Page 469 - Understanding Psychology

Anxiety Disorders
Reader’s Guide
Exploring Psychology
Normal Anxiety or Not?
If you are walking down the street and a large dog runs at you barking, it’s per- fectly normal to be afraid. However, if you get anxious if a dog appears on the TV you’re watching, that’s a disorder. If a stu- dent gets up to give a speech in class and finds that his hands are trembling and his throat is dry, that’s normal anxiety. If a student runs out of the room crying when called on to speak or faints while giving a speech, that isn’t normal.
—from the files of Judith R. Levine, SUNY Farmingdale
s Main Idea
Anxiety disorders are marked by exces- sive fear, caution, and attempts to avoid anxiety.
s Vocabulary
• anxiety
• phobia
• panic disorder
• post-traumatic stress disorder
s Objectives
• Identify the behavioral patterns
that psychologists label as anxiety
disorders.
• Explain what causes anxiety disorders.
Anxiety is a general state of dread or uneasiness that a person feels in response to a real or imagined danger. People suffering from anxiety disorders feel anxiety but not just normal anxiety. They suffer from anxiety that is out of proportion to the situation provoking it. This intense anxiety may interfere with normal functioning in everyday life. Anxiety disorders are the most common type of mental illness in the United States, affecting 19 million Americans annually (NIMH, 2001). These disorders share certain characteristics, including feelings of anxiety and personal inadequacy and an avoidance of dealing with problems. People with anxiety disorders often have unrealistic images of themselves. People who are deeply anxious seem unable to free themselves of recurring worries and fears. Their emotional problems may be expressed in constant worrying, sudden mood swings, or a variety of physical symptoms (for example, headaches, sweating, muscle tightness, weakness, and fatigue).
Anxious people often have difficulty forming stable and satisfying rela- tionships. Even though their behavior may be self-defeating and ineffec- tive in solving problems, those driven by anxiety often refuse to give up their behaviors in favor of more effective ways of dealing with anxiety. In
Chapter 16 / Psychological Disorders 455