Anxiety

Anxiety is commonly characterized by apprehension and feelings of tension. This causes you to anticipate impending danger or misfortune. The body prepares itself to meet a perceived threat. Your muscles may become tense, your breathing faster and your heartbeat more rapid. Anxiety is different from fear. Fear is a short-lived response to a clearly identifiable threat. Anxiety is typically a future-oriented response that is broadly focused on defusing a threat.³

Some of the most common anxiety disorders include:

• General Anxiety Disorder (GAD): This is a condition that involves fear, worry and a constant feeling of being overwhelmed that impacts everyday activities such as your job, chores, or exercise. It is typically characterized by excessive and unrealistic worry about a number of things.
• Agoraphobia: This is a condition that causes intense fear of, and/or avoidance of, places or situations that could cause embarrassment, panic, helplessness. Common examples of this would be public transportation, enclosed spaces, or crowds. People who struggle with this type of anxiety disorder avoid new places or unfamiliar situations because they are worried about it causing them panic or fear.
• Panic Disorder: This is a condition that is characterized by multiple panic attacks that usually happen without warning and aren’t due to another health or physical condition.
• Specific Phobias: A phobia fear or anxiety about a particular object or situation (e.g. flying, animals, heights) that is so severe that it consistently disrupts your life. There are hundreds of different types of phobias.
• Social Anxiety Disorder: This is an anxiety disorder that happens when you experience intense and persistent fear of being negatively judged or watched by others.
• Separation Anxiety Disorder: This anxiety disorder is characterized by excessive anxiety when you become separated from a loved one or caregiver beyond what is developmentally appropriate. This is a typical anxiety disorder that occurs in children, but it can also affect adolescents and adults.⁴

Anxiety disorders should always be diagnosed by a healthcare provider such as your primary care provider or a mental health specialist. Typically, the first step in receiving a diagnosis is seeing your primary care provider to understand if your anxiety symptoms are related to your physical health. Often, your primary care provider will recommend that you see a mental health specialist as they specialize in diagnosing mental health conditions. To support a diagnosis, a mental health provider may:

• Ask you to describe your feelings, thoughts and behavior when you experience feelings of anxiety
• Inquire about other mental health issues (such as depression or alcohol/drug misuse)

Once the mental health specialist gets a better understanding of your symptoms and other lifestyle factors, they can make an appropriate diagnosis and discuss potential treatment options for you to explore.¹

The most common ways to manage your anxiety are psychotherapy and medication. In order to receive the most appropriate management plan for you, speak to a mental health specialist about the options specific to you.¹

It is very difficult to pinpoint what the cause of a specific anxiety disorder is. Unlike other medical conditions, researchers have struggled to identify exact mechanisms for what causes mental illnesses such as anxiety disorders. However, it is thought that a combination of the following factors may play a role⁴:

• Chemical Imbalances: Many different neurotransmitters and hormones play a role in anxiety. If there are imbalances in these chemicals, it can lead to an anxiety disorder.
• Brain Changes: Researchers posit that people with anxiety disorders experience altered activity in certain regions of the brain that are related to fear and anxiety.
• Genetics: it is very common for anxiety disorders to run in biological families, which suggests that genetics play a role.
• Environmental Factors: If you have experienced severe or long-lasting stress, this can lead to an imbalance of neurotransmitters that control aspects of your mood. Stress and traumatic experiences can trigger anxiety disorders.

Anyone can be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. It is estimated that 4.4% of the global population currently has an anxiety disorder. In 2021, roughly 360 million people had an anxiety disorder which makes this the most common mental health disorder. More women are impacted by anxiety disorders than men, and symptoms often start in childhood or adolescent stages of life.⁵

Understanding the line between normal anxiety and anxiety disorders can be difficult. It is normal for you to experience anxiety and worry about aspects of your life. For example, if you think back in time about a huge presentation or test that you had to prepare for, you likely felt nervous or on edge about this. The difference between this and anxiety disorders is when your anxiety becomes persistent and recurrent and limits your ability to participate in daily life activities. The severity of which it limits you to participate in daily life can vary, but it is important to note that anxiety disorders have some level of persistence and debilitating impact on typical life activities.⁶

Researchers are investigating potential new and more effective treatments all the time. You can talk with your doctor about options for a more effective treatment plan, and whether you may be a good candidate for a clinical trial.