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Everyone experiences fear once in a while; anxiety
is a normal response to stress or danger, but it can be debilitating. At
times it is helpful because it can help prepare the body for action, and it
can improve performance in a range of situations. Anxiety becomes a problem
when it is experienced intensely and it persistently interferes with a
person's daily life.
Depression and
anxiety commonly occur together. Not everybody who is anxious is depressed,
but most depressed patients have some symptoms of anxiety.
It is thought
that depression follows on as a response to anxiety such that anxiety is
suppressed to such an extent that it is no longer experiences. Anxiety may
reoccur as the depression lifts.
People have
different degrees of background, or 'trait', anxiety. High trait anxiety may
stem from inherited behaviors or early relationships in childhood. It is
also related to personality.
In addition to
this inherent background anxiety, people react differently to everyday
situations. Some people become anxious very easily, others never seem to get
anxious. The anxiety that people get because of specific experiences is
called 'state' anxiety.
An individual
with high trait anxiety is particularly vulnerable to experiencing high
state anxiety in stressful situations.
Anxiety symptoms
are extremely common - everybody experiences them from time to time.
Specific anxiety disorders or illnesses are also not as rare as you might
think, being present in around 5 per cent of the population at any time.
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