The relationship between anxiety, phobias and obsessions

Anxiety is a psychological and physiological phenomenon that is at the base of many mental disorders. In this article we will see the relationship between anxiety and phobias, obsessions and panic attacks.

• Related article: "The 7 types of anxiety (causes and symptoms)"

What do we understand by anxiety?

Today we hear the concepts "stress and anxiety" in many areas. But really... What is stress, what is anxiety and what can they trigger if they are not controlled properly?

In simple terms, stress can be understood as a reaction of a subject when faced with an unfamiliar situation, perceived as tense or dangerous, unpleasant object / person or situation. It can appear as:

• Answer: the individual has complete control over it, since it has an internal origin.
• Stimulus: its origin is external and the subject has no control over it.
• Interaction: it is the relationship between the person and the context that he or she feels exceeds her resources and that endangers her well-being.

Difference between state and anxious trait

When this "normal" stress is not controlled correctly it scales a degree and becomes anxiety; understanding this concept as a feeling of alarm with high intensity, long duration, of a disruptive and incapacitating nature and with origin, normally, in trivial things. It is a universal emotion and serves as an adaptive response of an organism in the face of stress.

The important thing is to differentiate between state and anxious trait. The first is based on the fact of being anxious at a certain moment, as a reaction to a particular circumstance. The second is the tendency to remain anxious for a long period of time and it is the usual way of dealing with day-to-day circumstances.

When this anxiety is focused on specific objects or situations it is known as a phobia; when it occurs in episodic attacks, it is called panic; or it may be more irregular, as in the case of obsessions.

Anxious symptoms

The main symptoms of anxiety are divided into the following categories.

Somatic

• Palpitations
• Difficulty breathing.
• Dry mouth.
• Nausea and dizziness
• Frequent urination
• Muscle tension.
• Sweating.
• Tremors

Psychics

• Feelings of dread and threat.
• Irritability.
• Panic.
• Intrinsic terror.
• Difficult to focus.
• Insomnia.
• Inability to relax

Syndromes associated with the anxious component

The 3 main anxiety syndromes are as follows.

1. Generalized anxiety disorder

It is a concern focused on day-to-day issues. The characteristic ideation components are personal danger and physical harm issues.

• Related article: "Generalized Anxiety Disorder: symptoms, causes and treatment"

2. Social anxiety and specific phobias

It is the disproportionate fear of a specific situation, object or person. They cannot be explained or reasoned, are not under the voluntary control of the person and fear leads to avoidance of the feared situation. They can be both external and internal stimuli.

• You may be interested: "Types of Phobias: Exploring Fear Disorders"

3. Panic disorder

Share the symptoms of generalized anxiety, there is an extreme feeling of fear and contains panic attacks; These appear suddenly and the average duration is between 10 and 20 min, time in which the symptoms are at a very high degree of intensity.

It can be divided into two types: respiratory type (with pain and discomfort in the chest, gasping for air, paresthesias and a choking sensation) or non-respiratory.

Obsessions and compulsions

On the other hand, obsessions and compulsions are thoughts, images, impulses, ruminations or fears and acts, rituals and behaviors, respectively. Something important to note is that the subject preserves his insight, knows that his obsessions are irrational, but still cannot avoid them.

The main elements that constitute an obsessive-compulsive experience are:

• The trigger that sets off the obsession.
• The obsession itself.
• Disagreement and feeling of guilt.
• Compulsive urge, need to carry out certain behavior.
• Fears of disaster.
• Heightened sense of responsibility.
• Behaviors with which you seek security.
• Stimulus avoidance or situations that could trigger obsessions or compulsions.
• Disruption of social functioning.
• Endurance.

In these cases, what can cause anxiety in these cases is both the loss of time invested in these obsessions and compulsions, such as the physiological discomfort that this state of activation and the fact of looking bad in society and act in a way different from what is established or to the expected standards.

Concluding

Having hobbies, extracurricular activities, relaxation time and time for oneself are measures to prevent the development of an anxiety disorder.

Self-knowledge and self-observation are important to know how to react to stressful situations and the coping skills that each of us have, in order to know if we still have areas of opportunity we can work on or we have to develop new strategies because the ones we have are no longer efficient. Mental health is just as important as physical health.