Anxiety

Anxiety is an unpleasant emotion of apprehension, fear or dread. The physiological state of anxiety is that of tension and the mental state is that of worry, catastrophe, impending disaster or misfortune. Such thoughts are also called worry.

Anxiety may be because of your personality traits which make you perceive threat and react in a certain manner or may be due to situational stressors. The interaction of psycho-social factors, attachment style, parenting, genetic vulnerabilities, trauma, childhood adversity and a genetic vulnerability manifest themselves in the neurobiological and neuropsychological dysfunctions that maintain anxiety.

The common symptoms of anxiety are worry, social and performance fears, unexpected panic attacks, anticipatory anxiety and avoidance behaviours. Anxiety disorders are associated with physical symptoms, such as palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, tremors, hot flush, sweating, blurry vision, gastrointestinal problems and frequent urination. The common response to anxiety is the flight or fight response. In some one faces the defensive mechanism of freezing where one become temporarily immobilized or unresponsive in the face of perceived threats. The body essentially shuts down in situations where neither fighting nor fleeing seems possible or advantageous. This can manifest as physical immobility, a sense of being mentally numb, or difficulty speaking or moving. 

Situational anxiety is a temporary anxiety triggered by specific stressful situations where one fears that one’s  performance may not be commensurate to the expectation. Examples are public speaking, interviews, social events. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a mental health condition characterized by excessive, uncontrollable, and often irrational worry about everyday events or activities. This worry significantly impacts daily functioning and can be accompanied by physical symptoms. A panic attack is a sudden episode of intense fear that triggers severe physical reactions when there is no real danger or apparent cause.