Understanding Anxiety: Causes, Characteristics, and Coping Strategies - Free Essay Example

Anxiety

Anxiety refers to the body’s natural response and reflexes to the external stimuli that one experiences. It is also the fear and apprehension for the things that are to come, resulting in unease and feelings of discontentment about the current conditions. Events that are unpredictable or unwanted are considered to be stressful and trigger anxiety in the people concerned. Therefore, anxiety comes from both internal and external issues, which result in the development of discomfort and lack of confidence in both the present and the future (Edwards, 2014). While anxiety is normal to experience, when it occurs more rapidly and consistently for over six months, results in the person involved suffering from an anxiety disorder. This paper will explore the different aspects concerned with anxiety, such as the causes, characteristics, effects, and ways one can overcome and deal with anxiety and anxiety disorders.

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Mental Causes of Anxiety

The first cause of anxiety is the existence of panic disorders in the patients in question. Panic disorders are the instances where one has sudden attacks of panic and fear. The panic attacks occur as a result of the individual in question being under stressful situations (Thibaut, 2017). Stress results in uneasy feelings and the need for them to get out of the said situations. They feel uneasy and afraid of their surroundings, despite being in safe environments. Panic attacks cause both mental and physical symptoms, which come quickly for no reason or minimal provocation. Panic attacks last between 5 to 20 minutes, with some extreme cases lasting up to an hour (Thibaut, 2017). However, panic attacks do not pose a severe threat to the people concerned's physical health, although they may mean that one needs to get mental help for the issues that trigger panic attacks.

Secondly, one can suffer from generalized anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders occur when one is persistently worried about different things that are happening around them. In some instances, the worry may be justified. Simultaneously, there are some instances where the worry is not sensible but comes from excessive worrying, which results in one getting irrational worries. The people suffering from generalized anxiety disorder are always in anticipation of disaster. Therefore, they spend most of the time looking out for the instances through which things may go wrong. This results in people becoming too pessimistic and failing to enjoy their lives due to excessive and irrational worry. Women are likelier to suffer from generalized anxiety disorders, whereby they may be too worried about issues, with some of the concerns being genuine. At the same time, other instances may be from the possibility of being in anticipation of disaster to strike and the negativity of how one looks at things and expects them to go wrong (Melton & Kirkwood, 2017). The disorder begins slowly and builds up over time before it becomes full-blown. The causes of generalized anxiety disorder are unknown, although traumatic experiences in one's life, family backgrounds, and the individual's biological aspects are the major contributors. While it is customary to worry, people suffering from generalized anxiety disorders find it hard to stop worrying. The number of days when they are worrying is more than those when they are not worrying. The constant worry resulting from generalized anxiety disorder results in the physical manifestation of stomach aches and headaches.

Phobic disorders are another cause of anxiety. Phobic disorders refer to intense fears of some objects, situations, or places. When one is in the same environment as the objects or the places or situations, they have a phobia of panic attacks. Unlike the general anxiety disorders which come from worrying over everything in general, phobic disorders are specific to the source of anxiety. When one is in them, they suffer from mental and physical attacks as a result. The stress and fear that comes from the phobias are irrational. Although the people suffering from them realize that they suffer from irrational fears, they cannot do anything about it since the fears come from a mental perspective, which is hard to change (Melton & Kirkwood, 2017). The irrational fear interferes with the activities that one undertakes in life, resulting in the limitation of the actions that one can take part in, reducing people's productivity. Phobic disorders can be biological, with research showing that children from families whose members suffer from anxiety and other mental disorders are likely to suffer from phobic attacks. Traumatic life events also cause one to become phobic of the situations and environments in which they occur. For example, if one almost drowned or saw someone drowning, they would likely develop phobias for large water bodies.

Stress disorders are another cause of anxiety. Stress disorders come from being in stressful conditions for a long time. The stress may be emotional, mental, or physical. Still, they all result in one developing stress disorder, whereby they become used to being under pressure, although the stress harms their mental, physical, and emotional well-being (Melton & Kirkwood, 2017). Some of the stress disorders referred to above include obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and Post-traumatic stress disorders. People suffering from OCD feel the obsessive need to have everything in order, and whenever they do not find the situations not to be going in their favor, they develop stress. Therefore, due to the need to always be in control and have things working as they wish, people tend to be under constant stress and anxiety about what would happen if the items did not work out as they want to or planned.

