Pathological anxiety is an ever-increasing disorder and is associated with the emotions we are experiencing.
However, anxiety is a physiological condition of the body and we need to deal with the danger situations. It manifests itself with sensations of strong discomfort and alarm state. Therefore, its function would be to enable us to address situations that could cause serious damage.
We all experience anxiety in life …
Who has never experienced it during an important meeting or before an exam?
A bit like feeling put to the test. Fortunately, however, in these cases, it is only a transient anxiety, which disappears as soon as the situation that caused it has ended. In fact, there is no longer any reason to feel anxious, whether meeting with the person we were very busy with was good or whether the exam was dealt with.
However, the situation becomes more complicated when anxiety does not go away with the passing of the event that it has procured but becomes a condition of constant tension and apprehension, which does not match in a real, precise situation. Then we fall into pathological anxiety.
What Is an Anxiety Disorder?
Pathological anxiety is not just a transient discomfort, but an abnormal reaction to the mind, which interferes with the normal occurrence of daily life. It is characterized by a painful feeling of waiting, as if something unpleasant happens from one moment to the next, a sort of internal threat, before which we feel helpless.
When we talk of pathological anxiety, we refer to a class of anxiety disorders that take on different entities, are characterized by a set of symptoms, and can be enclosed in six main typologies.
The 5 Types of Anxiety
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
The Disorder Generalized Anxiety is characterized by an internal state of permanent agitation that does not allow you to cope with life events, because they were considered too big and too difficult to deal with.
Even everyday things, which are mostly neutral emotional, cause an unbearable state of anxiety.
They come to mind, catastrophic thoughts and you lose the ability to evaluate reality for what it really is. Apprehension is continuous and is always in a state of alert, without there being anything to be feared.
The reactions are of high intensity and disproportionate to the objective facts.
It is not necessarily reactive to external stimuli, even if periods of excessive stress or a generally unfavorable environment can spark or aggravate the events.
It is often accentuated for particularly critical periods or when challenging choices have to be made.
It is more common among women who suffer with double frequency than men.
Causes can be traced back to traumatic experiences in life or to witnessing dramatic events during childhood.
Panic Attacks Disorder
The Panic Attacks Disorder is manifested by acute attacks of intense anxiety, they can last 15 to 30 minutes, during which the person thinks of dying.
It is an extreme state of apprehension and great discomfort. The main feature is the experience of terror, which accompanies a paralyzing anguish.
They can come suddenly, even without apparent cause. They manifest themselves with symptoms such as …
- Tachycardia
- Difficulty breathing
- Fear of dying or having a heart attack
- Fear of crazy
- Strong chest pains
- Stunning and sense of unreality
- Chills and tremors
- Dissociation, perception of not being in your body
- Terror and strong anguish, as if something horrible is going to happen
The panic attack is a terrible and usually sudden and unexpected experience … The fear of a new attack immediately becomes strong and dominant, so that you immediately find yourself overlooked by an endless vicious circle where the fear of fear prevails.
They are very common and may appear at a young age, are most common among women.
Among the most common causes we find …
- Stressful situations
- Lute or leakage
- Childhood history of physical or sexual abuse
Hypochondrial Disorder
The main feature of hypochondria is moderate anxiety linked to the conviction of having a serious illness.
Obviously, based on incorrect interpretation of one or more physical signs or symptoms. Persuasion persists despite medical reassurance.
Usually hypocondial sufferers have a long medical history behind and feel they do not receive the proper care.
In hypochondria, also called phobia of illness, worries can affect many devices at different times or simultaneously.
Compulsive Obsessive Disorder
The compulsive obsessive disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by obsessions and compulsions. It may be present in infancy even though the major incidence is between 15 and 25 years.
It may appear with obsessions and compulsions or only with obsessions, which significantly interfere with the occurrence of daily life. It involves a marked suffering and compromises normal social and work performance.
The main features of this disorder are …
- Repetition and persistence of obsessions
- The feeling that obsessions are something imposed and unreasonable
Obsessions are intrusive and annoying and come as ideas, thoughts, impulses, or images that suddenly come to mind.
These intrusive thoughts come to mind insistently and there is no way to cast them out. They occupy the mind in a lasting and continuous way and provide great suffering and discomfort.
To neutralize obsessive thoughts, rituals or compulsions must be made, consisting of mental and behavioral actions that represent a solution attempt.
For example, continue to wash your hands to avoid contamination, avoid touching door handles or wearing gloves … Pray to neutralize an obsession of the kind: “I remembered a number that hurt” … And so on.
The compulsive obsessive disorder does not leave room or space to be devoted to something else, exhausts and leaves exhausted.
It’s more common among men. Almost never episodic, chronicizes and aggravates until it reaches levels of total impairment of functioning in various areas of life.
Social Anxiety Disorder
The social anxiety disorder is the persistent fear of certain social situations. There is a fear of being exposed to the judgment of others. They are terrified of being able to do something that can humiliate them.
The most commonly feared situations are …
- Getting in touch with someone you do not know
- Do something in the presence of others, such as writing, telephoning or working when you are observed
- Speaking in public
- Meet outsiders
The social anxiety is a very common disorder and is more common among men.
If not cared for, it tends to become chronic and can often lead to other disorders such as Depression or Personality Disorder.
How to intervene
Pathological anxiety arises in ancient conflicts and wounds more or less deep that have to do with the image of self and their own personal value.
The first thing to do to improve anxiety is to start working on your own perceptions and identity. This involves knowing better and analyzing your inner life.
Realizing proper self-knowledge means starting to believe more in oneself, restoring the level of self-esteem, as well as believing in one’s own goals and values.
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