What is Anxiety

Anxiety is stress on steriods! Millions of people the world over will develop an overwhelming anxiety condition in their lifetime. It is estimated that over 12% of the North American public is affected, causing everything from mild to severe distress. Everyone at some point feels ‘anxious’ but people with anxiety conditions experience feelings of anxiety that are excessive and often unrealistic. Anxiety interferes with healthy and happy living. Continued feelings of anxiety are disruptive and interfere with all aspects of life: family relationships, school and work activities, social interaction and recreation.

Although there are no symptoms exclusively associated with anxiety, individuals who experience anxiety conditions often report similar symptoms. It is important to talk to your doctor about these symptoms because while they may indicate an underlying medical condition, they may also help your doctor to identify whether or not you are experiencing an anxiety condition. It is also important to remember that individuals can have an anxiety condition, without experiencing any of the symptoms listed below.

Physical Symptoms:

• Light-headedness
• Headache
• Muscle tension
• Dizziness
• Rapid heartbeat
• Chest pain / Tightness in chest
• Heart palpitations
• Difficulty breathing (rapid breath, short of breath, difficulty catching breath)
• Dry mouth
• Upset stomach: churning, nausea, diarrhea, gas, pain
• Difficulty swallowing / lump in throat
• Excessive sweating
• Unsteady
• Restless
• Frequent urination
• Hot flashes / Chills
• Tremors
• Cold and clammy palms
• Tingling / Pins and Needles

Mental Symptoms:

• Sense of detachment: feeling unconnected from the world around you
• Insomnia
• Unable to concentrate / Selective attention
• Difficulty remembering things
• Agitated
• Fatigued
• Irritable
• Fearful
• Communication difficulties (i.e., cannot think of the words you want to use)
• Fear that you are going crazy
• Self-consciousness

Do you ever feel fearful but don’t know why?

People with anxiety often feel very fearful but they have difficulty identifying the source of their feelings of fear. Anxiety sufferers commonly experience anxiety as feelings of unease and dread in anticipation of an ambiguous event. Whereas feelings of fear are often in response to a specific threat (e.g., an unpaid bill), the source of feelings of anxiety is often elusive. In addition, the fear response is usually time-limited (e.g., it is only experienced in the presence of something feared, like a growling dog) whereas individuals who experience anxiety generally describe the feelings as prolonged and persistent, without a clear beginning and end.

Have you developed ways to cope with anxiety?

Because people with anxiety conditions generally experience excessive fear, worry and anxiety for prolonged periods of time, they may develop rituals that reduce their uncomfortable feelings of anxiety or avoid places and situations that might cause them to feel anxious.

There are different types of Anxiety Conditions. They include:

Persistent Panic (Panic Disorder)
Panic with Agoraphobia (Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia)
Agoraphobia without Panic (Agoraphobia without Panic disorder)
Generalized Anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder, GAD)
Specific Phobia
Post Traumatic Stress (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD)
Acute Stress (Acute Stress Disorder, ASD)
Obsessive-Compulsive Condition (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, OCD)
Social Phobia or Social Anxiety (Social Anxiety Disorder)
Separation Anxiety
Children and Youth

The source of feelings of anxiety is not only difficult to identify but the threat is not usually in the near future or connected to an identifiable event (Rachman, 2004). In addition, fear is usually experienced in response to an external event (e.g., an exam), whereas anxiety is often in response to internal cue (e.g., a sense of dread or doom).