anxiety
Meaning of anxiety: A useful alarm system that has become a problem when it fires without a threat, or keeps firing after one has passed.
Definition of anxiety
Anxiety is the state of fear, worry or unease produced in response to a threat, whether real or anticipated. It has a physical side as well as an emotional one: a racing heart, fast breathing, sweating, muscle tension, an unsettled stomach and restlessness. In ordinary amounts it is a normal and useful reaction rather than a medical problem.
What is the body doing?
Anxiety switches on the same machinery that prepares for danger. Adrenaline and stress hormones are released, the heart speeds up, breathing quickens, blood is redirected toward the muscles and away from the gut, and attention narrows onto whatever seems threatening. That combination is useful when something has to be faced or escaped. It becomes a burden when it is triggered by a thought rather than an event, or when it stays switched on, since the same physical changes that help briefly are exhausting when sustained. The physical symptoms are genuinely produced by the body and are frequently mistaken for illness of the heart or gut, which is one reason anxiety often reaches a clinic as a physical complaint.
When does it become a disorder?
The line is drawn by proportion, persistence and interference, not by the presence of anxiety itself. A disorder is considered when the reaction is out of scale with the situation, continues over months, cannot easily be controlled, and disrupts work, relationships or ordinary activities of daily living. Avoidance is a common marker: a person begins arranging life around not encountering the trigger, and that shrinking of activity often causes more difficulty than the anxiety itself.
What are the main anxiety disorders?
| Disorder | What characterizes it |
|---|---|
| Generalized anxiety disorder | Persistent worry across many areas of life, hard to switch off |
| Panic disorder | Sudden surges of intense fear with strong physical symptoms, and dread of the next one |
| Social anxiety disorder | Fear of scrutiny or judgment in social situations |
| Specific phobia | Intense fear of a particular object or situation |
| Agoraphobia | Fear of places where escape or help would be difficult |
| Separation anxiety disorder | Excessive distress at being apart from particular people |
Obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder were once grouped here and are now classified separately in current diagnostic systems, though anxiety features prominently in both. Anxiety also accompanies physical conditions such as an overactive thyroid, and it is a recognized effect of some medicines, of caffeine and of withdrawal from alcohol or sedatives.
Used in a sentence
The patient described ongoing anxiety that had begun to interfere with sleep and daily activities.
Good to know
Anxiety in proportion to a situation is a normal response, and what distinguishes an anxiety disorder is its scale, persistence and interference with daily functioning rather than the presence of anxiety at all.
Word origin
Where “anxiety” comes from
From Latin anxietas, from anxius, meaning troubled in mind, and ultimately from angere, meaning to choke or press tight.