What is anxiety and why does it affect some people and not others? There are two important factors that come into play when looking at why some people develop anxiety and why some people do not. The first one takes a look at some of the common symptoms of an anxiety attack. The second one involves examining certain personality traits that make people more prone to developing anxiety disorder.
Symptoms of Anxiety and Anxiety Attacks
Some symptoms of an anxiety attack include:
- A feeling of uneasiness, or a lump in the throat and an intense feeling that something is or will go wrong
- A racing heartbeat
- An increase in sweating
- Some people feel like they are going crazy or experiencing a heart attack
- Dizziness
According to Edmund J. Borne, author of The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook, each person can experience different symptoms of anxiety. Each individual who experiences anxiety can also have differences in what situations trigger anxiety. People with more severe anxiety have symptoms that can occur a number of times a week, while other people may experience episodic anxiety throughout their lifetime.
Fear is one common experience among many people who suffer from anxiety and it leaves some panic attack sufferers avoiding situations associated with past panic attacks, fearing that a attack could be triggered.
Underlying Cause of Anxiety and Anxiety Attacks
There are many different factors that can contribute to someone developing anxiety and anxiety attacks; many of these factors are related to personality. It has been noted that most of the people who tend to have problems with anxiety are people with certain personality traits. A perfectionist personality is one trait that's been linked to anxiety disorder.
The Perfectionist Personality and Anxiety Disorders
The perfectionist tends to be not only very hard on the self, but extremely difficult on other people as well. They are not satisfied with mediocrity; the perfectionist is very goal oriented and competitive.
Often, these personality types strive to be the very best and are not happy with anything less. Sometimes this attitude can have a profound effect on one's mental health and well being. By always needing to be the best at everything, they take on they begin to develop problems when life doesn't go their way.
The Worry Wort Personality and Anxiety Attacks
Another personality trait that is prone to having an anxiety disorder is a person with very low self esteem and many times is referred to as the "worry wort." They worry about everything under the sun, from what they are going to wear, to how they will do on an exam in school.
Life is a constant struggle for those who possess this type of personality because they question practically everything that occurs in their lives. Often, these people are in perpetual need of reassurance.
Controlling Personalities and Anxiety
The last type of personality that is prone to anxiety attacksis the person who needs to be in control of everything and is probably known amongst their close family and friends as somewhat of a control freak. This type of personality always wants life to go his/her way and the individual requires this in order to feel at ease, which would be alright in a perfect world, but as it is known this is not how life works.
The constant need for control becomes a problem not only in regards to their personal matters, but it will most likely effect other areas of their life as well. These people many times do not adapt to change very well and so when they are made to deal with these types of situations many times this can cause them to feel anxious or have anxiety attacks.
Much information has been provided as to what an anxiety attack consists of as well as some of the common symptoms that are associated with anxiety attacks. There has also been a substantial amount of information that encompasses what personalities are more prone to anxiety. By being able to identify what anxiety is and who it effects helps many people who deal with it better understand how to cope with this disease and ways to effectively treat anxiety disorder.
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