by Tarek Musslimani

Created on: November 05, 2009   Last Updated: January 19, 2010

Anxiety is a reaction of the individual to a sterssful or threatening event. This reaction is considered normal if there is a real event that triggers the anxiety such as a stress or imminent threat that the individual is facing.

It is considered pathological only if there is nothing to justify the tension or anxiety the person is experiencing. This behaviour is then considered to be maladaptive due to its occurence in situations that do not justify its existence.

Anxiety includes a group of disorders in which the anxiety is the main symptom that the individual experiences. These disorders include: generalized anxiety and panic disorder.

The other group of anxiety includes the phobias and obsessive compulsive syndrom. In these disorders the anxiety is experienced only when the individual tries to control an abnormal behaviour such as a compulsion to do something frequently.

Post traumatic stress disorder is another condition that is associated with anxiety, which arises after a traumatic event.

There are four types of symptoms for anxiety. These are first: symptoms that pertain to body function and which are called physiological symptoms. They include for example excessive perspiration and increased heart rate due to a stressful event that the individual faces.

These physiological symptoms are related to stimulation of the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system which is mediated by epinephrine and norepinephrine.

The second type of anxiety symptoms that are experienced during an anxiety or panic attacks is related to cognition or thinking. The person in anxiety situations thinks he is going to be suffocated or is going to die for example. This is a type of cognition that is experienced during panic attacks for example.

The third symptom that is experienced during anxiety is related to behavior of the individual. For example a person experiencing anxiety attack may standstill until someone comes and help him.

The last symptom associated with anxiety is related to the emotional state of the individual. This is manifested as dread and fear of the situation that is triggering the anxiety.

These symptoms are considered normal or adaptive in the face of a real threat but are considered abnormal or maladaptive in situations that normally do not trigger anxiety.

Panic disorders are considered as anxiety disorder and are defined as episodes of overwhelming fear and tremor which can be accompanied with shortness of breath and perspiration and increased

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