Anxiety essays

Anxiety essays Most people have a view of what they think mental illness is. Most of us have seen, at one time or another, someone walking on the street muttering to him or herself, perhaps gesturing, or picking through trash cans but pulling out peculiar things, or exhibiting other behaviors we think are "off" in some way. However, most people who meet the criteria of some psychiatric diagnosis look just like everyone else. In fact, the characteristics for most psychiatric disorders are behaviors we all show at one time or another. They just occur more often and cause problems for the person (Frey, 1999). For instance, we all worry sometimes or feel anxious sometimes, but we don't meet The diagnostic standards set out in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV (DSM-IV) unless the symptoms are severe enough that they actively interfere with important parts of our lives, such as work or relationships, in a significant way (Frey, 1999). One of the most common diagnoses from DSM-IV are anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders are a cluster of diagnoses that all have anxiety as a main symptom (Frey, 1999). It is a good example of the importance in the diagnostic process of symptoms interfering with life in significant ways, because we all feel anxious sometimes. As one source says, "Normal (sometimes called objective) anxiety occurs when people react appropriately to the situation causing the anxiety. For example, most people feel anxious on the first day at a new job for any number of reasons. They are uncertain how they will be received by co-workers, they may be unfamiliar with their duties, or they may be unsure they made the correct decision in taking the job. Despite these feelings and any accompanying physiological responses, they carry on and eventually adapt" In addition, fear or anxiety is not only normal but appropriate in some circumstances, suc...