Normal and Pathological Anxiety

Normal anxiety is a diffuse unpleasant vague sense of apprehension often accompanied by autonomic symptoms. It enables a person to take measures to deal with a threat. Pathological anxiety is an inappropriate response to a given stimulus and it will hinder developmentally appropriate adaptive behavior.

Anxiety Disorders

The common anxiety disorders seen in adolescents are panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, specific phobia and social phobia.
In panic disorder, the individual experiences recurrent unexpected panic attacks characterized by discrete periods of intense fear associated with palpitation, sweating, trembling, chest discomfort, abdominal distress or dizziness and fear of impending death. Usually there will be a precipitating stress. Panic disorder may or may not be associated with agoraphobia.
In generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), there is free floating anxiety about a number of events or activities. The adolescents with GAD can have restlessness, difficulty in concentration, muscle tension, irritability, autonomic overactivity, recurrent somatic symptoms or sleep disturbance.
Obsessive compulsive disorder is characterized by recurrent obsessions and compulsions causing marked distress and significantly interfering with the normal routine activities, academic functioning and social relationships.
Adolescents with specific phobia will have marked and persistent fear cued by the presence or anticipation of a specific object or situation. Exposure to the phobic stimulus invariably provokes immediate anxiety response. In social phobia there is marked and persistent fear of one or more social situations in which the person is exposed to unfamiliar people or to possible scrutiny by others. The exposure to the feared situation provokes anxiety and the feared social situations are usually avoided.

Treatment of anxiety disorders

Anxiety disorders, if diagnosed early, can be managed effectively by psychological therapies such as cognitive behaviour therapy, relaxation therapy, desensitization ( for phobias), insight oriented psychotherapy, family therapy etc. In severe cases, pharmacotherapy may be indicated.

Conclusion

Anxiety Disorders will cause deterioration in the academic performance of adolescents. If untreated, it can lead to substance abuse, depression, deliberate self harm or even hypertension and heart disease in future. Early diagnosis and management of Anxiety Disorders is essential for guiding the adolescents towards excellence in life.