Anxiety Through History Essay Example

general society functioning is being endangered with such anxiety disorders in the world today. The study will also add the literature available on anxiety and identify the gaps within the topic that would facilitated future research on the topic.

Introduction

Anxiety is critical part of human life with different levels of nervousness determining the positive or adverse effects of the condition in different individuals. Most individuals when exposed to new situations or experiences such as talking in front of a large crowd, representing to board of directors in the corporate world or even waiting to play in a big match could cause some degree of nervousness (Wehry et al, 2015).

Fortunately, such anxiety is not persistent or long lived thus, it can be articulated as a normal condition. However, on occasions where nervousness or uneasiness is overwhelming persistent that is often long live affecting individual live adversely, psychologically one could be said to have developed anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorder is described as psychological syndromes that are well characterized by persistent anxiety, prolonged distress and nervousness. Normal anxiety is often indefinite and disturbing while anxiety disorder is awfully debilitating that causes serious negative effects on the normal functioning of an individual (Rose, Matthias & Devine, 2014).

Anxiety vary from one individual depending on the stimulus that are present or what individual perceive threats that according to them are uncontrollable or unavoidable thus, causing extreme nervousness and apprehension or worrying. Hence, people may experience nervousness or worry when confronted with challenging situations such as interview, examinations or even performing in front of a large crowd. Such anxiety experience qualifies to be a disorder if it adversely interferes with the

ability to cope with his or her normal life. Therefore, anxiety disorder is the excessive nervousness and worries that often occurs for a prolonged period that result to negative effects in the human functioning.

Type of Anxiety Disorders

Psychologists has articulated several anxiety disorders that depends on the stimulus that triggered nervousness, the period of prolonged fear or worrying, or distress situations. There are five types of anxiety disorders that has been well defined within this scope of anxiety disorders that include generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), Post-Traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Panic disorders, Phobias and the Obsessive-Compulsive disorder (OCD).

All these forms of anxiety disorders have common physical symptoms such as insomnia, prolonged headaches, sweating, and a pounding heart (Bethany A., et al., 2012). Emotional symptoms can be severe causing extreme nervousness and dread feelings that often trouble or cause difficulties to concentrate on daily tasks such as school work, job which affects the productivity of individuals.

Generalized Anxiety Disorders (GAD)

It is anxiety disorder where individuals have a pronged anxious and worrying feelings that may last over six months that result to specific life dangers (Wehry et al, 2015). GAD is usually focused within a specific situations and life circumstances of an individual such as worry of job tenure, sickness of the loved ones or isolation from a peer group for the teens and school going children.

It has similar symptoms such as sweating, diarrhea, muscle tensions and aches, pounding heart and clammy hands (Wehry et al, 2015). The symptoms are not always common to all GAD patients as they depend on the stimulus and life experiences or circumstances from one individual to another.

Panic Stress

It

is a type of anxiety that is caused by emotional disturbance that is common among adults due to different adverse life experiences or prolonged fear of a situation in life. individuals with panic stress disorder have extremely over sympathetic responsive nerve system and often experience mild stressors over time (Rose, Matthias & Devine, 2014).

Phobias Disorder

It is a condition where individuals suffer for prolonged and irrational nervousness based on different situations, activity and unreasonable reality that could be perceived as a threat. Thus, often these individuals may show unrealistic fear to a situation which is very normal to others in the same context (Bethany A., et al., 2012).

Such behavior if prolonged would interfere with the normal functioning of these individuals in a long run or change how they perceive reality.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

The disorder is characterized with unwanted thoughts, adverse images or uncontrollable impulses that occur for a long period altering the preciseness of the individual’s reality (Wehry et al, 2015). Such uncontrollable thoughts or impulse happens due to repetitive or ritualized situation that are considered as a negative experience.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

It is a disorder that happens due to exposure to daunting experiences or traumatic events which often threatens or create a sense of helplessness in an individual’s life (Wehry et al, 2015). This traumatic events may have directly happened to the person or those close him or her and whether he or she witnessed such an event taking place. Traumatic events such as rape case, car crush, war or even kidnapping are well known to be the contributors of PTSD conditions among individuals (Rose, Matthias & Devine, 2014).

The

condition starts as a mild stress which develop into depressive behavior then into the full PTSD condition in the patient. Thus, following recent terrorist threats such the attack in Paris, the civil crisis in Syria, Somalia and Afghanistan that has cause refuge influx in the world today, anxiety treatment and awareness in paramount. Treatment that can be given to anxiety disorder patients include prescription of benzodiazepines, psychology canceling, creating support groups for these patients to speed-up the process of recovery.

Work Cited

1. Wehry, Anna M., et al. "Assessment and treatment of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents." Current psychiatry reports 17.7 (2015): 1-11.
2. Rose, Matthias, and Janine Devine. "Assessment of patient-reported symptoms of anxiety." Dialogues in clinical neuroscience 16.2 (2014): 197.
3. Teachman, Bethany A., et al. "Automaticity in anxiety disorders and major depressive disorder." Clinical psychology review 32.6 (2012): 575-603.