Exam 4: Drugs and Brain Disorders

What is anxiety?

An emotion characterized by apprehension and somatic symptoms of tension in which an individual anticipates impending danger, catastrophe, or misfortune. The body often mobilizes itself to meet the perceived threat: muscles become tense, breathing is faster, and the heart beats more rapidly.

Anxiety vs fear

Anxiety may be distinguished from fear both conceptually and physiologically, although the two terms are often used interchangeably. Anxiety is considered a future-oriented, long-acting response broadly focused on a diffuse threat, whereas fear is an appropriate, present- oriented, and short-lived response to a clearly identifiable and specific threat.

Good vs Bad Anxiety

Good: Useful for survival (flight vs flight) to enable you to cope with impending emergencies, or if it is temporary + proportionate + performance-enhancing + action-oriented it can help you do better

Bad: Chronic, persistant, disproportionate, debilitating, physics/mentally exhausting anxiety impairs daily life. Damages performances → failures → more reasons to be anxious

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