What Is Anxiety?

What Is an Anxiety Disorder?

Anxiety is considered to be a normal reaction to stress; anxiety becomes a disorder when it starts to affect daily activities.
There are many types of anxiety disorders, including: generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, specific phobias, agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder and separation anxiety disorder.
Generalized anxiety disorder is different from normal feelings of nervousness; generalized anxiety disorder involves persistent and excessive worry that interferes with daily activities.
Most commonly, worries focus on everyday things.
There may also be physical symptoms, such as restlessness, feeling on edge or easily fatigued, difficulty concentrating, muscle tension or problems sleeping.
It is treatable and a number of effective treatments are available.
Treatment helps most people lead normal, productive lives.
Anxiety can cause people to try to avoid situations that trigger or worsen their symptoms.

(American Psychiatric Association)

Statistics

It affects 40 million adults 18 years or older in the U.S. every year.
It is the most common of mental disorders and affects nearly 30% of adults at some point in their lives.
It is high treatable, yet only 36.9% with the disorder seek treatment.
People suffering from anxiety are three to five times more likely to go to the doctor and six times more likely to be hospitalized for psychiatric emergencies.

(Anxiety and Depression Association of America)

In a randomized controlled trial that happened in the course of one week evaluating anxiety, it was found that reducing physical activity caused an increase in depression and anxiety in young active adults. Read the article here. (Blough & Loprinzi, 2018)
About five minutes of aerobic exercise can start the stimulation of anti-anxiety effects.
The effects may be temporary, but they demonstrate that a brisk walk or other low intensity activity can deliver several hours of relief.
Effects may also be long-lasting with a consistent exercise schedule.
One study found that those who got regular vigorous exercise were 25 percent less likely to develop depression or an anxiety disorder over the next five years.
Physically active people have lower rates of anxiety and depression than sedentary people.
The effects may vary; even though most people find a positive result from physical activity, not everyone feels a great improvement from exercise on their anxiety. (Anxiety and Depression Association of America)

Anxiety and Depression Association of America. (n.d.). Exercise for stress and anxiety. Retrieved from

Anxiety and Depression Association of America. (n.d.). Facts and statistics. Retrieved from

American Psychiatric Association. (n.d.). What are anxiety disorders? Retrieved from

Blough, & Loprinzi. (2018). Experimentally investigating the joint effects of physical activity and sedentary

behavior on depression and anxiety: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Affective Disorders, 239,

258-268.