1. Anxiety
UGA PEDB Program
While anxiety can help motivate us and was once thought to be an advantage in certain evolutionary aspects, excessive levels of anxiety can have a negative impact on your quality of life.
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is characterized by a state of worry, apprehension, or tension that often occurs in the absence of real or obvious danger. Anxiety can be classified in three ways: acutely (state anxiety), chronically (trait anxiety), and anxiety disorders. State anxiety refers to an immediate psychological and physiological response to a perceived threat. Have you ever felt your heart race right before a test, did you feel worried? If so, then you have experienced state anxiety. It is natural for acute anxiety responses to occur in certain situations.
Trait anxiety is a personality characteristic that refers to an individual’s propensity to perceive situations as threatening. Those with high trait anxiety are more likely to experience anxiety with greater intensity and frequency than those with low trait anxiety.
One of the critical factors for a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder is anxiety that impairs your ability to function in daily life. Anxiety disorders include, generalized anxiety, social anxiety, separation anxiety, selective mutism, phobias, panic, and agoraphobia. Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental health issues. Approximately 31% of females and 19% of males in the U.S will develop an anxiety disorder at some point in their life1. You or someone you know will likely develop an anxiety disorder during your lifetime.
Development and Symptoms
Like cardiovascular diseases or cancer, mental health disorders have both a biological basis and environmental risk factors. Anxiety disorders are much higher in females. Females are nearly twice as likely as males to develop an anxiety disorder. Genetic and biological factors contribute to an individual’s risk of developing an anxiety disorder. Individuals with a first degree relative with an anxiety disorder are at a greater risk of developing a disorder. Genetic factors contribute to the development of an anxiety disorder, anywhere from 20-46%. While having a gene related to anxiety does not guarantee that someone will develop anxiety, our genes respond to the environment. Environmental factors such as low household income, parenting style, and exposure to trauma also contribute to the development of anxiety disorders. It is the interaction between an individual’s environment and genetic make-up that impacts their propensity towards an anxiety disorder.
General themes across all the disorders include:
- A heightened sense of worry or apprehension in response to stressful stimuli, or an interpretation of a neutral stimulus as threatening.
- Excessive tension, elevated heart rate, an increase in respiration, sweating, gastrointestinal discomfort, or feelings of restlessness.
- Another key characteristic of anxiety is avoidance. People with anxiety disorders avoid