What Is Anxiety?

Anxiety is the most common mental health condition in which people in the United States suffer. Unfortunately, we are not taught how to deal with anxiety during schooling, much less the reason why we experience anxiety in the first place. Anxiety is a state which benefited our primitive ancestors because this state allowed them to recognize that a situation may compromise their survival and the potential to pass on their genes. 

If you think about it, anxiety can still make us feel like we have to accomplish or do something to survive. What was once and sometimes still is a beneficial state can turn into a very disruptive state in a world that requires more information management and decision making. It should be emphasized that anxiety is beneficial at a certain time, such as when coming across a poisonous snake on a nature hike. It is good to feel anxious and attempt to escape the situation. If you didn’t feel anxious and try to avoid the snake you could die. 

The benefits of anxiety to our ancestors may be apparent by the previous examples, but how does anxiety benefit us today?

A healthy level of anxiety can cause an individual to become hyper-aware of what is going on in their environment, pay more attention to details that may matter, and mobilize us to act more quickly and efficiently. An example of when modern-day anxiety may be beneficial is when a student has a final exam in a class the next day, and they procrastinated studying until the night before the exam. They may prioritize information that they need to know or stay up later at night because they feel anxious about the upcoming exam. In this situation, the anxiety they likely experience helps them receive a slightly better grade in the class by motivating them to at least review the material one time before the test. 

The inability to manage and control anxiety has many adverse health and life consequences.

This begs the question, what is anxiety?  “Anxiety is a physiological state characterized by cognitive, somatic, emotional, and behavioral components “(2). The definition provided indicates that there are four components to the biological state of anxiety, each of which should be addressed for effective treatment of anxiety. Cognitive processes include repeating or obsessive thoughts about the anxiety-provoking event, maladaptive thoughts or beliefs, and dysfunction metacognition (or thinking about how you are thinking about anxiety). Somatic (or human feelings) sensations can include a racing heart, sweating, upset stomach, and much more. Often recognizing and using techniques to lessen these feelings when feeling anxiety in the body can help address this aspect of anxiety. 

Frequently, emotions such as anger or fear accompany feelings of anxiety.

The associated emotions of anger and fear when experiencing anxiety can be understood when realizing that anxiety is a response to some threat. Our primitive ancestors responded to threats by performing one of three actions which included running, freezing, or fighting. If you had to fight off a threat, anger is the emotion you would want driving you to overcome the problem. People often lash out at other individuals and get angry more easily when feeling anxiety.  Feeling fear helped mobilize us to run away from the threatening situation or problem. Understanding the association between anxiety and other emotions can help us identify, name, and logically walk through why we are feeling the way we are feeling when anxious. The behavioral components are broadly described in the fight, flight, or freeze example given. Often the behavioral responses are mutated in various ways that some people may have difficulty placing into the three categories. This is why it is helpful to work with a health care professional when addressing and treating a concern such as anxiety. 

“Anxiety is a physiological state characterized by cognitive, somatic, emotional, and behavioral components “(2). The definition provided indicates that there are four components to the biological state of anxiety, each of which should be addressed for effective treatment of anxiety.

What are some of the bodily (somatic) sensation that you feel when anxious?

Examples of a just a few bodily sensations include:

• Racing heart
• Nausea
• Chest pain
• Stomach pain
• Headache

 

What are some of the behaviors that experience when anxious?

Example of a few behaviors commonly seen in anxiety include:

• Avoiding the anxiety provoking situation or object
• escaping from the anxiety provoking situation or object (flight)
• Rearranging a schedule around an anxiety provoking situation or object

 

What are some of the emotions you experience when anxious?

Example of a few behaviors commonly seen in anxiety include:

• Distress
• Anger
• Depression
• Fear/panic
• Nervousness

 

What are some of the thoughts you experience when anxious?

Examples of a few thoughts commonly seen in anxiety include:

• “What if I fail”
• “What if I can’t do it”
• “What if I look dumb”
• “If this happens I won’t be able to ……..”

 

Commonly individuals that are suffering from anxiety do not connect what they are feeling in their body with what they are thinking. furthermore, what you are feeling in your body can direct your thoughts in a certain direction, either to reduce anxiety or increase anxiety.

It is helpful to remember that anxiety is a treatable condition. Many modalities including psychotherapy, medication, acupuncture, and more are used to address anxiety concerns.

 

References: 

1. Facts & Statistics | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA

Facts & Statistics | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA. (2019). Adaa.org. Retrieved 28 March 2019, from https://adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics

2. Anxiety. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/anxiety.htm