Anxiety is often dismissed as mere “worrying” — but for millions of people, it is a chronic condition that profoundly alters daily life. While everyone feels occasional stress, anxiety disorders involve persistent, excessive fear that does not go away and can worsen over time.
It can be helpful to understand the difference between functional anxiety and dysfunctional anxiety. Functional anxiety is temporary and is usually a response to a situation, such as a big exam, a job interview or a date. Symptoms of an anxiety disorder last more than six months and are disproportionate to the actual threat and interfere with daily life. For example, an individual may avoid going to the grocery store out of fear of feeling trapped or judged by others.
Symptoms of anxiety can include a racing heart, sleep disturbances, digestive issues, irritability, difficulty concentrating, a feeling of impending doom, and avoidance of places or social situations.
Anxiety disorders can be caused by several individual factors or multiple factors that interplay. An individual may have a family history of anxiety, they may have imbalances in neurotransmitters such as GABA or serotonin, they may have experienced childhood trauma or chronic stress from work, they may have a medical condition that triggers anxiety symptoms, such as thyroid problems, or they may experience a mix of these scenarios.
Anxiety symptoms and disorders are highly treatable, with the most common form of psychotherapy being cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). It can be common for an individual with anxiety to catastrophize their thoughts, ruminate or think more negatively. CBT identifies these maladaptive thoughts and challenges you to replace them with healthier thought patterns. Medications — such as SSRIs, SNRIs and beta-blockers — can be another way to make anxiety symptoms more manageable.
Finally, regular exercise, reducing caffeine intake, increasing sleep, and eating a healthy diet are lifestyle changes you can make to help alleviate anxiety symptoms. It can be difficult and scary to reach out for help, but it is important to do so when anxiety symptoms feel intense and unmanageable. Making positive lifestyle changes and engaging in psychotherapy can help ensure that our everyday “worrying” does not develop into something excessive and dysfunctional.
