Essay Sample on Overcoming Anxiety: A Guide to Understanding and Coping With Anxiety Disorders

Introduction

Everybody experiences anxiety from time to time. It is a normal emotion that is felt when one is facing changes, challenges, or when one is expected to make difficult decisions. On the other hand, anxiety disorders refer to dysfunctional responses to situations that induce anxiety. Normal anxiety differs from anxiety disorders in that anxiety disorders lead to severe stress which in turn affects the quality of one's life. Anxiety disorders include panic disorder, phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. These disorders are characterized by apprehension, excessive worry, and fear of future events which might be imagined or real. This paper seeks to discuss the development of anxiety as a normal emotion and its progression to anxiety disorders.

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Evolution of Anxiety

Interest in the evolution and development of anxiety has increased among psychologist in the recent past. This has been fuelled by the growth of evolutionary psychology, a field of psychology that seeks to understand the different perspectives of human behavior. Understanding of human emotions and their development is a key element of study in this field. As mentioned earlier, anxiety is a normal emotion among human beings. The emotion bears several similarities to fear though it might be less intense (Nesse, 1990). According to evolutionary psychology, survival and reproduction are the basic evolutionary tasks. Owing to evolution, every human trait has some evolutionary advantage that has helped them reproduce and survive over thousands of years.

Various evolutionary theories advance that human emotions have also evolved to swiftly organize all the body's cognitive functions when need be. This, therefore, means that anxiety being a normal human emotion gives humans an evolutionary advantage. For instance, when one encounters a dangerous situation, they become anxious or fearful. In this state, the person's senses are sharpened, their thinking quickens, and a flight or fight response is quickly activated (Nesse, 1990). Looking at it from this perspective, anxiety is a necessary human emotion.

To understand the development of anxiety, it is important to know the various causes of the emotion. Studies have shown that environmental factors, genetics, medical factors, brain chemistry, as well as the use of illicit substances, cause anxiety (Barlow & Ellard, 2018). However, it is the relationship between anxiety and hormonal response that offers the best explanation to the development of anxiety. Anxiety and hormones interact in complex ways. When the levels of hormones are too low or too high, the neurotransmitters are affected, leading to increased anxiety.

Hormones and Anxiety

Anxiety occurs as a result of hormonal response to stressful situations. This response is meant to help humans recognize threats or danger and react to them. The amygdala processes sensory information regarding any threats or danger and relays the information to the rest of the brain. The amygdala is the part of the brain that is responsible for the fight or flight mechanism (Gilpin, Herman, & Roberto, 2015). Three categories of hormones, sex hormones, stress hormones, and thyroid hormones, are responsible for causing anxiety. Sex hormones include progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone. Progesterone leads to stimulation of the amygdala, which in turn increases the levels of anxiety. Testosterone plays a role in the regulation of emotions in the brain. Therefore, when its levels are low, anxiety is triggered (Maeng & Milad, 2015). Cortisol and adrenaline are the primary stress hormones. These hormones are meant to help the body cope with danger. They increase one's awareness and improves their reflexes. When the brain detects them, anxiety occurs (Stockhorst & Antov, 2016). Thyroid hormones have also been shown to play a huge role in the development of anxiety (Fisher & Vasudevan, 2015). However, when anxiety is experienced in such high intensities that social functioning is impeded, it becomes counterproductive. Thus, it is considered to be disordered.

Traumatic Experiences and Anxiety

Traumatic or stressful experiences and genetic factors have been shown to alter the structure and function of the brain. Resultantly, an individual reacts more vigorously to triggers that should not usually cause anxiety. According to research, traumatic experiences during childhood change the connectivity in the fear circuitry of the brain. This leads to poor communication between the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus in both girls and boys. Poor communication between the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala has also been seen in girls. The poor communication leads to impaired regulation of fear. These changes are associated with the development of anxiety disorders later in life (Brynie, 2013).

Conclusion

Anxiety has been described as a normal human emotion that plays a critical role in the fight and flight mechanism. This emotion has been preserved throughout evolution to serve this very purpose. The complex interaction between hormones, the amygdala, and anxiety has also been discussed. However, when experienced in high intensities, anxiety becomes counterproductive and could lead to the development of anxiety disorders. Alteration of brain circuitry during childhood as a result of traumatic experiences has been shown to contribute to the development of anxiety disorders later in life.

References

Barlow, D. H., & Ellard, K. K. (2018). Anxiety and Related Disorders. General Psychology FA18, 178. Retrieved from https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=psych_oer#page=181

Brynie, F. (2013, Novemeber 4). How Anxiety and Depression Begin in a Child's Brain. Retrieved from Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/brain-sense/201311/how-anxiety-and-depression-begin-in-childs-brain

Fisher, M., & Vasudevan, N. (2015). Cognition and State Anxiety are Regulated by Thyroid Hormone Signaling. mmunology, Endocrine & Metabolic Agents in Medicinal Chemistry, 15(1), 60-70. Retrieved from https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ben/iemamc/2015/00000015/00000001/art00007

Gilpin, N. W., Herman, M. A., & Roberto, M. (2015). The central amygdala as an integrative hub for anxiety and alcohol use disorders. Biological psychiatry, 77(10), 859-869. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006322314007070

Maeng, L. Y., & Milad, M. R. (2015). Sex differences in anxiety disorders: interactions between fear, stress, and gonadal hormones. Hormones and behavior, 76, 106-117. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0018506X15000458

Nesse, R. M. (1990). Fear and fitness: An evolutionary analysis of anxiety disorders. Ethology and sociobiology, 9(2), 196-201. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0162309594900027

Stockhorst, U., & Antov, M. I. (2016). Modulation of fear extinction by stress, stress hormones and estradiol: a review. Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience, 9, 359. Retrieved from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00359