On the other hand, people who have PTSD tend to be in constant stress over what happened to them in the past, and they stress over the possibility of the events occurring again in their lives and how they would be affected (Melton & Kirkwood, 2017). The traumatic experiences that one went through in the past affect how they operate in the present since they will be in constant fear of what would happen if they triggered situations that would result in the situations reoccurring in the present.

External Causes of Anxiety

Stress in one’s workplace may result in one suffering from anxiety. Anxiety may come from the work environments exerting too much pressure on the people working there. Some bosses may put excess pressure on their employees with demands to perform, also playing a direct role in the buildup of stress. There is also a possibility of the work environments being unhealthy and impossible to work in, creating tension and anxiety in the employees concerned. When this happens, the chance of enjoying their work and being productive in their work is limited (Zaman et al., 2010). The tough economic times have resulted in people being unsure of their job security, resulting in the people working there developing anxiety and stress over whether they will be laid off. There is also a possibility of stress coming from the educational responsibilities that one faces. There is immense pressure for people undertaking studies to perform and emerge as the best in their classes, which results in the people studying being in a state of constant worry and fear over what may happen to them should they fail to pass and meet the expectations of their families and themselves. The fear of failure in the academic studies that one undertakes results in the students putting themselves under extreme conditions, resulting in the buildup of anxiety and stress. Drastic measures such as reducing the time taken to sleep will result in the people concerned becoming sleep-deprived, resulting in the buildup of stress and more anxiety.

The personal relationships that one is in can also be a source of stress. The need to meet the requirements of associations, such as romantic relationships may result in one being under constant pressure. The need to impress and meet the standards set results in the said relationships becoming stressed. The buildup of stress will result in individuals suffering from anxiety over whether they live up to the said relationships' expectations (Zaman et al., 2010). There is also the possibility of financial pressure to be a reason for the buildup of stress and anxiety. The current times have seen poor economic performance, which has resulted in people being in constant worry over what the future holds for them. The fear over whether or not they will have jobs to support themselves and their dependents is a source of worry, which results in anxiety and stress.

The global occurrences and political unfolding are other sources of worry, stress, and anxiety. Global circumstances, such as the novel Coronavirus have left people in a state of concern and anxiety over their health and the fear of when the world will get back to normalcy. The virus's socioeconomic results have caused people to experience anxiety over when they will get back to normality and enjoy the socioeconomic activities and status before the virus (Zaman et al., 2010). Additionally, some people experience anxiety over the world's political scene, whereby the possibility of wars between countries and the rise of tension between nations results in them developing anxiety over what will happen to them due to their political or nationality (Zaman et al., 2010). Personal traumatic experiences also result in people being concerned with growing pressure. The traumatic experiences result in the people who suffered from them creating fear of the future and fear of what would happen should the traumatic experiences occur again. The fear of what would happen or the reoccurrence of traumatic experiences will result in the people concerned becoming fearful of living freely in the present, resulting in the people living in a state of constant worry and stress over their wellbeing.

The use of illegal drugs like cocaine and heroin results in one experiencing anxiety. The hallucinations that come from drug abuse result in the people using them experiencing irrational fears and phobias, which make them anxious and fearful of things that would not affect people in normal circumstances. The use of prescription drugs may also result in the development of anxiety as a side effect. Some drugs affect the body's chemical balance, resulting in one feeling helpless, fearful, or afraid of things that would not have worried them under normal circumstances. The hormonal imbalance will also result in the people concerned suffering from mental and emotional breakdowns, causing them to feel anxious and stressed irrationally (Zaman et al., 2010). Finally, being in difficult health conditions also increases the likelihood of suffering from mental breakdowns, fears, and anxiety. When one suffers from a severe disease, they are likely to suffer from anxiety over what will happen to them and what might occur if they cannot recover from the conditions.