Learn About Anxiety Disorder
Most people at some point in time will experience a situation that induces feeling of anxiety. It is a normal human emotion state that is triggered by situations that provoke a sense of fear or worry. However, when symptoms of excessive worry, dread, or fear become debilitating or cause isolation and avoidance, it is then referred to as anxiety disorder.
Anxiety emerges when a person encounters a situation, place, or person that causes them to feel afraid, threatened, or out of control. The body responds to the triggering event by releasing the brain chemicals cortisol and adrenaline, an event called the fight, flight, or freeze response. It is an innate protective mechanism that helps humans determine if something presents a danger to them and spurs them to action.
Anxiety disorders encompass a range of subtypes that each feature dysfunctional responses to stress-inducing triggers. Each subtype has unique characteristics, but all anxiety disorders involve some common physical and emotional symptoms. These include:
- Racing heart
- Sweating
- Shallow breathing, holding the breath
- Clenched jaw
- Irritability
- Insomnia
- Shortness of breath
- Shaking
- Stomach distress, diarrhea, nausea
- Feeling jumpy