At what point is anxiety considered a disorder?

It is important to understand when anxiety can become a disorder and give it the appropriate treatment.

To differentiate them, it is important to start by defining them. The anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by feelings of emotional discomfort and nervousness, worried thoughts, and physical sensations such as sweating, muscle tension, and difficulty breathing.

It is part of the normal emotional response of any human being when faced with situations of uncertainty about the future and in which they feel that something valuable is at stake. For example, it is normal for me to have anxiety before an important midterm, a job interview or seeing a person I like, since all of these are situations in which we are not 100% certain about what will happen and they all represent something. things we want, like passing a class, getting a job, or starting a romantic relationship.

For its part, Anxiety disorders are different mental health conditions in which a particular situation or object awakens an exacerbated anxiety response that remains in time and it turns out very difficult to handle. Additionally, symptoms can interfere with daily activities, such as performance at work, school, and family and personal relationships.

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What are the types of anxiety disorder?

Currently the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) defines the following anxiety disorders:

• Separation anxiety disorder: excessive and inappropriate fear or anxiety for the individual’s level of development concerning separation from those to whom he or she feels attached.
• Selective mutism: constant failure to speak in specific social situations where there is an expectation, for example, at school; despite doing so in other situations.
• Specific phobia: intense fear or anxiety about a specific object or situation, for example, flying, heights, animals, giving an injection, seeing blood.
• Social anxiety disorder (social phobia): Fear or intense anxiety in one or more social situations in which the individual is exposed to possible examination by other people. Examples include social interactions (e.g., having a conversation, meeting strangers), being watched (e.g., eating or drinking), and performing in front of other people (e.g., giving a talk).
• Panic disorder: Recurrent unexpected panic attacks. A panic attack is the sudden appearance of intense fear or intense discomfort that reaches its maximum expression within minutes and during this time physical symptoms of discomfort occur.
• Agoraphobia: intense fear or anxiety about two (or more) of the following five situations:

1. Use of public transportation such as cars, buses, trains, boats, airplanes.
2. Being in open spaces such as parking areas, markets, bridges.
3. Being in closed places such as stores, theaters, cinemas.
4. Stand in line or be in the middle of a crowd.
5. Being away from home alone.

• Generalized anxiety disorder: Excessive anxiety and worry (apprehensive anticipation), occurring for more days than you have been absent for at least six months, in relation to various events or activities such as work or school.
• Substance/medication-induced anxiety disorder: A panic attack occurs due to the consumption of some medication.
• Anxiety disorder due to another medical condition: panic attacks caused by the presence of a medical condition.
• Other specified or unspecified anxiety disorders: anxiety conditions that do not fit into the framework of other disorders, but the person presents discomfort, panic episodes and other situations that generate difficulties in daily life.

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How does a person with anxiety feel?

The most common signs and symptoms of anxiety include the following:

• Feeling nervous, agitated, or tense
• Feeling of imminent danger, panic or catastrophe
• Increased heart rate
• Rapid breathing (hyperventilation)
• Sweating
• Tremors
• Feeling weak or tired
• Trouble concentrating or thinking about anything other than the current worry
• Having trouble falling asleep
• Suffering from gastrointestinal (GI) problems
• Having difficulty controlling worries
• Having the need to avoid situations that generate anxiety

Can a person have multiple anxiety disorders?

Yes, it is possible for a person to present different conditions related to anxiety.

Is it possible to prevent the development of an anxiety disorder?

There is no way to avoid it because there are different elements that can cause these disorders to occur, however, it is possible to use tools that help us better manage anxiety and prevent the discomfort it generates from being very strong:

• Learn more about the subject and learn to identify your own triggers: for this it can be very useful to ask for help from a professional, who will guide you and allow you to better understand how anxiety occurs in you.
• Don’t stop doing things: it is very valuable to have different activities that give you gratification, sometimes anxiety leads us to leave some things aside, but try not to do it.
• Ask for help if you need it: in case of an episode, do not hesitate to ask your friends, family or a professional for support.
• Do not use substances, games, shopping, food, among other actions or activities to regulate your anxiety.

When should they be treated?

At the moment when you feel that anxiety begins to affect your daily life and prevents you from carrying out activities that you previously did normally, when your physical health is affected and/or when your personal relationships are affected.

When we talk about anxiety disorders, we are not talking about cures, we are talking about strategies that allow us to better understand the way in which anxiety works, according to the particular case of each person, so that they can learn to manage it better, avoiding the generation of difficulties. in the development of daily life.

For the diagnosis of an anxiety disorder, it must occur most of the day, almost every day, for a minimum period of 6 months. After this, anxiety is a condition that can be present for the rest of your life in greater or lesser intensity. Now, if we talk about the duration of a panic episode, it lasts only a few minutes.

Learn in the first chapter of What it’s like to live with… the testimony of two women who live with an anxiety disorder: