Anxiety threshold

An anxiety threshold is the level of anxiety that, when reached, can affect a person's performance. Anxiety is an emotion, similar to fear, that can be created by insecurities in one’s abilities, concerns for the future, such as financial or situational circumstances, or past memories of frightening experiences. Anxiety can affect all age groups and if fears are irrational, it may cause mental disorders.[1] An individual's anxiety threshold can be measured by the amount of anxiety consistently manifested from situation to situation.[2]

Sub-threshold anxiety traits can be mild, atypical, or masked and therefore present a negative result for tests such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). These sub-threshold symptoms are therefore often overlooked as early signs of more serious anxiety disorders.[3] Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is one of the most frequent anxiety disorders. Both threshold and sub-threshold SAD is associated with a higher risk for many other disorders.[4] Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is a characteristic that can be described as the fear of anxiety. AS is an integral factor in the development and maintenance of anxiety.[5] A panic attack can be induced when an Anxiety Threshold is reached.

Statistics

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older, or 18.1% of the population every year. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, anxiety disorders are highly treatable but only 36.9% of people receive treatment. Anxiety doesn't limit itself to adults, as 25.1% of children age 13-18 are affected by it. Anxiety in children and teens can lead to being distracted easily, missing out on social events, and substance abuse. According to the World Health Organization(WHO), 1 in 13 people in the entire world are affected by anxiety. Typically, those who suffer from Anxiety orders also suffer from Depression, vice versa. Out of the people that have been diagnosed with Depression, almost 50% have also been diagnosed with some sort of Anxiety Disorder. Everyone person with Anxiety disorders has an Anxiety Threshold, but not everyone reaches it.[6]

Symptoms

There are 3 key symptoms to look out for that someone may be reaching their anxiety threshold[7]:

Physical

Panic attacks, hot and cold flashes, racing heart, tightening of the chest, quick breathing, restlessness, or feeling tense, wound up and edgy

Psychological

Excessive fear, worry, catastrophizing, or obsessive thinking.

Behavioral

Avoidance of situations that make you feel anxious which can have an impact on study, work or social life.

Performance

Performance is a huge factor affected by Anxiety Thresholds and their treatments. There are many different ways that an individual can experience performance changes.[8]

  • Difficulty with medication side effects: side effects of psychiatric medications that affect academic performance include drowsiness, fatigue, dry mouth and thirst, blurred vision, hand tremors, slowed response time, and difficulty initiating interpersonal contact.
    • Screening out environmental stimuli: an inability to block out sounds, sights, or odors that interfere with focusing on tasks. Limited ability to tolerate noise and crowds.
  • Sustaining concentration: restlessness, shortened attention span, distraction, and difficulty understanding or remembering verbal directions.
    • Maintaining stamina: difficulty sustaining enough energy to spend a whole day of classes on campus; combating drowsiness due to medications.
  • Handling time pressures and multiple tasks: difficulty managing assignments, prioritizing tasks, and meeting deadlines. Inability to multi-task work.
    • Interacting with others: difficulty getting along, fitting in, contributing to group work, and reading social cues.
    • Fear of authority figures: difficulty approaching instructors or TAs.
      • Responding to negative feedback: difficulty understanding and correctly interpreting criticism or poor grades. May not be able to separate person from task (personalization or defensiveness due to low self-esteem).
    • Responding to change: difficulty coping with unexpected changes in coursework, such as changes in the assignments, due dates, or instructors. Limited ability to tolerate interruptions.
    • Severe test anxiety: such that the individual is rendered emotionally and physically unable to take the exam.

    Causes

    There are many different things that can cause someone to reach their Anxiety Threshold. Emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when feeling overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands. As the stress continues, people may begin to lose the interest and motivation that led them to take on a certain role in the first place.[9]

    Treatments

    A wide variety of treatment options are available for Anxiety Disorders. A few include, but are not limited to; Therapy, Medication, Complementary and Alternative Treatment, and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation.

    Medications

    Home Remedies

    Lifestyle can make a big difference in how people feel and think. Anxiety can be effected by just about anything, so being stress free is beneficial for health and preventing anxiety. Here are a few things people have tried to decrease anxiety throughout their everyday life:[11]

    • Be physically active. Exercise, stretch, lift weights, play sports, or even just go for a walk.
    • Make sleep a priority. Sleep is a key fundamental to how you feel. If you aren't sleeping well, see a doctor.
    • Relax. Try new techniques, it may help relieve anxiety.
    • Eat healthy. Eating healthy is linked to reduced anxiety.
    • Avoid alcohol and recreational drugs. These substances can worsen anxiety.
    • Quit smoking and drinking coffee. Both nicotine and caffeine increase anxiety.

    Measures of Anxiety

    There are 2 sub-scales used to measure anxiety; the State Anxiety Scale, and the Trait Anxiety Scale. The S-Anxiety Scale evaluates the current state of anxiety, while the T-Anxiety Scale evaluates aspects of "anxiety proneness", including general states of calmness, confidence and security. Both of these scales are measured on a 1-4 scale, the S-Anxiety scale being not at all-moderately and T-Anxiety scale being almost never-almost always. These scales are used to measure triggers of anxiety and levels of anxiety experienced. Results vary per person, as each individual experiences anxiety in different ways.[12]

    Types of Anxiety

    Disorders Where Anxiety is Present

    References

    1. ↑ "Anxiety and anxiety disorders". Retrieved 2 October 2011.
    2. ↑ Heath DH (May 1956). "Individual anxiety thresholds and their effect on intellectual performance". Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 52 (3): 403–8. PMID 13318851.
    3. ↑ Haller H, Cramer H, Lauche R, Gass F, Dobos GJ (May 2014). "The prevalence and burden of subthreshold generalized anxiety disorder: a systematic review". BMC Psychiatry. 14: 128. doi:10.1186/1471-244X-14-128. PMC 4048364. PMID 24886240.
    4. ↑ Fehm L, Beesdo K, Jacobi F, Fiedler A (April 2008). "Social anxiety disorder above and below the diagnostic threshold: prevalence, comorbidity and impairment in the general population". Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. 43 (4): 257–65. doi:10.1007/s00127-007-0299-4. PMID 18084686.
    5. ↑ Allan NP, Korte KJ, Capron DW, Raines AM, Schmidt NB (December 2014). "Factor mixture modeling of anxiety sensitivity: a three-class structure". Psychological Assessment. 26 (4): 1184–95. doi:10.1037/a0037436. PMID 25068913.
    6. ↑ "Facts & Statistics | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA". adaa.org. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
    7. ↑ beyondblue. "beyondblue". www.beyondblue.org.au. Retrieved 2018-08-10.
    8. ↑ "What are some of the functional limitations related to mental illness? | DO-IT". www.washington.edu. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
    9. 1 2 "Anxiety disorders - Symptoms and causes". Mayo Clinic. Retrieved 2018-08-10.
    10. ↑ "Generalized anxiety disorder - Diagnosis and treatment - Mayo Clinic". www.mayoclinic.org. Retrieved 2018-08-10.
    11. ↑ "Generalized anxiety disorder - Diagnosis and treatment - Mayo Clinic". www.mayoclinic.org. Retrieved 2018-08-10.
    12. ↑ Julian LJ (November 2011). "Measures of anxiety: State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Anxiety (HADS-A)". Arthritis Care & Research. 63 Suppl 11 (0 11): S467–72. doi:10.1002/acr.20561. PMC 3879951. PMID 22588767.
    13. 1 2 beyondblue. "beyondblue". www.beyondblue.org.au. Retrieved 2018-08-10.
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