The four levels of anxiety are mild anxiety, moderate anxiety, severe anxiety, and panic level anxiety, each of which is classified by the level of distress and impairment they cause. The four components of anxiety can also be influenced by the person's personality, coping strategies, life experiences, and gender.
Anxiety is a feeling that can take the form of nervousness, tension, and/or unease regarding past, present, or future events. The severity of an individual's anxiety can generally be classified as either mild, moderate, severe, or panic-level, the last of which usually qualifies as panic disorder.
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) usually involves a persistent feeling of anxiety or dread, which can interfere with daily life.
Severe anxiety symptoms can become a persistent problem. They can interrupt daily functioning, impact quality of life, and become too difficult to manage. Severe anxiety can even bring about suicidal thoughts.
feeling tense, nervous or unable to relax. having a sense of dread, or fearing the worst. feeling like the world is speeding up or slowing down. feeling like other people can see you're anxious and are looking at you.
Panic attacks are rarer and more severe than anxiety. They can come out of the blue, without warning or provocation. People having panic attacks can experience shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea, and numbness. Some shake and sweat.
Adults ages 30 to 44 have the highest rate of anxiety of this age group, with around 23% of people this age reporting an anxiety disorder within the past year.
Anxiety disorders are a type of mental health condition. Anxiety makes it difficult to get through your day. Symptoms include feelings of nervousness, panic and fear as well as sweating and a rapid heartbeat. Treatments include medications and cognitive behavioral therapy.
Difficult experiences in childhood, adolescence or adulthood are a common trigger for anxiety problems. Going through stress and trauma when you're very young is likely to have a particularly big impact. Experiences which can trigger anxiety problems include things like: physical or emotional abuse.
The most common measure used to assess anxiety in treatment outcome studies is the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A),7 8 which is a primary measure for generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) and is often used to assess general anxiety symptoms across conditions.
Mild anxiety tends to be when you have irritating symptoms that don't seem to go away, but that otherwise doesn't control you. For example: You have constant worries but you can generally ignore them. You may feel nervous, nauseated, shaky, or sweat, but you aren't debilitated by these symptoms.
Instead, high-functioning anxiety typically refers to someone who experiences anxiety while still managing daily life quite well. Generally, a person with high-functioning anxiety may appear put together and well- accomplished on the outside, yet experience worry, stress or have obsessive thoughts on the inside.
Crippling anxiety is a severe form of anxiety that can significantly interfere with the ability to function in day-to-day life. It's characterized by persistent excessive worry, difficulty concentrating, irritability, muscle tension, sleep anxiety, or sleep disturbances.
Illness anxiety disorder (hypochondria) is extremely rare. It affects about 0.1% of Americans. It typically appears during early adulthood. Illness anxiety disorder can affect all ages and genders.
Most patients who have bipolar disorder have a coexisting anxiety disorder. These include generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social phobia, panic disorder, and PTSD.
Anxiety Is Severe
Although at times the anxiety that all people experience can be somewhat severe, a characteristic of GAD is that this anxiety is usually more intense and long-lasting. If you have more severe anxiety than most other people you know, then it may be more than "normal" anxiety.
What is debilitating anxiety, then? It is anxiety so intense and extreme that it causes you to confine yourself to a very narrow life. Also called apprehensive expectation, debilitating anxiety is usually future-oriented. You fear things that haven't happened yet and might not happen at all.
Water has been shown to have natural calming properties, likely as a result of addressing dehydration's effects on the body and brain. Drinking enough water is an important step in managing your anxiety. Even if you're not experiencing anxiety, drinking sufficient water can create feelings of relaxation.
Doctors characterize anxiety as excessive worry and fear, whereas depression generally involves a deep feeling of sadness and despair. While people with anxiety often feel continually on edge, those with depression may feel numb and withdrawn. Both conditions can also cause physical symptoms.