Anxiety Neurosis Introduction

What is normal anxiety?

Anxiety can be described as a feeling of alarm or “worry”. It may be about something specific or it may be non-specific in nature. A certain amount of anxiety is normal and helps improve our performance and allows people to avoid dangerous situations. This normally lasts for a short period causing no impairment in social or occupational functioning. When this anxiety is prolonged and affects social or occupational functioning, it's abnormal and accounts for anxiety "disorder".

Anxiety Neurosis is commonly misspelled as  Anxiety Nuerosis, Anxiety Nerosis, Anxity Neurosis, Anxiety Nurosis.

General presentation of Anxiety disorders

Patients often experience a state of intense apprehension, uncertainty, and fear resulting from the anticipation of a threatening event or situation, often to a degree that normal physical and psychological functioning is disrupted. This may be precipitated due to several reasons which are generally easily identified by the patient himself. The anxiety is of a greater degree than just everyday worries and patients do mention that they are not able to control these worries. They are frequently accompanied with physical symptoms as well. These symptoms have to present for most days at least for several weeks at a time.

Anxiety disorders also manifest as physical symptoms along with psychological symptoms. Some of the common things that patients experience are as follows:

• Feeling that something undesirable or harmful is about to happen (edginess and apprehension)
• Dry mouth; swallowing difficulty; hoarseness
• Rapid breathing and heartbeat, palpitations
• Twitching or trembling
• Muscle tension; headaches;backache
• Sweating
• Difficulty in concentrating
• Dizziness or faintness
• Nausea; diarrhea; weight loss
• Sleeplessness
• Irritability
• Fatigue
• Nightmares
• Memory problems
• Sexual impotence

Anxiety Neurosis Causes

There are more than one reasons why patients develop Anxiety disorders. Researchers and scientists are trying to find out more about the biological, psychological, and social factors which influence the development of anxiety disorders as there is still a lot more to learn about the role of these. The following are all believed to play a role in the occurrence of anxiety disorders:

Genetics and Heredity:

There is clear evidence that anxiety disorders tend to run in families. If a parent or a sibling of a person suffers from an anxiety disorder, there are higher chances of that person developing this disorder. These findings suggest that a genetic factor combined with certain social factors predisposes certain people to develop anxiety disorders.

Chemical imbalances in the brain:

Scientists strongly believe that brain chemistry plays a role in the onset of anxiety disorders. When there is an imbalance of chemicals (such as serotonin and dopamine) in the brain a person can feel anxious or depressed.

Personality types:

People with certain types of personality are more prone to develop anxiety disorders. For e.g.: people who have low self-esteem and poor coping skills may be more prone for anxiety development. The basic nature of an individual makes one vulnerable to specific types of disorders including anxiety.

Social factors:

The role of social factors in the development of anxiety disorders is being studied by researchers and a relationship has been seen between anxiety disorders and long-term exposure to abuse, violence, poverty, etc. Such life experiences affect an individual's susceptibility to these disorders. Growing up in a family where fear and anxiety are constantly seen by children can “teach” them to become anxious.

Medical causes:

Sometimes anxiety may be caused due to the presence of medical illnesses such as certain neurological disorders, endocrinological disorders, cardiopulmonary disorders, etc.

Drugs and other substances:

Anxiety can be caused due the usage of certain drugs like amphetamines, certain over-the-counter medicines, tranquilizers, steroids, contraceptive pills, hormonal treatment, etc.

Anxiety Neurosis Types & Symptoms

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders classifies  into the following categories: