Anxiety: normal reaction or already pathological?
Even though fear has tangible, warning, and even spurring benefits in many situations, it is always perceived as unpleasant by those affected. When an ordinary fear becomes pathological cannot be answered in general terms. This essentially depends on how much one’s life is affected by fear. Thus, a specific fear response to a particular situation may be perceived as threatening by one person, while another reacts with mere caution. Ultimately, however, even the classification as a threat is not sufficient to label the reaction as pathological. Several factors play a role here.
When fear becomes pathological
When fear
- significantly restricts its own ability to act
- dominates everyday life and
- permanently stresses one's own emotional world
there are signs of a serious anxiety disorder that may require therapeutic treatment.
Experts consider a condition to be pathological precisely when the fear is
- is unreasonably strong in relation to the trigger
- occurs without reason or
- cannot be explained on a reasonable basis.
Phobic disorders, as well as other anxiety disorders, are classified according to ICD-10, the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. This also applies to the widespread generalized anxiety disorder, which is listed in the ICD-10 under F41.1.
Generalized anxiety – The fear of everything and everyone
In contrast to specific fears (non-diseased phobias), which only lead to a fear reaction in certain situations or in the face of specific objects in everyday life, generalized fear usually runs a chronic course. This means that it determines every single day and has already lasted for over six months.
Affected individuals suffer from excessive anxiety in this anxiety disorder, which can affect all areas of life. They fear, for example, that a business meeting could go wrong, that an accident could occur during a long car trip, that their own child could fail an exam or that something bad could happen to their own relatives. In many cases, they worry excessively about a particular issue and deal with it non-stop. If the feared event can then no longer occur, those affected quickly find another anxiety topic about which they can then again ruminate incessantly.
The constant worries in this disease are accompanied by increased basic tension, vigilance and restlessness, which often leads to sleep disorders and depression. In addition, those affected have to accept considerable losses in their quality of life, especially since they live in constant fear. Because fear becomes a constant companion, everyday tasks and activities cannot be performed appropriately and with concentration.
