What is anxiety?

Anxiety is “distress or uneasiness of mind caused by fear of danger or misfortune” (dictionary.com).

Anxiety involves a feeling of fear because you feel threatened in some capacity. The feelings are real but the threat may not be – the threat could be imagined, but feel very real to you. Like Steve feels it’s the end of the world if he fails his quiz, when we know that a quiz isn’t going to end the world.

Anxiety is a pretty common feeling that most of us experience at different points in our lives. But some people feel anxious more often than others and for some people anxiety can become a disorder and seriously disrupt their lives and overall sense of well-being.

How does anxiety feel? People describe anxiety with the following words:

tension, worry, feeling on guard, hyper alert, hyper vigilant, apprehension, a sense of doom

Physical symptoms might include (but are not limited to):

stomach aches/pains, sweating, pacing, shaking, mind racing, an inability to sit still, nausea, dizziness, chest pains, headaches 

Do you ever fear you might miss a big event? Or super stress out over a quiz? Or worry a friend might turn on you for no reason? Or stay inside all day rather than go meet the new neighbors? These concerns can prevent people from enjoying day to day activities. The feeling that people have over these concerns (like the nervousness that Steve felt) is anxiety.

Anxiety is a general state of worry that can be specific (“I am worried that people will hate me”) or just a general sense of doom (“I don’t know why I am anxious, I just know something bad is going to happen”). Anxiety is different from an anxiety disorder, which is a diagnosis provided by a mental health professional.

Here is the basic difference between an anxiety disorder and feeling anxious:

Anxiety disorders feel like part of who you are and restrict you from fully enjoying life because you have a really hard time getting through the anxiety. (You’ll read much more about this shortly.)

Feeling anxious from time to time over a life event like a test, moving to a new town, an intimidating social situation, or having to give a speech in front of the whole school, is NORMAL. You get through it. It is temporary.

For instance, you can feel anxious about spiders when you unexpectedly see one in your bathroom, but as long as your dislike of spiders is not keeping you from going to the bathroom, you can be sure this is just a dislike of spiders, not a disorder.

Anxiety can feel overwhelming and lead to a panic attack, a condition where people are not able to breathe properly (see the Bonus YSS on panic attacks).

DID YOU KNOW? Anxiety disorders (including obsessive compulsive disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and phobias) affect about 18 percent of the adult population in a given year. (http://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/director/2011/antidepressants-a-complicated-picture.shtml)

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health issue facing Americans. Thankfully, however, they are also among the most treatable conditions. Check out the Bonus YSS section to read about the most common types of anxiety disorders and read the next sub-post to understand the subtle but important difference between anxiety and stress. If you have anxiety, please make sure you read the “Beating Anxiety” post after you are done with learning about anxiety in general here.

Post Question:

Do you ever feel anxious? If so, what makes you anxious?

Answer the post question here

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What's being said

  • WLKHS1303
    Posted at 12:59h, 11 October Reply

    not really, and sometimes when it happens is because I have to much Homework

  • wlkhs1131
    Posted at 12:55h, 11 October Reply

    I do get anxious sometimes. This happens when I see spiders. When I was younger, I walked into a spider hanging from a web. Myself and other people have even noticed that when I see a spider, I mindlessly start wiping my face. I am afraid to get near them and they cause me to feel anxious.

  • WLKHS1315
    Posted at 13:04h, 08 October Reply

    I do feel anxious pretty often, mostly because I dont know the outcome of something. I tend to get in my own head a lot and doubt myself. To be honest sometimes I dont even know what it is the makes me anxious.

  • WLKHS1312
    Posted at 12:57h, 08 October Reply

    I feel anxious about many things, one in particular is Social Anxiety I have a hard time talking to new people and it takes me a while to know them as a person and getting them to know me.

  • wlkhs1317
    Posted at 12:56h, 08 October Reply

    I feel anxious a lot. Like when i am going to see my dad and my step mom i become a whole new person but like not in the good way, they stress me out so much and like my stomach will hurt the entire time they are here. In my daily life i did not realize this until now but my headaches are probably from my anxiety more than anything

  • wlkhs1309
    Posted at 12:55h, 08 October Reply

    I have defenly felt anxious before in the past. I think being yelled at for something i didnt do makes me anxious

  • WLKHS1307
    Posted at 12:54h, 08 October Reply

    I do feel anxious often but it depends on the situation how bad it can get. What makes me anxious are tests and quizes but also amusement park rides and large places with overpopulated areas.

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