What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is a normal, helpful emotion that all humans experience. It is a signal to our brains to prepare for an actual or perceived future threat. It tells our body to get ready and be on high alert. If we had zero anxiety, we’d be getting into trouble and be hurt non-stop - you would have never studied for an exam in school, you’d walk into a forest without any protections, and you wouldn’t adhere to any law. On the other hand, too much anxiety also leads to many problems. It can make us feel constantly on edge, worry about every single little thing, avoid situations or people, and get in the way of daily functioning.
There are many types of anxiety disorders. Below are brief descriptions of the ones that I have been trained to work with.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) - This is probably the anxiety most of us think about when we hear excessive anxiety. People with GAD experience uncontrollable worry about many different things at many different times, leading to interference with functioning and quality of life.
Social Anxiety Disorder - Many of us have also experienced anxiety in social situations before. People with social anxiety disorder experience this social anxiety in very intense ways. It often leads to avoidance of social situations, consistent worrying surrounding interacting with others, and almost constant replaying of previous social events.
Panic Disorder - Panic attacks are a short, extreme period of intense fear. People often experience difficulty breathing, increased heart rate, numbness/tingling, and feeling as though they are having a heart attack. While panic attacks can happen for a variety of reasons, in panic disorder, people also experience fear surrounding the possibility of having another panic attack and losing functioning.
Specific Phobias - This is another common anxiety disorder we often hear about. For some people, they have a fear of heights, others a fear of spiders, and others a fear of needles. While many people experience these fears as uncomfortable, there are times when these fears start to lead to extreme avoidance of situations, which might be a signal to seek treatment.
Adjustment Disorder with Anxiety - There are many changes we go through in life that bring about distress. When this distress sticks around for a significant amount of time, it can be difficult to enjoy life and bring up anxiety surrounding when the next possible thing can go wrong.
Don’t worry if you don’t feel as though you “fully” meet criteria for an anxiety disorder! Any experience of anxiety is distressing and important to talk about. I’d love to talk with you more about how to build skills to manage anxiety and move towards a more satisfying life.