As anxiety is a very broad term, it would be useful to define certain concepts that help us to understand this important area of human experience. All people have problems, difficulties; we all have some psychological complex or weakness, some area where we are not so effective. This idea is simply a reality and not a pessimistic view of human existence.
Psychologists tend to differ in using terms and concepts depending on their theories about personality and their psychotherapy systems. This happens in the case of anxiety. The definition depends heavily on the psychological school which we are dealing with.
Although there is no specific definition for the concept of anxiety, we can define it as a reaction to a circumstance in which we believe we are in danger or threatened in some way. We may think that our physical safety is in danger, that our success at work is threatened, that our personal esteem may be weakened, or we may be concerned about what might happen to a loved one. When it's said: So-and-so is nervous, they are often referring to an anxious state. People use the word nervous to define depression or anxiety.
Stress translates into anxiety due to a specific situation in which we are involved. Fear can be categorized as an intense state of anxiety in reaction to a specific threat. There is another type of anxiety that is known as phobia. A phobia is a great fear that literally paralyzes the person and is always related to a specific object or situation. All humans have some kind of phobia, whether it could be of traveling by plane, of snakes, blood, etc. Specific names had been given to different types of phobia. For example claustrophobia (fear of closed places), acrophobia (fear of heights), hydrophobia (fear of water) and so on. There is an endless list of the different types of phobia.
There is another type of anxiety known as unconscious, which refers to a condition created by something unknown. This is called free floating anxiety. It is a term that can mean many things and usually describes a situation of intense anxiety that can unexpectedly attack the individual when he least expects it. The person suddenly begins to feel under high stress, but can't connect a specific situation or event to such a condition. It seems that to experience floating anxiety there is no need for a specific condition to triggers such a state.
Another type of anxiety is known as panic and it's a feeling in which the anxiety has become so great that the person completely loses control of himself and of the situation. Many people with emotional misadjustments seem to live in a constant state of panic. With these people, it takes a lot of patience and a great willingness to help them, although it is possible to make great strides.
Psychologists tend to differ in using terms and concepts depending on their theories about personality and their psychotherapy systems. This happens in the case of anxiety. The definition depends heavily on the psychological school which we are dealing with.
Although there is no specific definition for the concept of anxiety, we can define it as a reaction to a circumstance in which we believe we are in danger or threatened in some way. We may think that our physical safety is in danger, that our success at work is threatened, that our personal esteem may be weakened, or we may be concerned about what might happen to a loved one. When it's said: So-and-so is nervous, they are often referring to an anxious state. People use the word nervous to define depression or anxiety.
There is another type of anxiety known as unconscious, which refers to a condition created by something unknown. This is called free floating anxiety. It is a term that can mean many things and usually describes a situation of intense anxiety that can unexpectedly attack the individual when he least expects it. The person suddenly begins to feel under high stress, but can't connect a specific situation or event to such a condition. It seems that to experience floating anxiety there is no need for a specific condition to triggers such a state.
Another type of anxiety is known as panic and it's a feeling in which the anxiety has become so great that the person completely loses control of himself and of the situation. Many people with emotional misadjustments seem to live in a constant state of panic. With these people, it takes a lot of patience and a great willingness to help them, although it is possible to make great strides.