences (e.g. losing control, having a heart attack) or a significant maladaptive change in behavior related to the attacks (e.g. avoidance of exercise or unfamiliar situations).
Last to be discussed, but certainly one most of us have had a glimpse of, social anxiety disorder. Here it is marked anxiety about one or more social situations in which the individual
is exposed to possible scrutiny by others in social interactions (e.g. having a conversation, meeting unfamiliar people), being observed (e.g. eating), and performing in front of others (e.g. giving a speech). The person fears that they will act in a way that will be negatively evaluated (i.e., will be humiliating; will lead to rejection). Hence, just like in specific phobias, the person will avoid those situations as they are always nearly anxiety provoking.
In light of all these anxiety disorders, it is wise to keep in mind, just as they have their own sets of diagnostic criteria, they also have treatment as with most other physical diseases. So, if anyone is suffering from such symptoms, visit your nearest healthcare provider and get the appropriate management based on the accurate assessment of that anxiety disorder.
References
Association, A. P. (2022b). Desk Reference to the Diagnostic Criteria from DSM-5-TR(tm). American Psychiatric Publishing.
Useng, M. (n.d.). Mental health concept ,woman suffering from depression disorder with euphoria, psychotic, panic in one moment vector. Vecteezy. https://www.vecteezy.com/vector-art/34849727-mental-health-concept-woman-suffering-from-depression-disorder-with-euphoria-psychotic-panic-in-one-moment-vector
Assessed and Endorsed by the MedReport Medical Review Board