Anxiety is a part of normal human life. Everyone experiences some form of anxiety or nervousness when faced with big events such as a job interview or a wedding. Furthermore, small events can also trigger the jitters. Things such as an exam or blind date are just to name a couple.

Normal anxiety is actually beneficial. It motivates a person to take action (as in studying for that upcoming exam to calm worries of failure) and makes a person cautious and less reckless. However, normal anxiety comes and goes without affecting a persons life significantly. For about 19 million Americans with an anxiety disorder, it is quite a different story.

When Does Anxiety Become a Problem?

In someone with abnormally high levels of anxiety, feelings of dread, worry and fear become part of their everyday lives. These feelings can become more intense and irrational triggered for no reason at all or by some small insignificant event. For these people, anxiety negatively impacts their work or school life, family life as well as their personal habits.

To better discern between normal and chronic anxiety, consider a situation in which two different people are waiting upon a friend to arrive at a restaurant. The friend is half an hour late. A person without an anxiety disorder may assume that his or her friend became stuck in traffic and will arrive as soon as they can. However, for a person with chronic anxiety, simple worry about a friend quickly becomes serious and irrational:

Has my friend been in a car accident? What if she is seriously hurt? Should I call the police? Should I call her family? How will her family react?

These examples are just a few of the racing thoughts going through the mind of an anxiety sufferer. Each thought will become more intense and irrational even after the friend has already arrived.

What Causes Anxiety?

Anxiety is a serious disorder that can cripple someone with constant worrisome thoughts. While there are several different types of anxiety, a person is generally diagnosed with an anxiety disorder after having intense feelings of fear, panic or uneasiness for six months or longer.

The cause of anxiety disorder is part of a great debate; however researchers do agree that a genetic predisposition to the disorder is a common link. Symptoms of anxiety usually begin to manifest in childhood and adolescence although adult onset is not uncommon. Furthermore, women are twice as likely to experience anxiety disorders than men and all ethnic groups are affected equally.

Many mental disorders are believed to be caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. The same is true for anxiety. Serotonin and GABA are chemicals of great interest to researchers trying to better understand anxiety. However, researchers also believe that outside influences play a major role as well. Factors such as job loss, death in the family or living in a stressful environment can all bring on different levels of anxiety.

Treatment

Due to the physiological nature of anxiety, it can not yet be cured.

It can however be managed through medication and cognitive behavior therapy. In addition, changes in lifestyle such as physical activity and diet can also assist in managing the symptoms of anxiety. The first step a person must take is to recognize that a problem exists and seek help.

If someone afflicted with anxiety disorder seeks help, they have a much greater chance of living a more normal and fulfilling life.