Definition Of Anxiety Disorders In Psychology

An anxiety disorder is a common mental illness defined by feelings of uneasiness worry and fear.

Definition of anxiety disorders in psychology. Exposure to social situations provokes anxiety associated with severe distress or impairment. As far as we know anxiety is a uniquely human experience. Similar to the tension caused when an individual anticipates impending danger. The causes of anxiety disorders are currently unknown but likely involve a combination of factors including genetic environmental psychological and developmental.

Although anxiety is a commonplace experience not everyone who experiences it has an anxiety disorder. The individual must show the capacity for age appropriate social relationships. Psychology definition of anxiety. Meta analyses have shown that the most damaging anxiety disorders to overall quality of life are social phobia and post traumatic stress disorder ptsd but that all are associated with high rates of qol and functional impairment especially in the areas of mental health and social functioning olatunji cisler tolin 2007.

Anxiety disorder the class of disorders containing any disorder in which anxiety is the primary feature or in which anxiety appears when the individual tries to resist a phobia. Anxiety is associated with a wide range of physical illnesses medication side effects and other psychiatric. It reflects a combination of biochemical changes in the body the patient s personal history and memory and the social situation. The causes of anxiety disorders are still being studied but it is generally agreed that a combination of biological psychological and social factors play a role.

Anxiety disorders can run in families suggesting that a combination of genes and environmental stresses can produce the disorders. A mood state characterized by worry apprehension and somatic symptoms. For example an average individual may feel some anxiety before going to a dentist appointment but a person with anxiety disorder may feel anxiety. Other animals clearly know fear but human anxiety involves an ability to use.

The occurrence of marked or intense fear in social situations where an individual may be scrutinized by others. There are a variety of anxiety disorders including panic disorder agoraphobia social phobia obsessive compulsive disorder posttraumatic stress disorder generalized.