Sometimes, we feel a nervous sensation and we tell people that we are feeling anxious. Usually these feelings go away after a while. However, anxiety becomes a problem when symptoms such as nervousness, tension and fear stays with you and you feel like you are walking through a mine-field all the time. Anxiety becomes a disorder when you are extremely fearful of a situation and it gets in the way of doing what you need to do and in daily living.
Symptoms of Anxiety Disorder
There are many triggers for anxiety and each person would experience it differently. However, the following symptoms has been put together so that it’s easier for mental health professionals to help sufferers.
Generalised Anxiety Disorder
- Worry most of the time
- Think negatively about most situations
- Muscle tension
- Restlessness
- Irritability
- Difficulty concentrating
- Easily tired
Social Phobia
- Fear of failure
- Fear of rejection
- Fear of negative social comments
- Intense fear of talking to strangers
- Afraid of standing in from of a audience
Phobia
- Intense fear of a particular object or situation e.g fear of high places, reptiles, flying etc
- Extreme fear and anxiety when encountering that object or situation
- Avoidance of that object and situation
Panic Disorder
- Feeling of terror and intense fear of the worst case scenario
- Fear of losing control or dying
- Difficulty breathing
- Feeling faint, choking sensation and nausea
- Limbs feeling shaky, numb and tingling sensation
- Dizziness, light-headedness and unsteadiness
- Pounding and racing heart
What causes Anxiety Disorder
Some people are more prone to anxiety than others. This could be because of their biological make up, social experiences and psychological approach to life. Often, all three factors are inter-linked with each factor having an effect on the other.
Biopsychosocial
Most disorders are caused by a combination of biological factor, social situations and psychological perspective. A person’s genes could pre-dispose that person to anxiety. For example, a person who has a family history of heart problems may be more prone to heart disease if that person does not look after his heart-health and is careless about his diet. So, it’s the same with a person who is prone to anxiety. Social factors would include the relationships and the growing up experiences that shapes the way a person behaves and thinks about himself and relates to others. How a person adjust to the demands and expectations of society and relationships, could determine if that person succumbs to anxiety. In the growing up years, a person’s experiences and responses to these life situations would shape their psychological perspectives of who they are and where they stand in their family, relationships and society. How a person interprets and thinks about a situation, especially a negative one, would colour that person’s mood and determine his behavior.
For example, for a person who is a perfectionist and who grows up in an enviroment that rewards perfection and is intolerant of mistakes, that person will stive very hard to gain social acceptance by making sure that he never fails. Hence, the belief that only when one is perfect, will he be accepted by others, becomes the psychological view that drives his behavior. So if that person has a biological disposition to anxiety, in a situation when that person feels that he is unable to measure up, there is a greater chance that he could slide into a anxiety disorder.
