Is Anxiety abnormal?

Assuming you’ve read the previous section, “what is anxiety?” and decided that you do indeed have “anxiety,” the next thing you’ll probably want to know is whether this is normal? In other words, do most people also have anxiety or do only a small percentage? To begin with, let’s be absolutely clear about one thing: Virtually every person on this earth (who is old enough and able to think) has, at one time or another, experienced anxiety. Whether or not they will admit this is another question. But in my experience, I have found no exceptions to this rule. How can I be so sure you ask? Because unfortunately, anxiety comes in many forms and our daily lives are chock full of occasions for experiencing anxiety. There are just so many things we’re uncertain about! What follows below are the major types of anxiety and just a few examples of the many uncertainties we face during the course of our lives:

1. Existential anxiety – “Why are we here and what is the purpose of life?”

2. Generalized anxiety – “Will I have enough money for my retirement?”

3. Performance anxiety – “What if I get nervous during my upcoming class/work presentation?”

4. Social anxiety – “What happens if I blush or embarrass myself in front of the popular kids at school?”

5. Panic anxiety – “What if I have a “panic attack” (i.e., lose control) while driving my car on the expressway?”

6. Obsessive-compulsive anxiety – “I can’t seem to leave the house without checking over and over to make sure the front door is locked!” And finally,

7. situational/circumstantial anxiety – “It’s now past 2:00 AM and my daughter hasn’t yet gotten home from her date.”

Do you see what I mean? Life certainly does offer up plenty of opportunities to become anxious! And this is exactly the point. Anxiety is inextricably woven into the fabric of our existence. We simply cannot avoid it entirely. More to the point, there are instances in which it would be abnormal to not experience anxiety. Example #7 above, involving an event of crucial personal significance to us is one such instance. So now, the question to ask is not whether it is normal to experience anxiety from time to time. We now know that it is. But rather, what differentiates normal from abnormal anxiety?

Unfortunately, there is no definitive, clear-cut answer to what is inherently a complex question. Why is this? Because as humans, we experience anxiety differently. We cope with it differently too, depending on a variety of factors. Among the more important are; the amount of stress in our lives, our level of anxiety tolerance and our degree of psychological strength.

The good news however, is that determining whether the anxiety we experience is abnormal can be greatly simplified. In the majority of instances the following rule of thumb offers a useful guide: Anxiety can be considered abnormal when its frequency, intensity and/or duration (expressed by the acronym FID) causes impairment or disruption in our usual ability to function either mentally, physically or psychologically. Thus the pertinent questions now become, how frequently do we feel anxious, how severe or intense is its occurrence and how long does it last? To better understand the nature of abnormal anxiety and its affect on normal functioning, let’s briefly consider three examples of anxiety disorders:

A) Social anxiety – People who experience social anxiety generally feel very uncomfortable in the company of others. Their discomfort is especially strong in situations where they are concerned about being evaluated or judged. (e.g., by peers, teachers, coworkers etc.) Most importantly, their social uneasiness is not restricted to one or two situations. Rather, it occurs in relation to many or multiple situations. Thus, we might say that the defining feature of social anxiety is its frequency.

B) Panic anxiety – Panic anxiety (commonly referred to as panic attacks) sufferers usually report experiencing an abrupt onset of very severe physical and psychological symptoms. These include accelerated heart beat, hyperventilation and feelings of losing control, as well as a broad range of other symptoms (e.g., dizziness, stomach discomfort and fear of “going crazy.”) In the majority of instances panic attacks are brief, lasting about ten to thirty minutes. But what most differentiates panic attacks from other forms of anxiety is the severity of the symptoms. On some occasions, the experience can be so intense that patients are admitted to emergency rooms for fear that they are having a heart attack or are “going crazy.” We can therefore say that the chief characteristic or sine qua non of panic attacks is their intensity.

C) Generalized anxiety – People who experience generalized anxiety most often report feeling uneasy or apprehensive much, if not all of the time. They worry almost constantly and are greatly preoccupied by all manner of things (e.g., health and financial concerns, achieving their goals, etc.) to the extent that the preoccupation becomes a psychological burden. Accordingly, what most typifies generalized anxiety is its omnipresence. That is, it endures for extended periods of time and is therefore characterized principally by its long duration.

What the above examples of specific anxiety disorders illustrate is that abnormal anxiety is best determined or quantified by its frequency, intensity or duration. You might therefore think of the FID acronym as a convenient yardstick: Or, said differently, a way of determining for yourself whether the anxiety you experience is abnormal. What is more, you can also look for other signs or symptoms that anxiety may be adversely affecting your quality of life. Some of the more common include: Loss of sleep over a prolonged period of time; inability to focus attention or concentrate; persistent abdominal distress not due to a medical condition and/or avoidance of people (e.g., coworkers) and places (e.g., restaurants) on a sustained basis.

You may even be able to come up with other examples of serious anxiety interference that apply to your own life (now or in the past.) Finally, if you’re still not certain whether the anxiety you experience is abnormal, you might try asking yourself the following simple question: “Is the anxiety I feel tolerable and fairly easy to manage, or has it reached the point where I find myself saying things like,” ‘I sometimes feel overwhelmed by anxiety’ or ‘Anxiety is now affecting my life too much.’ If it’s the latter then it may be time to click on to later sections of the website entitled resources and treatment!