In every living being, there is a basic survival instinct. In the face of emerging dangers or problems, as a biological response, the body’s survival instinct is activated, and anxiety—also known as anxiety—occurs as a protection system against potential danger. Anxiety can be defined as an early warning system created by our mind in the face of problems and dangers.
Although anxiety has its origin in a mental alarm that emerged in the past in the face of physical dangers in order to survive, today it is a structure that can be triggered by a negative thought in our mind.
What Is Anxiety?
Anxiety generally appears as a form of affect described as “a state of fear with an unknown cause.” We can list the basic elements of the definition of anxiety as follows;
- A feeling of “uncontrollability” that develops together with the expectation of a possible or potential threat
- A state of tension that arises with the feeling of uncontrollability and in which bodily symptoms are observed
- A distinctly emerging negative affective state
- The situation in which the negative affective state is future-oriented
It is observed that the elements expressed in the description of anxiety are similar in nature to the emotion of fear. However, the basic difference between fear and anxiety is that the cause of fear cannot be known. People in whom an anxiety disorder is observed do not answer the question, “why am I afraid?”
Why Am I Afraid?
When any problem occurs regarding the health of our body, pain caused by the problem occurs in our body. This works in the same way for our mental health. Anxiety, which makes an fear of unknown cause inevitable and brings a negative affective state, points to a condition that strains our mental balance. A potential threat element perceived by the mind against mental health manifests itself in the body as anxiety.
What Is an Anxiety Disorder?
When anxiety occurs at a mild or moderate level, it enables us to develop more appropriate and faster responses, to understand better, and to improve our coping skills. However, with ongoing anxiety, the person’s capacity to plan decreases; appropriate judgment, using skills, and grasping useful information may be hindered, and thinking and taking action may be inhibited.
The three basic criteria that determine the pathological dimension of anxiety disorder in a person can be listed as follows;
- Reaching levels that affect daily life and impairing functioning
- Triggering violence
- Duration
Anxiety disorder becomes clearly apparent through being unable to be rational in ordinary situations and even behaving disproportionately. Having difficulty controlling negative mood states, being directed toward avoidance and escape, and preventing daily activities also indicate mental strain.
Relationships and Anxiety Disorders
The relationships established by people who have an anxiety disorder, due to the negative affective state they are constantly in, have a more unhealthy and poorer functioning compared to healthy people.
- Anxiety disorder brings panic disorder along with it. The reflections of a continuously ongoing panic disorder and worrying state on relationships are generally negative. The worry brought by fear of unknown cause means tension in established relationships. The constant presence of tension in relationships makes healthy communication difficult and can even make it impossible in the later process.
- The continuity of anxiety disorder causes energy to decrease. The increased level of anxiety causes the energy needed during the day to decrease, thus causing motivation to decrease. Relationships are formed not only from sharing negativities but also from the sum of things enjoyed together. A constant low motivation state causes sharing in relationships to decrease.
- Anxiety disorder harms productivity. Producing, in its most well-known definition, is the person’s affirmation of their existence and making it concrete. What producing corresponds to in a person’s world is expressing oneself. Therefore, anxiety disorder causes the person to experience difficulty expressing themselves. Relationships function healthily when people can express themselves mutually.
- Anxiety disorder brings with it the fear of being evaluated negatively. In a person experiencing the fear of negative evaluation, it can lead to situations such as violence, coercion, and physical aggression. According to research, anxiety disorder, especially in men, can lead to aggression together with the fear of being judged negatively by people. The destructive effects that all kinds of violence will create in relationships also present as a high possibility in the relationships of people who have an anxiety disorder.
- In cases where anxiety disorder is experienced intensely, there is a possibility that social anxiety will be observed in the person. Social anxiety makes it difficult to establish trust in relationships, prevents healthy communication, and may cause the emergence of effects that trigger tension and the element of violence.
