Anxiety

Anxiety is an emotional state in which people feel uneasy, apprehensive, or fearful. People usually experience anxiety about events they cannot control or predict, or about events that seem threatening or dangerous. They may think of anxiety as stress or worry. For example, students taking an important test may feel anxious because they cannot predict the test questions or feel certain of a good grade. People often use the words fear and anxiety to describe the same thing. Fear also describes a reaction to immediate danger characterized by a strong desire to escape the situation.

The physical symptoms of anxiety reflect a chronic “readiness” to deal with some future threat. You might know this as the “fight, flight or freeze” response. These symptoms may include fidgeting, muscle tension, sleeping problems, and headaches. Higher levels of anxiety may produce such symptoms as rapid heartbeat, sweating, increased blood pressure, nausea, and dizziness.

All people experience anxiety to some degree. Most people feel anxious when faced with a new situation, such as a first date, or when trying to do something well, such as give a public speech. A mild to moderate amount of anxiety in these situations is normal and even beneficial. Anxiety can motivate people to prepare for an upcoming event and can help keep them focused on the task at hand. Anxiety is a normal response to many joyous events, too, such as a marriage or move to a new home. Anxiety for a joyful occasion is called “eustress” and its counterpart, anxiety about negative events, is called “distress.”

Both too little anxiety or too much anxiety can cause problems. Individuals who feel no anxiety when faced with an important situation may lack alertness and focus. On the other hand, individuals who experience an abnormally high amount of anxiety often feel overwhelmed, immobilized, and unable to accomplish the task at hand. People with too much anxiety often suffer from one of the anxiety disorders, a group of mental illnesses. In fact, more people experience anxiety disorders than any other type of mental illness. A survey of people aged 15 to 54 in the United States found that about 17 percent of this population suffers from an anxiety disorder during any given year.           “Anxiety," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2008 http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Susan Boyes, ATR-BC, LPC, is a Board Certified, Nationally Registered Art Therapist and a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Michigan. Susan helps people of all ages to navigate difficult changes.  Susan also provides Art Therapy for people that have experienced Traumatic Brain Injury.     Visit my Blog

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