|
Anxiety is a feeling of being keyed
up and extra alert. Your heart may race or you may get “butterflies” in
your stomach. You may feel short of breath or generally jittery. You're
likely to have a feeling of impending danger.
These reactions are the way our bodies
prepare to cope with stress. All the senses become tuned up and on alert
in the presence of a threat. These reactions derive from the primitive
“fight or flight” response that enabled early humans to deal quickly
with dangerous situations.
Everyone is likely to have that kind of
anxiety response in urgent situations, such as a fire or other
emergency. But we also get these feelings in the course of our daily
routines. Time pressures, traffic tieups, social jitters, a new job, or
waiting for test results can all produce anxious feelings; and these
feelings are normal and healthy.
But anxiety ceases to be positive when it
is painful or prolonged, or when the response is out of proportion to
the cause. When anxiety interferes with your daily life or when it
becomes incapacitating fear, it becomes an illness called an anxiety
disorder.
Causes of Anxiety Disorder
The causes of anxiety disorder are not clear. Researchers
are currently investigating a number of factors including chemical imbalances, enzyme
deficiencies, hormones, the role of emotional traumas, and the interaction between
emotions and brain chemistry.
Next:
Diagnosing Anxiety Disorder |
