Anxiety disorders

It can drive us to be creative under pressure, warn us of danger or spur us to take action in the face of a crisis. It can also freeze us in our tracks. But like it or not, anxiety is an intense state that most Canadians experience from time to time.

Anxiety affects us physically, emotionally and in all aspects of our life situations, according to the Anxiety Disorders Association of BC (ADABC). Normally, it plays an important role in survival. When we encounter a threatening situation, our bodies prepare for danger by producing more adrenaline and increasing the blood flow and heart rate, among other things. This instinctive "fight or flight" response can help a person survive a physical attack or an earthquake, for example.

Nevertheless, most modern "dangers" such as unemployment are not ones a person can fight with their fists or run away from. With no outlet for release, the body may remain in a state of constant mental and physical alertness that can be extremely draining over the long term.
When anxiety persists for weeks and months, when it develops into a relentless sense of dread or starts to interfere with a person's daily life, then anxiety has moved beyond the realm of ordinary anxiety, according to ADABC.

"A person with this degree of anxiety may require outside help to feel safe in the world again," says Elen Alexov, ADABC President.
Emotionally, people with anxiety may feel apprehensive, irritable, or constantly afraid that bad things will happen to them and people close to them. Depending on its intensity, anxiety can make people feel trapped in their homes, too frightened to even open the door.
Anxiety is the most common form of mental disorder, affecting 12% of BC's population in any given year. Besides general anxiety, described above, anxiety can take many forms. Major types of anxiety disorders include phobias, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

A number of different factors can increase the risk of developing an anxiety disorder including past experiences, learned behaviours (e.g. avoidant coping style) and a genetic predisposition, to name a few. There is not one single cause and it is usually a combination of these types of risk factors that lead to the onset of an anxiety disorder for any one individual.

Sometimes anxiety exists alongside other mental disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder. When this happens, a person's abilities are more impaired by illness and the risk of suicide increases dramatically. For example, a 2005 study found that pre-existing anxiety disorders were a risk factor for thinking about or attempting suicide; this risk increased when other conditions were also present, particularly mood disorders.

Panic attacks involve a sudden onset of intense apprehension, fear and terror, as well as feelings of impending doom. These attacks may cause shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, trembling and shaking, a feeling of disconnectedness from reality and even a fear of dying. Though they last only a short time, panic attacks are frightening experiences that may increase in frequency if left untreated.

People with phobias have overwhelming feelings of terror or panic when confronted with read more