Anxiety due to a general medical condition

Anxiety is a mental disorder, that is, characterized by excessive, uncontrollable and often irrational worry about everyday things that is disproportionate to the actual source of worry, it is diagnosed as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). GAD occurs without an identifiable triggering stimulus. It is called generalized because the remorseless worries are not focused on any specific[6] threat; they are, in fact, often exaggerated and irrational. It is distinguished from fear, which is an appropriate cognitive and emotional response to a perceived threat and is related to the specific behaviors of fight-or-flight responses, defensive behavior or escape. Anxiety occurs in situations only perceived as uncontrollable or unavoidable, but not realistically so. David Barlow defines anxiety as "a future-oriented mood state in which one is ready or prepared to attempt to cope with upcoming negative events," and that it is a distinction between future and present dangers which divides anxiety and fear. In a 2011 review of the literature,[9] fear and anxiety were said to be differentiated in four domains: (1) duration of emotional experience, (2) temporal focus, (3) specificity of the threat, and (4) motivated direction. Fear is defined as short lived, present focused, geared towards a specific threat, and facilitating escape from threat; while anxiety is defined as long acting, future focused, broadly focused towards a diffuse threat, and promoting excessive caution while approaching a potential threat and interferes with constructive coping. While almost everyone has experienced anxiety at some point in their lives, most do not develop long-term problems with anxiety. If long term or severe problems with anxiety develop, such problems are classified as an Anxiety disorder. Symptoms of anxiety can range in number, intensity, and frequency, depending on the person.

Subtypes of anxiety disorders are phobias, social anxiety, obsessive-compulsive behavior, and Posttraumatic stress disorder. The physical effects of anxiety may include heart palpitations, tachycardia, muscle weakness and tension, fatigue, nausea, chest pain, shortness of breath, headache, stomach aches, or tension headaches. As the body prepares to deal with a threat, blood pressure, heart rate, perspiration, blood flow to the major muscle groups are increased, while immune and digestive functions are inhibited (the fight or flight response). External signs of anxiety may include pallor, sweating, trembling, and pupillary dilation. For someone who suffers anxiety this can lead to a panic attack. Sir Aubrey Lewis even suggests that "anxiety" could be defined as agony, dread, terror, or even apprehension.