Anxiety Info

By Author: Sulamita Berrezi
Total Articles: 115
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Anxiety in humans is variously defined as an emotion or a physiological condition. It can be understood as a complex response to an object or event that arouses apprehension. Anxiety involves biochemical and neuromuscular changes in the body, memories of past events (including personal history), anticipation of future events, and appraisal of the present situation. In contrast to fear, which is a reaction to an immediate external physical threat (such as a fire, a dangerous animal or person, or a sudden,sharp pain), anxiety is an unpleasant state of uneasiness that may not have a clear or obvious present cause-it can arise before a threat materializes and persist after the threat has passed. While animals clearly experience fear, as far as is known only humans undergo anxiety.Anxiety as a biochemical response to stress.In humans, the biochemical response to a stressful or anxiety-provoking situation is known as the "fight-or-flight" reaction. It begins with the activation of a section of the brain called the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system, or HPA. This system first causes the release of steroid hormones, which are also ...
... known as glucocorticoids. These hormones include cortisol, the primary stress hormone in humans.
The HPA system then releases a set of neurotransmitters called catecholamines. The catecholamines include dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine (also known as adrenaline). Following the release of the catecholamines, a human's heart rate and blood pressure rise; the person breathes more rapidly, which allows the lungs to take in more oxygen. Blood flow to the muscles, lungs, and brain may increase by 300%-400%. The spleen releases more blood cells into the circulation, which increases the blood's ability to carry oxygen. The immune system redirects white blood cells to the skin, bone marrow, and lymph nodes; these are areas where injury or infection is most likely. At the same time, nonessential body systems shut down. The skin becomes cool and sweaty as blood is drawn away from it toward the heart and muscles. The mouth becomes dry, and the digestive system slows down; the person may feel queasy or nauseated.Some degree of anxiety is adaptive in humans; it helps them to prepare for the future and devise strategies to prevent or lower the risk of dangerous or stressful situations. For example, a person who is anxious about a hurricane forecast is motivated to purchase food and secure their house or consider evacuating. On the other hand, too much anxiety is harmful because it interferes with psychological as well as physical functioning. If anxiety is not relieved within a reasonable period of time, the organ systems of the body do not have the opportunity to return fully to normal levels. Different organs become under- or overactivated on a long-term basis. In time, these abnormal levels of activity can damage the body.People vary in their susceptibility to anxiety on the basis of temperament and possibly other genetic factors. A psychologist named Spielberger introduced a useful distinction between what he called state and trait anxiety in the early 1970s. State anxiety refers to the unpleasant physical sensations associated with fear experienced in the face of a threat, as described earlier. The threat can be physical, psychological, or both. State anxiety implies a cognitive evaluation; a person experiencing this type of anxiety must believe on some level that a specific situation is in fact dangerous or threatening. Typically, the person feels less anxious after the stressful event is over.Trait anxiety, on the other hand, refers to an aspect of personality-namely, a tendency to experience state anxiety when confronted with a threat-that remains stable in a specific individual over time but varies from one individual to another. In other words, some people are more susceptible than others to feel anxious in response to low-level threats or stressors.