Anxiety; Anxiety, used interchangeably with worry and anxiety, is a reaction accompanied by physical symptoms ranging in intensity from mild uneasiness and tension to panic levels. The person reacts according to the 'fight or flight' principle in the face of a phenomenon that he thinks will be difficult to cope with. Heart rate, breathing, muscle tension increase, sweating and dry mouth occur, and blood pressure increases. These reactions are a system that the organism that perceives danger activates to protect its own integrity. When anxiety is in the right place and at the appropriate level, it is a source of energy related to the situations encountered. However, when its intensity and duration increases and it disrupts the person's functionality in work, social and academic life, it turns into an anxiety disorder.
The first step in anxiety disorders is to recognize anxiety. We show similar reactions in anxiety and fear, but there is a difference between anxiety and fear. Fear arises suddenly. It is a situation in which a person uses all their internal resources to protect themselves against a concrete threat. However, anxiety is a reaction to an intangible, unknown, internal threat based on an uncertain perception.
It is difficult to distinguish between anxiety and fear. However, it can be distinguished whether the threat is concrete or abstract if the reactions are sudden or chronic. Anxiety is more future-oriented and long-lasting. While the source of fear is clear, anxiety does not have a specific source.
As soon as fear is felt, all coping mechanisms of the person are used to combat the threat. In anxiety, the person perceives the coping mechanisms as small and the threat as large. During anxiety, the person tends to confront the threat behaviorally. Their avoidance helps the anxiety to survive and continue its existence.
There is a perception of threat and danger in all anxiety disorders. Social phobics perceive danger or threat from social environments, generalized anxiety disorder from uncertainty, panic patients from their physical sensations, and specific phobia from a certain object or situation. Perceived threat leads to restriction of life and impairment of functionality in various areas.
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