Related topics: depression · anxiety disorders · brain · mental health · stress

How to overcome a fear of maths

It's fair to say maths is not everyone's favourite subject. In fact, for many people, the feelings of tension and anxiety that arise when trying to solve a mathematical problem can be all consuming. This is known as maths ...

Under pressure: How young people cope with anxiety

Dr. Valerie Sotardi from the University of Canterbury (UC)'s College of Education, Health & Human Development researches assessment-related anxiety in first-year students. The educational psychologist recently developed online ...

Study into who is least afraid of death

A new study examines all robust, available data on how fearful we are of what happens once we shuffle off this mortal coil. They find that atheists are among those least afraid of dying... and, perhaps not surprisingly, ...

Can bacteria make you smarter?

Exposure to specific bacteria in the environment, already believed to have antidepressant qualities, could increase learning behavior according to research presented today at the 110th General Meeting of the American Society ...

New app sheds light on phone usage

A year ago, Northwestern University PhD student John Rula accidentally left his smartphone in a taxi. After exiting the car, he checked his pockets multiple times only to find them empty. That's when the anxiety set in.

page 1 from 16

Anxiety

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.

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA