What Is Anxiety?

On a beautiful spring day, I am standing outside, looking at the magnificent forest in Mount Hermon, California. Butterflies are flying around in my stomach. I feel nauseous. I am thinking, Please don’t throw up. My legs feel weak, my hands clammy. My breathing is shallow, and my heart is racing. I feel tension throughout my back and neck. I am perspiring as if it is a ninety-degree day. I question my sanity. What is happening?
Anxiety is a challenging emotion, defined as “fear or nervousness about what might happen” (italics added).[i] Anxious thoughts usually start with “what if.” Many people with anxious thoughts have vivid images that support their anxiety. We all experience anxiety and fear.
Fear is defined as “a strong unpleasant feeling caused by being aware of danger or expecting something bad to happen.”[ii] The main difference between fear and anxiety is that fear includes awareness of danger. When I talk about fear, worry, or anxiety, I’m referring to the “what ifs” with which we battle. I am not talking about the fear we experience when we are in real danger or need to solve a problem. We need to be aware of real danger in order to survive. Most of what we struggle with in relation to anxiety is inaccurately perceived danger or fears of the future, not life-threatening situations.
What’s important to understand here is that when we experience an irrational fear, we have the same physical response as when we are in real danger. Our bodies go into a fight, flight, or freeze mode. The fight, flight, or freeze response is an automatic physical reaction that activates when we perceive we are in a dangerous situation.
Some of the physical symptoms during a fight, flight, or freeze response might be an increase in heart rate, sweaty palms, shallow and rapid breathing, muscle tension, and nausea. Do these symptoms sound similar to how you feel when you are anxious? If we are worried about something that might happen or something that is happening but isn’t life-threatening, we will still have a fight, flight, or freeze response. Your body cannot tell the difference between perceived danger and real danger. Repeated responses to dangers that aren’t real will take a toll on our bodies and our minds.
In my Mount Hermon story at the beginning of this post, I was experiencing a great deal of anxiety about what might happen. I was not in a life-threatening situation. I was attempting to work through my phobia of heights, so I was zip-lining.
To calm myself, I took deep breaths. I attempted muscle relaxation, and I reminded myself of the verses I had planned to say over and over in my mind. The memorization that helped me during times of anxious thoughts were: “So do not fear for I am with you, do not be dismayed for I am your God, I will strengthen you and help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). And “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).
I’m happy to say, “I did it!” I may have screamed every time and hugged each tree I soared to, but I did it. I want to be honest with you, I did not enjoy myself, nor would I do it again, but I am delighted I reached my goal. My fear of heights is not gone, but each time I expose my fear to a more relaxed body and mind, the less anxiety I will experience.
Many levels of anxiety exist. Some are at a level that is considered a “disorder.” Don’t let that scare you. This doesn’t mean you have a diagnosable anxiety disorder. Even if you do, there is no reason to be ashamed. As you will see, anxiety is a common issue in our mental well being. We all feel anxious at times, and for some of us, a great deal of the time.
Here are a few facts about anxiety. First, forty million Americans suffer from some kind of anxiety disorder. Women are twice as likely to be afflicted as men. Unfortunately, only one third of suffers seek help. In addition, there is strong evidence that people who suffer from anxiety are at greater risk for developing a number of chronic health conditions.[iii]
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders V (DSM-5) is a manual mental health professionals use to determine if a person meets the criteria for a mental disorder. The DSM-5covers all categories of mental health illnesses for both adults and children. To keep it simple, I’m going to mention only the more common anxiety disorders to give you a general idea of what anxiety illnesses look like. Only a professional can evaluate an individual and determine the proper diagnosis.
The most common anxiety disorder is Social-Anxiety Disorder (SAD), which is “Marked fear of being exposed to possible scrutiny by others in social situations.”[iv] People experience enough anxiety that they avoid most social situations or endure them with intense fear. SAD affects about 6.8 percent of the U.S. population. It is equally common among men and women. Social-Anxiety Disorder often begins around the age of 13.[v]
General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is also common, affecting 6.8 million adults in the U.S.[vi] GAD is what it sounds like, a generalized anxiety that is excessive. Most “worriers” experience anxiety about 55 minutes a day, while a person with GAD suffers over 300 minutes a day.[vii]  There must be significant clinical distress for at least six months in order to meet the criteria for this diagnosis.[viii] Women are twice as likely to be affected as men. Major depression often co-exists with GAD. Unfortunately, only 43.2 percent of people suffering from GAD seek treatment.[ix]
Another form of anxiety is Panic Disorder, which is recurrent unexpected panic attacks. Intense fear peaks within minutes, with physical symptoms such as heart palpitations, sweating, shaking, nausea, and chest pain.[x] In addition, people experience significant anxiety due to fear that they will have another attack. Panic Disorder affects six million adults. Women are twice as likely to receive this diagnosis.[xi]
Specific Phobias are a fear of a specific object or situation, such as, flying, heights, certain animals, enclosed spaces, or seeing blood. The phobic situation or object provokes immediate anxiety. Women are twice as likely to suffer from phobias than men. Symptoms typically begin in childhood.[xii]
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is the presence of obsessions (recurrent and persistent thoughts) and/or compulsions (repetitive behaviors) that take up more than an hour per day or cause clinically significant distress or impairment.[xiii] OCD affects 1 percent of the U.S. population. A diagnosis of OCD is equally common among men and women. One third of adults first experience symptoms in childhood. OCD is no longer on the list of anxiety disorders in the DSM-5, because it is now its own disorder. This is also the case for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).[xiv]
PTSD is caused by a significant traumatic event, which is associated with intrusive memories and dreams, avoidance of external reminders of the event, negative alterations in cognitions and moods regarding trauma, marked change in emotional arousal and reactivity. The symptoms must be present for at least one month after the trauma occurred.[xv] The majority of people who experience serious trauma do not develop PTSD. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder affects 7.7 million adults in America.[xvi] Treatment for PTSD is more complex than what we will discuss. People suffering from PTSD should find a therapist trained in trauma work.
You may not have a diagnosable anxiety disorder but still struggle with worry every day. It is the day-in and day-out worrying that takes its toll on our minds and bodies. We often focus on the worst-case scenario. Even if something good happens, we might say, “That’s great but what if . . .”
So what do we do? Learn to take our anxious thoughts captive and focus on better thoughts. This isn’t a feel-good, power-of-positive-thinking bunch of foolishness. This is renewing our minds to be more like Christ.
In my next post we will discuss the causes of anxiety. We will also talk about how to use the discipline of meditating on God’s Word to lessen our anxious thoughts.
​Blessings!
 
