Anxiety/Panic Attacks

Anxiety is one of the most common reasons people seek therapy. Anxiety is defined as nervousness and an inability to relax. Some level of anxiety is normal in human beings; excessive anxiety can interfere with relationships, sleeping and eating patterns, work and school, and all areas of life.

• Body: People with anxiety may experience psychomotor agitation, pacing, shaking, trembling, quivering, sweaty palms, racing heartbeat, insomnia, tension, headaches, nausea, and difficulty breathing. A panic attack occurs when these somatic symptoms are severe and acute, sometimes mimicking the symptoms of a heart attack (though there is no record of panic attacks leading to actual coronary arrest).
• Mind: Anxiety can include racing thoughts, worries, excessive guilt, excessively fearful thoughts, obsessions, and magical thinking.
• Emotions: Anxiety is a dysphoric excitement or "apprehensive expectation" (DSM-IV), and may entail feelings of fear, confusion, frustration, and possibly shame and despair. Affect is worried and tense.
• Social: People who are anxious may display social avoidance, nervousness, neediness, blaming, and an inability to maintain relations or employment. Some people with anxiety can develop social phobia and agoraphobia, in which people experience intense anxiety in public and isolate in order to maintain a stable mood.
• Correlations: Anxiety is often associated with depression. Anxiety can take several forms, including phobias and obsessive-compulsions, which are addressed in separate sections. Anxiety is often found in people with psychotic symptoms, especially those who are paranoid. Anxiety is a symptom of Post Traumatic Stress. Anxiety in its most extreme form, as discussed above, can lead to a panic attack. Anxiety is also associated with passive personalities.