Anxiety disorder
Anxiety disorders are a group of mental disorders characterized by significant and uncontrollable feelings of anxiety and fear[2] such that a person's social, occupational, and personal functions are significantly impaired.[2] Anxiety may cause physical and cognitive symptoms, such as restlessness, irritability, easy fatigue, difficulty concentrating, increased heart rate, chest pain, abdominal pain, and a variety of other symptoms that may vary based on the individual.[2]
Anxiety disorder
Worrying, fast heart rate, shakiness[2]
Depression, trouble sleeping, poor quality of life, substance use disorder, alcohol use disorder, suicide[3]
15–35 years old[4]
Child abuse, family history, poverty[4]
Hyperthyroidism; heart disease; caffeine, alcohol, cannabis use; withdrawal from certain drugs[4][6]
Lifestyle changes, counselling, medications[4]
In casual discourse, the words anxiety and fear are often used interchangeably. In clinical usage, they have distinct meanings; anxiety is clinically defined as an unpleasant emotional state for which the cause is either not readily identified or perceived to be uncontrollable or unavoidable, whereas fear is clinically defined as an emotional and physiological response to a recognized external threat.[8] The umbrella term 'anxiety disorder' refers to a number of specific disorders that include fears (phobias) and/or anxiety symptoms.[2]
There are several types of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder, hypochondriasis, specific phobia, social anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, panic disorder, and selective mutism.[2] Individual disorders can be diagnosed using the specific and unique symptoms, triggering events, and timing of a given person.[2] A medical professional must evaluate a person before diagnosing them with an anxiety disorder to ensure that their anxiety cannot be attributed to another medical illness or mental disorder.[2] It is possible for an individual to have more than one anxiety disorder during their life or to have more than one anxiety disorder at the same time.[2]
Anxiety disorders are the most common type of mental disorder. They affect nearly 30% of adults at some point in their lives, with an estimated 4% of the global population currently experiencing an anxiety disorder. However, anxiety disorders are treatable, and a number of effective treatments are available.[9] Most people are able to lead normal, productive lives with some form of treatment.[10]
Prevention[edit]
Focus is increasing on the prevention of anxiety disorders.[56] There is tentative evidence to support the use of cognitive behavioral therapy[56] and mindfulness therapy.[57][58] A 2013 review found no effective measures to prevent GAD in adults.[59] A 2017 review found that psychological and educational interventions had a small benefit for the prevention of anxiety.[60][61] Research indicates that predictors of the emergence of anxiety disorders partly differ from the factors that predict their persistence.[62]
Perception and discrimination[edit]
Stigma[edit]
People with an anxiety disorder may be challenged by prejudices and stereotypes held by other people, most likely as a result of misconceptions around anxiety and anxiety disorders.[63] Misconceptions found in a data analysis from the National Survey of Mental Health Literacy and Stigma include: (1) many people believe anxiety is not a real medical illness; and (2) many people believe that people with anxiety could turn it off if they wanted to.[64] For people experiencing the physical and mental symptoms of an anxiety disorder, stigma and negative social perception can make an individual less likely to seek treatment.[64]
Prejudice that some people with mental illness turn against themselves is called self-stigma.[63]
There is no explicit evidence for the exact cause of stigma towards anxiety. Stigma can be divided by social scale, into the macro, intermediate, and micro levels. The macro-level marks society as a whole with the influence of mass media. The intermediate level includes healthcare professionals and their perspectives. The micro-level details the individual's contributions to the process through self-stigmatization.[65]
Stigma can be described in three conceptual ways: cognitive, emotional, and behavioral. This allows for differentiation between stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination.[65]
Epidemiology[edit]
Globally, as of 2010, approximately 273 million (4.5% of the population) had an anxiety disorder.[94] It is more common in females (5.2%) than males (2.8%).[94]
In Europe, Africa, and Asia, lifetime rates of anxiety disorders are between 9 and 16%, and yearly rates are between 4 and 7%.[95] In the United States, the lifetime prevalence of anxiety disorders is about 29%,[96] and between 11 and 18% of adults have the condition in a given year.[95] This difference is affected by the range of ways in which different cultures interpret anxiety symptoms and what they consider to be normative behavior.[97][98] In general, anxiety disorders represent the most prevalent psychiatric condition in the United States, outside of substance use disorder.[99]
Like adults, children can experience anxiety disorders; between 10 and 20 percent of all children will develop a full-fledged anxiety disorder prior to the age of 18,[100] making anxiety the most common mental health issue in young people. Anxiety disorders in children are often more challenging to identify than their adult counterparts, owing to the difficulty many parents face in discerning them from normal childhood fears. Likewise, anxiety in children is sometimes misdiagnosed as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or, due to the tendency of children to interpret their emotions physically (as stomachaches, headaches, etc.), anxiety disorders may initially be confused with physical ailments.[101]
Anxiety in children has a variety of causes; sometimes anxiety is rooted in biology and may be a product of another existing condition, such as autism spectrum disorder.[102] Gifted children are also often more prone to excessive anxiety than non-gifted children.[103] Other cases of anxiety arise from the child having experienced a traumatic event of some kind, and in some cases, the cause of the child's anxiety cannot be pinpointed.[104]
Anxiety in children tends to manifest along age-appropriate themes, such as fear of going to school (not related to bullying) or not performing well enough at school, fear of social rejection, fear of something happening to loved ones, etc. What separates disordered anxiety from normal childhood anxiety is the duration and intensity of the fears involved.[101]
According to 2011 study, people who high in hypercompetitive traits are at increased risk of both anxiety and depression.[105]