What is anxiety, what are its symptoms and how to treat it?
Anxiety comes unexpectedly – often when it is least convenient. You feel paralyzed, you can’t breathe, little streams of sweat make their way down your back. People experiencing these feelings for the first time often end up in the emergency room with a suspected heart attack or PN. A cycle of doctor’s appointments begins, from the heart to the stomach and colon. You want to spend less and less time at work, the stress and pressure of your job responsibilities are not helping. You may have been diagnosed with it too. Meet anxiety.
What is anxiety?
Anxiety, stress and fear are normal emotions that are evolutionarily beneficial to us.
Anxiety can be defined as a feeling of overwhelming nervousness and uncertain worry about the future.
Fear or stress is felt, for example, when we are exposed to a certain stimulus that we are afraid of (height/shad/darkness).
It is a short-term feeling of fear and stress that is reduced or completely ceases when we walk away from the stimulus.
Anxiety, however, has no concrete object; it is a vague feeling with no easily understood cause. It often arises at the mere thought of some threat to which we are not actually exposed. It is a kind of “forward” worry, a premonition of a threat without an objective cause in the here and now. We feel that we are not well, but we cannot say why or of what.
Its common symptoms include restlessness, sweating, and excessive heart palpitations. In reasonable doses, anxiety can help us overcome obstacles and can motivate us to achieve goals; however, when it becomes excessive or chronic, it can negatively affect an individual’s daily life and functioning. This is when we speak of an anxiety disorder.
What causes anxiety
Feelings and states of anxiety can have several causes, among the most common are:
- Workload: time pressure, high work demands and amount of work can lead to feelings of loss of control, high levels of stress and the onset of anxiety.
- Challenging life events: Prolonged exposure to stressful situations such as divorce, the loss of a job, financial problems, illness or the death of a loved one can be the basis for anxiety.
- Conflict: Lack of emotional support from loved ones or a conflicting environment increase the risk of anxiety disorders.
- Trauma: Negative childhood experiences (e.g., physical, emotional, or sexual abuse) are precursors to the development of anxiety disorders.
- Serotonin deficiency: Serotonin (or the “happiness hormone”) is a neurotransmitter that is responsible for the transmission of information between nerve cells. However, among other things, it affects our mood, sleep quality and appetite. Its deficiency can also manifest itself in feelings of anxiety.
- GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) deficiency: Like serotonin, GABA is a neurotransmitter whose deficiency causes hot flashes, excessive sweating, heart palpitations, insomnia and anxiety. In women, GABA deficiency occurs especially before menstruation or at menopause – this is also a cause of mood swings during this period.
- Elevated cortisol levels: Excess of this hormone can contribute to feelings of anxiety and tension. In the case of a hormonal disorder, it is the increased production of cortisol that can occur; the same scenario also occurs in Cushing’s syndrome, where a hormonally active pituitary adenoma produces large amounts of ACTH, resulting in overproduction of cortisol in the adrenal glands.
Often this is a combination of several causes, with an ‘explosion’ at some point in the form of an anxiety and panic attack.
What are the symptoms of anxiety states?
There are two types – physical symptoms and psychological/mental symptoms. Some symptoms show up on us, some don’t.
Physical symptoms
- Chest pressure
- Heart pounding (feeling like your heart is going to jump out of your chest)
- Shortness of breath (difficulty breathing, inability to catch your breath)
- Excessive sweating (hot or cold sweat)
- Shaking (trembling of the hands or whole body)
- Muscle tension (stiff or tight muscles)
- Gastrointestinal problems (nausea, stomach pain, diarrhea, feeling like vomiting)
- Dizziness and feeling faint
- Dry mouth
- Pressure in the throat/esophagus (‘lump in the throat’)
- Hot or cold flushes
Psychological symptoms
- Fear and panic (intense feelings of fear or terror, often with no apparent cause)
- Restlessness and nervousness (feeling tense, jittery)
- Difficulty concentrating (difficulty maintaining attention and completing tasks)
- Irritability (Increased sensitivity and mild irritability to minor stimuli)
- Emotional instability (mood swings)
You can find several “anxiety tests” on the internet today that tell you how severe your anxiety conditions are after answering a few questions; this type of online test is offered by Hedepy or Mental Health League, for example. However, such testing should in no way replace a diagnosis by a professional. Therefore, if you suffer from unpleasant feelings of fear or anxiety, contact a psychologist, psychotherapist or psychiatrist.
