Anxiety

Components of Anxiety

Anxiety is a complex emotional state and may involve and influence multiple domains of an individual's functioning. Specifically, an individual may experience [Page 39]cognitive, behavioral, and physiological effects. Common cognitive symptoms of anxiety include excessive worries, concentration difficulties, and memory and attention problems. Anxiety may also be manifested through such behavioral symptoms as motor restlessness, difficulty sitting still, and attempts to escape or avoid anxiety-provoking stimuli or situations. Finally, anxiety also includes physiological symptoms, such as muscle tension, increased perspiration, rapid heartbeat, headaches, and stomachaches.

Anxiety as a Unique Emotion

Anxiety is a unique emotion as it can be viewed in both a positive or negative light. A slight amount of anxiety can be helpful and facilitate an individual's performance, whereas too much anxiety can be debilitating and hinder one's performance. In small amounts, anxiety can serve as a motivator and lead to optimal performance in school, work, sports, or other areas in an individual's life. For example, a student can become slightly anxious before a major exam. The slight anxiety felt can motivate the student to study for the exam and do better because of the time spent preparing for the exam. In contrast, high levels of anxiety may interfere with the student's ability to concentrate, process information, or retrieve information from long-term memory. Under these circumstances, the student is less likely to perform his or her best on the exam.

Anxiety can also alert an individual to a potential danger. The fight-or-flight response, also referred to as the acute stress response, involves the activation of the sympathetic nervous system in an emergency situation. The individual will respond to a threatening or dangerous situation by fighting or fleeing. Thus, many believe that anxiety serves as a survival mechanism and protects the individual from harm.

Besides its positive and negative aspects, anxiety can be viewed as a normal indicator of development. During the normal course of development, individuals experience fears and anxieties, but the specific fears and anxieties experienced vary as a function of age. Moreover, there is some evidence to suggest that the number of specific fears and anxieties decrease with age, whereas others suggest that the number of specific fears and anxieties remain the same across the life span. Sources of anxiety for infants include loud noises, strangers, and novel stimuli, and for toddlers, separation from major attachment figures and imaginary creatures. Children fear large animals, darkness, and natural events, and adolescents fear social alienation. Sources of anxiety for adults include natural events, injury, and financial issues. Most individuals experience these age-specific anxieties and fears, which are mild and transient in nature.

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