What is anxiety?

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Anxiety is defined as a feeling of worry, being nervous, or feeling uneasy about an imminent event or about an uncertain outcome. It affects us most when we are trying to act (or thinking about acting) and we have that uneasy feeling in the pit of our stomachs.

In psychiatry, it is defined as a nervous disorder characterized by a state of excessive uneasiness and apprehension, typically with compulsive behavior or panic attacks (but the latter are not always present).

The feeling of anxiety is uncomfortable, and I have been trying to avoid it for years. This leads to effects such as procrastination, higher risk of addiction behaviours (drugs, alcohol, video games, binge watching, binge eating, among others), and can have physical effects on our health as well.

From the reading I’ve done, I’ve come to realise that anxiety is part of basic human emotions. There are said to be nine basic human emotions and everything else we feel is a combination of these nine, though there is some debate about the topic. (– from chapter 12 of Russ Harris’: The Happiness Trap):

  • Fear
  • Anger
  • Shock
  • Disgust
  • Sadness
  • Guilt
  • Love
  • Joy
  • Curiosity

Anxiety is usually based on fear. And it’s often perceived as a negative or “bad” emotion that we should avoid, escape, or fight (our fight or flight response is triggered). However, it was a necessary emotion for our survival (they all are, including the ones that are perceived as more “negative”), that feeling of dread, “if we don’t avoid something…”, could have helped us survive. Watch out! That cave can hold a saber tooth tiger! It might not, but if we were cautious and avoided unnecessary injuries or wasted energy because of it, anxiety could be beneficial.

Fear, in and of itself, is not bad either. It is something that we learn to associate with negative emotions, but not everyone does. How many people go to amusement parks and watch horror movies to feel fear? Or extreme sports? Parachuting? They will pay money to chase that feeling, to feel afraid.

For me, since the feeling of fear is prevalent in my daily life, all I need is my mind creating scenarios and catastrophizing (always going to the worst-case scenario) I don’t need any extra. But even things that are not dangerous can be triggers. The problem then is that false alarms get triggered by the mundane events of everyday life. These trigger the flight or fight response in our body, the physical reaction we get when we are faced with a perceived danger, but if this triggering happens often enough it can develop into a mental disorder called generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). This is when the normal anxiety and fear become so prevalent that it affects daily life and all aspects from work, to relationships, to taking care of yourself.

GAD is one of the most common mental disorders. And with help, it is manageable, but if we don’t learn to express these emotions and give them room, we will always be dependent on the crutch of medication or therapy. A work in progress, but one that is well-worth doing. Unfortunately, it is also one of the disorders that people will brush off and not seek help with. People prefer to be stuck with the term “worrywart” instead.

What are some of the causes of problematic anxiety?

Just a reminder, regular anxiety is normal – pre-exam jitters, pre-presentation nervousness, but it has a clear trigger and will pass after it is over; however, when it becomes a disorder, triggers aren’t always known, and your anxiety can be triggered by false-alarms. Even scenarios in your head can trigger the physical symptoms and your brain will perceive this as a threat.

Risk factors that can increase your chance of having an anxiety disorder are:

  • Genetics (blood relatives with an anxiety disorder)
  • Trauma
  • Stress due to an illness
  • Stress buildup
  • Personality
  • Other mental health disorders
  • Drugs or alcohol

I believe that understanding what is going on can help give new perspective to the problem and sometimes that is all that is needed to start the road to recovery.

Next week I will continue the discussion on this topic and for the next few weeks as well. It is an interesting topic and I’ve only scratched the surface.

Please subscribe if you haven’t already done so, not to miss any of the posts.

If you are anxious, do you avoid amusement parks and horror movies? I know I do, but am curious if it’s just me or does anyone else with anxiety feel this way? Please leave your response in the comments section.

Thank you for reading and have a great day.

“Man is not worried by real problems so much as by his imagined anxieties about real problems”

– Epictetus

Resources (not sponsored)

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anxiety/symptoms-causes/syc-20350961

https://www.verywellmind.com/gad-causes-risk-factors-1392982

Posted in Anxiety, Mental Health and tagged , , .

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60 Comments

  1. I am also an anxious person, but mostly at night when trying to sleep. I have this hamster that keeps telling me what can go wrong in my life and in the life of my children. But with daylight come perspective and rationalization. This keeps the fear factors at bay,
    I don’t like horror movies. I don’t like the feelings they bring.

    I love your blog. Keep writing!

  2. Bonjour à toi moi j’étais une personne tres anxieuse et on a découvert que mes glandes surrénales ne fonctionne pas bien, alors j’ai du prendre de la cortisone, çar je n’en produisait plus naturellement,on appelle ça la glande du stress, c’est le cortisol,tu dois connaître ça à faire vérifier,a bientôt

  3. Moi, j’associe anxiété et manque de confiance en soi! Si j’avais pleinement confiance en moi, je saurais qu’il y a en moi la faculté de sortir de toutes les difficultés! Mais quand tu ne compte pas pour tes parents quand tu es petite, ça ne te donne pas d’estime de soi ! Heureusement que j’avais deux grandes sœurs qui m’aimaient d’un amour inconditionnel. Je suis convaincu que je tiens mon équilibre mental d’elles.
    Je n’ai jamais été attirée par les films d’horreur, il y a assez d’horreurs dans la vraie vie.
    Jeune, j’aimais bien les manèges, maintenant non.

  6. Your posts always provide me with a new perspective and encourage me to look at things differently Thank you for broadening my horizons

  7. Your posts always provide me with a new perspective and encourage me to look at things differently Thank you for broadening my horizons

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