What is an anxiety disorder?
An anxiety disorder is a psychological condition characterised by excessive and unreasonable feelings of uncontrollable anxiety or fear, which can be so intense that they interfere with an individual’s daily functioning.
According to Forbes Health statistics from 2023, approximately 301 million people suffer from some form of anxiety, accounting for up to 4% of the world’s population. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) has data showing that anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorder in the EU, affecting up to 25 million people. What’s more, women are worse off compared to men – up to 2 times more likely to suffer from regular anxiety.
The most common triggers for anxiety are long-term stress, lack of sleep and rest, poor diet or medication; the physical manifestations of anxiety are almost identical across anxiety disorders.
What types of anxiety disorders are we familiar with?
Generalized anxiety disorder
The patient has constant feelings of fear and worry that ‘something is going to happen’. However, there may also be fears about the future, about work, about their health, and about their loved ones. Fear may also be triggered by ordinary situations, such as a work meeting or a doctor’s appointment. It is therefore not linked to fear of a particular situation or object. The disorder is mostly the result of exposure to long-term stress.
The most common symptoms:
- Irritability (the individual is often nervous, with increased irritability).
- Decreased concentration (difficulty concentrating).
- Inability to control fears.
- Inability to relax.
- Restlessness (need to move, inability to sit still).
- Fatigue (a patient with generalized anxiety disorder tends to tire more quickly physically and mentally).
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
It is also called “perfectionist disease”. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by recurrent unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and/or repetitive behaviors (compulsions) that force a person to repeatedly perform a certain activity, which can severely limit an individual’s daily life and functioning.
An example would be a fear of bacteria (obsession) that drives a person to wash their hands excessively (compulsion). Anxiety comes when an individual is unable to satisfy their obsession with a compulsion – for example to wash their hands in a dirty environment.
Other symptoms:
- Excessive control (the individual constantly checks to make sure doors are locked, appliances are turned off, lights are turned off, etc.).
- Counting (counting objects, steps or performing actions with a certain number of repetitions).
- Repeating words or phrases (repeating certain words, phrases or prayers as a ritual, often silently).
- Rituals (for example, arranging objects or avoiding certain numbers).
- Taboo thoughts (the person does not identify with their object, but still cannot get rid of them).
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a reaction to strongly negative experiences or shocking events, such as war, accidents, violent attacks or sexual abuse. The individual is constantly assaulted by memories of the traumatic event and may avoid places that remind him or her of it; other manifestations include mood changes, memory difficulties, sleep problems or irritability.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is best characterized by:
- Flashbacks (unwanted memories and the recurrent and intense re-enactment of the traumatic event as if it were happening again).
- Nightmares (frequent and frightening dreams related to the traumatic event).
- Physical and emotional reactions (intense anxiety when exposed to stimuli reminiscent of trauma).
- Avoidance of stimuli/places reminiscent of the traumatic event and repression of memories in an attempt to erase bad memories.
- Negative feelings (increased distrust and negative beliefs about self or environment).
- Increased vigilance (anticipation of danger).
- Insomnia.
Panic disorder
A disorder characterized by unexpected and recurrent panic attacks (sudden episodes of fear, restlessness). They may be accompanied by a variety of physical and psychological symptoms, e.g. heart pounding, sweating, shivering, inability to breathe or nausea. The individual may tend to avoid places associated with the traumatic event or places where the seizure occurred. In my case (author’s note), what was once a fondness for travel became a nightmare embodied by buses and other means of public transportation.
What is a panic attack?
It is a sudden attack of severe anxiety and fear that manifests itself in a series of several physical and psychological symptoms. Panic attacks are accompanied by unbearable feelings of fear of going mad or dying. The individual struggles with the idea that the outside world will think he or she is crazy; he or she fears the possibility of “going mad”.
