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Anxiety: Overview

Anxiety: Overview

Anxiety is a common mental disorder featuring excessive worry, fear, and apprehension, significantly affecting daily life. People with anxiety disorders experience persistent and intense anxiety, interrupting their everyday functioning.
Individuals with anxiety often experience a range of physical and emotional symptoms, including sweating, trembling, tachycardia, and disturbances in sleep patterns. These symptoms vary in intensity and frequency but are generally disruptive and distressing.

Tension

Tension

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a chronic condition characterized by excessive and uncontrollable worry that persists for at least six months, significantly interfering with daily functioning. Unlike situational anxiety, which arises in response to specific stressors, GAD often occurs without a clear cause. Individuals may experience disproportionate worry about work, health, or relationships. For instance, a person might continuously fear poor health despite normal medical evaluations or...

Panic Disorder

Panic Disorder

Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by recurrent and sudden minutes-long episodes of intense fear, known as panic attacks. These attacks may feel like heart attacks and often happen without warning or a specific cause. They can include symptoms such as rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, chest pain, trembling, sweating, dizziness, and a sense of helplessness. During a panic attack, individuals may feel as though they are experiencing a heart attack or are in a...

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Anxiolytic drugs are vital in managing anxiety disorders by effectively alleviating symptoms such as excessive fear, tachycardia, and tremors. There are several classes of anxiolytic medications, each with unique mechanisms of action and potential side effects.
Primary Types of Anxiolytic Drugs
1. Benzodiazepines:
Benzodiazepines bind to the GABA-A receptor in the brain, enhancing GABA's interaction. This action reduces neurotransmission, effectively blocking anxiety-associated limbic...

Social Anxiety Disorder

Social Anxiety Disorder

Social anxiety disorder, also known as social phobia, is characterized by an intense fear of social situations where one might face humiliation, rejection, embarrassment, or negative evaluation. This disorder leads individuals to avoid activities like casual conversations, public speaking, or seemingly simple tasks such as eating, signing documents, or swimming, in public settings. Its impact extends beyond discomfort, often significantly interfering with daily functioning and quality of life.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 18, 2026

Reducing State Anxiety Using Working Memory Maintenance

Reducing State Anxiety Using Working Memory Maintenance

Published on: July 19, 2017

Anxiety.

Nursing Standard (Royal College of Nursing (Great Britain) : 1987)

|July 14, 2016

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Anxiety is a normal fear response, but persistent or overwhelming anxiety may indicate an anxiety disorder. These disorders, like panic disorder, affect approximately 10% of the population.

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Last Updated: Mar 18, 2026

Reducing State Anxiety Using Working Memory Maintenance

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Using the Threat Probability Task to Assess Anxiety and Fear During Uncertain and Certain Threat

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Area of Science:

Psychiatry
Mental Health
Psychology

Background:

Anxiety is a natural human emotion experienced during stressful situations.
When anxiety becomes overwhelming or persistent, it can signify an anxiety disorder.

Purpose of the Study:

To define anxiety and differentiate between normal anxiety responses and anxiety disorders.
To highlight the prevalence of anxiety disorders.

Main Methods:

Information synthesized from The Royal College of Psychiatrists.
Definition and classification of anxiety and anxiety disorders.

Main Results:

Anxiety disorders encompass conditions such as panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and social anxiety disorder.
Approximately one in ten individuals are affected by anxiety disorders.

Conclusions:

Understanding the distinction between normal anxiety and clinical anxiety disorders is crucial.
Anxiety disorders represent a significant public health concern due to their prevalence.