Anxiety

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Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by cognitive, somatic, emotional, and behavioral components. These components combine to create an unpleasant feeling that is typically associated with uneasiness, fear, or worry.

Anxiety is a generalized mood condition that occurs without an identifiable triggering stimulus. As such, it is distinguished from fear, which occurs in the presence of an observed threat. Additionally, fear is related to the specific behaviors of escape and avoidance, whereas anxiety is the result of threats that are perceived to be uncontrollable or unavoidable.

Another view is that anxiety is "a future-oriented mood state in which one is ready or prepared to attempt to cope with upcoming negative events" suggesting that it is a distinction between future vs. present dangers that divides anxiety and fear.

Anxiety is considered to be a normal reaction to stress. It may help a person to deal with a difficult situation, for example at work or at school, by prompting one to cope with it. When anxiety becomes excessive, it may fall under the classification of an anxiety disorder.

For more information about Anxiety, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with anxiety

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A child sleeping (Sleep)

Dreams may have an important physiological function

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Nov 12, 2009 | popularity 3.9 / 5 (27) | comments 12

(PhysOrg.com) -- Dreams have long been assumed to have psychological functions such as consolidating emotional memories and processing experiences or problems, but according to a Harvard psychiatrist and sleep ...


You can't trust a tortured brain: Neuroscience discredits coercive interrogation

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Sep 21, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (16) | comments 12

According to a new review of neuroscientific research, coercive interrogation techniques used during the Bush administration to extract information from terrorist suspects are likely to have been unsuccessful and may have ...


The herbal remedy: Teens use cannabis for relief, not recreation

Medicine & Health / Other

created Apr 22, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (15) | comments 24

When legal therapies let them down, some teens turn to cannabis. A new study, published in BioMed Central's open access journal Substance Abuse, Treatment, Prevention and Policy suggests that around a third of teens who sm ...


Research identifies brain cells related to fear

Medicine & Health / Research

created Jul 11, 2008 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (16) | comments 0

The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that in any given year, about 40 million adults (18 or older) will suffer from some form of anxiety disorder, including debilitating conditions such as phobias, panic dis ...


Today's parents 'not to blame' for teenage problem behaviour

Today's parents 'not to blame' for teenage problem behaviour

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

created Jul 31, 2009 | popularity 2.9 / 5 (21) | comments 33

(PhysOrg.com) -- Poor parenting is not the reason for an increase in problem behaviour amongst teenagers, according to research led by Oxford University.


Research finds kava is safe and effective

Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry

created May 11, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (12) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- UQ research has found a traditional extract of kava, a medicinal plant from the South Pacific, to be safe and effective in reducing anxiety.


'American Diet' v. Atkins Diet

'American Diet' v. Atkins Diet

Medicine & Health / Research

created Oct 19, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (13) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- If people can learn anything from rats, what to eat might be one of the most useful lessons. University of South Florida Professor David Diamond, in the Departments of Psychology, Molecular ...


Brain chemical reduces anxiety, increases survival of new cells

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created May 12, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (10) | comments 0

New research on a brain chemical involved in development sheds light on why some individuals may be predisposed to anxiety. It also strengthens understanding of cellular processes that may be common to anxiety and depression, ...


Facing fears early may reduce childhood anxiety

Medicine & Health / Health

created Oct 29, 2008 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (9) | comments 2

Helping children face their fears may be more productive than focusing on other techniques to help them manage their anxieties, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent ...


New research suggests key to happiness is gratitude -- and men may be locked out

Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry

created Mar 13, 2009 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (11) | comments 4

With Mother's Day, Father's Day and high school and college graduations upcoming, there will be plenty of gift-giving and well wishes. When those start pouring in, let yourself be grateful—it's the best way to achieve happiness ...


Voluntary exercise does not appear to alleviate anxiety and depression

Medicine & Health / Research

created Aug 04, 2008 | popularity 3.4 / 5 (11) | comments 0

Voluntary physical activity does not appear to cause a reduction in anxiety and depression, but exercise and mood may be associated through a common genetic factor, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of ...


Study offers new insights into teenagers and anxiety disorders

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Sep 15, 2008 | popularity 4.1 / 5 (7) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Can scientists predict who will develop anxiety disorders years in advance? UCLA psychology professor Michelle Craske thinks so. She is four years into an eight-year study evaluating 650 students, who were ...


Modern human brain

Finding fear: Neuroscientists locate where it is stored in the brain

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Jul 07, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (7) | comments 2

Fear is a powerful emotion and neuroscientists have for the first time located the neurons responsible for fear conditioning in the mammalian brain. Fear conditioning is a form of Pavlovian, or associative, ...


Genetic predisposition may play a role in anxiety disorders

Medicine & Health / Genetics

created Aug 27, 2008 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (6) | comments 0

Finnish scientists have identified genes that may predispose to anxiety disorders. Research conducted under the supervision of Academy Research Fellow Iiris Hovatta have focused on genes that influence human behaviour, and ...


Gene linked to anxious behavior in mice

Medicine & Health / Research

created Feb 19, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (5) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- To measure anxiety in a mouse and suggest it’s similar to anxiety in a person may seem like a stretch, but the metrics sound uncannily familiar. Paralyzed by fear, afraid to leave the house or socialize with ...