What are the symptoms of a panic attack?
- Nausea and feeling like vomiting
- Malaise
- Shivering
- Sweating
- Hot or cold flashes
- Rapid heartbeat
- Pressure or pain in the chest
- Inability to breathe (the individual feels like he or she is choking)
This is how artificial intelligence depicts panic disorder according to the patient’s description.
Social anxiety disorder
This is also called ‘social phobia’. It is characterized by intense fear or anxiety in social situations where the individual may be judged or evaluated by others. This fear is excessive and can significantly affect a person’s daily life; in some cases, the individual may even avoid contact with the environment altogether.
Social phobia can be rooted in childhood (bullying, teasing), strict upbringing or trauma; however, according to therapist Christina Canuto, genetics play a significant role along with environmental factors – heritability rates range from 27% to 56%.
Symptoms of social anxiety disorder include:
- Fear of social situations in which the person is exposed to possible judgment by others.
- Fear of embarrassing oneself.
- Exaggerated (or unfounded) ideas about what others think of the person.
- Fear of others noticing signs of anxiety and panic.
- Fear of being the center of attention.
- Avoidance of society and social events, or extreme stress when they are not avoided.
Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is mainly manifested by a fear of open and large spaces or places from which there is no escape. Such a person tries to avoid situations that would lead to his presence in these places. This often leads to the person refusing to leave their home or travel on public transport.
According to H. Shafir, up to 87% of people diagnosed with agoraphobia also suffer from other mental illnesses (e.g. panic disorder). Symptoms of agoraphobia usually appear between the ages of 25 and 30. For some patients, even a simple lift ride or a visit to the shopping mall can be a huge challenge – such situations trigger major anxiety and panic attacks.
Agoraphobia in particular is characterized by:
- Anxiety caused by being (or the idea of being) in the open, in enclosed spaces (e.g. on a bus), in a crowd or outside the house = the individual fears that he or she will not get help in the event of a panic attack.
- Being in such an environment causes enormous stress for the patient; some people find it easier to cope with such situations when accompanied by a loved one.
- The symptoms bring significant limitations to the individual’s life.
- The individual knows that his or her actions are irrelevant, but is unable to control them.
Job anxiety? It can ruin your life
If staying at work or having a high workload is causing you excessive stress and anxiety, you should take heed. You may be worried about too much work and pressure to meet deadlines, fear of failure, an unsuitable working environment or even bad relationships in the workplace. Whatever your reasons, you shouldn’t leave it to chance.
In fact, not addressing such a problem is not only detrimental to your health, but also counterproductive; anxiety has a significant negative impact on work performance and impairs the quality of your work. Hand in hand with this, your irritability and reluctance to socialize with colleagues and friends alike also increases. So don’t be afraid to talk to your supervisor about your feelings and problems, take steps to adjust your time management or seek professional help.
How to overcome anxiety?
Pursue your hobbies – As predictable as this advice sounds, time spent on your favorite activities can actually completely stave off and “cure” manifestations of anxiety. Whether you prefer cycling, yoga or picture embroidery, these activities can help you come up with different thoughts and release muscle and nervous tension. Spending time enjoying hobbies or sports also flushes out the aforementioned serotonin and other ‘happiness hormones’.
Relaxation and meditation – Treat yourself to a moment of inner quiet during the day – whether it’s with good music or a book.
Get regular sleep – To give your body and brain enough rest, you should sleep at least 7 hours a day. Sleepy, you’ll see the world in brighter colors.
Psychotherapy – It is the most common form of treatment for anxiety. The goal is to learn how to manage or alleviate the symptoms of anxiety and panic attacks. Psychotherapy or psychological counseling can be done individually or in groups with a psychotherapist or psychologist.
Talk to a loved one – Don’t keep your worries to yourself. Feeling that you have someone close by who knows about your anxieties will help you realize the fact that you are not alone in this world.
Antidepressants and anxiolytics – Medications can be effective in helping to combat anxiety disorders, depression or phobias; the essence of how they work is to correct chemical imbalances in the brain’s neurotransmitters (see What Causes Anxiety).