What is Anxiety Anyways?

What is Anxiety Anyways?

by Chris Straface, LPC on September 18, 2023

Most people use the word anxiety to describe a feeling of uneasiness, impending doom, or feeling overwhelmed.  Although these feelings are common, they are actually a few of many symptoms related to a group of disorders known as Anxiety Disorders.  First, lets discuss the difference between normal anxiety and problematic anxiety.  

The feelings of anxiety are normal and part of our bodies response system. Any time we feel anxiety our body is attempting to communicate to us that something might be unsafe. Considering the purpose of anxiety can help us learn that it is not necessarily a bad thing to experience.  Its simply our bodies way of keeping us safe.

Imagine these examples as a way that anxiety can be beneficial.   A student feels anxious before taking a test. Because the student feels anxious and fears not doing well, they spend additional time studying.  This of course builds their confidence which provides some relief to the anxiety and, ultimately, they do well on the test.  

An employee feels anxiety around doing a presentation.  This leads to additional preparation and bolsters their confidence.  Though they still feel some anxiety, they are able to face the anxiety and succeed.  

A child is walking home from school and considers taking a short cut. As he looks down the path, he feels some anxiety. This leads the child to making the smart decision and he doesn't take the shortcut.

These examples illustrate how anxiety can be helpful.

However, anxiety can become problematic if it is present without good reason, if it’s so intense that we cant function, or it leads to unnecessary or unhelpful avoidance.  For example, the student experiencing intense anxiety regarding their school performance, might not be able to focus enough to recall the information studied.  

The employee that has to do a presentation might attempt to avoid it in some way, which results in missed opportunities. 

The child that feels anxiety about taking the shortcut might fear trying any new experiences.  

Obviously, in these examples, anxiety leads to missed opportunities, lack of success, a lack of confidence, and a repeated pattern of avoidance.

With anxiety, the repeated pattern of avoidance becomes the real problem. Avoidance strengthens anxiety.  When we avoid a distressing, but normal experience, it teaches our brain that this experience has to be avoided further.  We don’t learn that we can handle it.  We then have to continue to avoid it.  This tends to create long term anxiety growth. Because we never learn that we can handle the situation it becomes more distressing over time.

Symptoms of Anxiety Disorders include the physiological responses most associate with anxiety such as muscle tension, rapid heart beat, rapid breathing, upset stomach, restlessness, tingling in arms or legs, and so on.  But, they also include mental and behavioral responses.  These include racing thoughts, hypervigilance, checking or searching behaviors, reassurance seeking, and avoidance.

These disorders can create a variety of impairments.  They can lead to poor school or job performance, excessive absences, disrupted relationships.  In extreme cases a person might never learn to drive, go to the store, develop friendships, or find a job. 

The good news is there is hope.  Therapies such as cognitive behavior therapy and exposure therapy are research proven to provide long lasting relief from anxiety.  It is possible for a person to learn to live with anxiety, face their fears, and overcome them.  The anxiety might never go away, and maybe we don't need it to. Perhaps we can learn to enjoy life despite feeling anxious.  

A therapist trained in cognitive behavior therapy and exposure therapy can help to obtain freedom from anxiety.

Click "Learn more" to learn more about anxiety treatment.  

Click here to download this blog in a pdf