IS IT NORMAL ANXIETY OR IS IT AN ANXIET Y DISORDER?

Is It Normal Anxiety or an Anxiety Disorder?
How Can I Tell the Difference?
Defining Anxiety
According to Kaplan and Sadock, anxiety is a “diffuse, unpleasant, vague sense of apprehension, often accompanied by autonomic symptoms such as headache, persperation, palpatations, tightness in the chest, mild stomach discomfort, and restlessness, as indicated by an inability to sit or stand still for long.”
Anxiety Can Be Normal and Beneficial
There are an infinite number of human experiences that cause normal anxiety. Life offers us the experience of many anxiety-provoking “firsts”--a first date, the first day of school, the first time away from home. As we journey through life, ther are many important life events, both good and bad, that cause varying amounts of anxiety. These events can include things such as, taking a school exam, getting married, becoming a parent, getting divorced, changing jobs, coping with illness and many others.
Anxiety Can be a Problem
What it's pretty clear to see that anxiety is normal and even beneficial, for many people it becomes a problem. The main difference between normal anxiety is in the source and the intensity of the experience.
Normal anxiety is intermittent and is expected based on certain events or situations. Problem anxiety, on the other hand, tends to be chronic, irrational and interferes with many life functions. Avoidance behavior, incessant worry and concentration and memory problems may all stem from problem anxiety. These symptoms may be so intense that they cause family, work and social difficulties.
The components of problem anxiety include the physical responses to the anxiety (such as palpitations and stomach upset), distorted thoughts that become a source of excessive worry and bahavioral changes affecting the usual way one lives life and interacts with others. Left unchecked, problem anxiety may lead to an anxiety disorder.
Talk to Your Doctor
If you believe your anxiety is a problem, it is important to talk to your doctor. Excessive anxiety can be caused by a number of medical and psychological conditions. Problem anxiety has been indicated in a variety of physical illnesses, such as heart disease, stomach problems, and pain. But, the best reason to talk to your doctor: Anxiety is easily controllable, and its complications are easily avoidable with treatment.
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