 
 
 
 


[i] Learnersdictionary.com/definition/anxiety

[ii] Ibid

[iii] https://www.elementsbehavioralhealth.com/mental-health/8-facts-anxiety-anxiety-disorders/

[iv] Desk Reference to the Diagnostic Criteria from DSM-5 (Arlington, VA, American Psychiatric Association, 2013)

[v] https://adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics.

[vi] Ibid

[vii] https://www.elementsbehavioralhealth.com/mental-health/8-facts-anxiety-anxiety-disorders/

[viii] Desk Reference to the Diagnostic Criteria from DSM-5 (Arlington, VA, American Psychiatric Association, 2013)

[ix] https://adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics.

[x] Ibid

[xi] https://www.elementsbehavioralhealth.com/mental-health/8-facts-anxiety-anxiety-disorders/

[xii] https://adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics.

[xiii] Desk Reference to the Diagnostic Criteria from DSM-5 (Arlington, VA, American Psychiatric Association, 2013)
[xiii] https://adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics.

[xiv] https://www.elementsbehavioralhealth.com/mental-health/8-facts-anxiety-anxiety-disorders/

[xv] Desk Reference to the Diagnostic Criteria from DSM-5 (Arlington, VA, American Psychiatric Association, 2013)..

[xvi] https://adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics