What is the Cause of an Anxiety Disorder and Why do People Become so Anxious?

Stress and anxiety are two health problems which have grown hand in hand over recent decades, as modern society has placed extra, and often unnecessary, pressures on people of all ages. Anxiety affects a significant proportion of the Western population in a way that can, if extreme, be debilitating, preventing people affected from living happy and satisfying lives. Even if not extreme, anxiety can greatly reduce the ability to live life anything like to the full.

It is natural for any person to feel anxious in some situations, as it can, along with fear, be a normal human defensive mechanism. Such anxiety subsides as that situation passes. It is when anxiety becomes a constant part of every day life that somebody who is over anxious can become a "sufferer", and have anxiety attacks. If the level of anxiety reaches a certain threshold and becomes the "norm" for the sufferer, the effect on their daily lives can be severe, and unpleasant.

Due to the nature of the effect of long term anxiety, the sufferer may endure an element of despair, as they feel it is something out of their control. Fortunately, that is far from the case, and an individual can do much to reduce their own anxiety levels. That is why I have included below an article by anxiety expert Deanne Repich, which helps to explain the nature of anxiety and why it is possible to overcome.