Contribution of Anxiety to Health-Related Problems - Term Paper Example

Running head: ANXIETY Anxiety- A concept analysis Anxiety has been the root cause for the birth of majority of the diseases in the world. It has been one of the most researched topics in the healthcare industry as one of the most important components in the rise of the health related problems. It has been one of the most prominent disorders in the people in the modern age. About 15% of the population in the USA suffers from the panic attacks caused by the anxiety. (Barlow, 2002, pp. 1-2; Bourne, 2005, p. 1) The purpose of the paper is to explore this concept of ‘anxiety’ from various angles with special emphasis on the health and cognitive viewpoint. Theories and cases are used to show how this term finds its application in reality. Now, anxiety is experienced in our day-to-day life but in fields of healthcare and nursing anxiety might result in a certain kind of disorder in a person. However it is not necessary that every person who experience anxiety from time to time is suffering from such a disorder. Disorder comes into play when the experience is frequent and more complex in nature. However since the symptoms are more or less similar and the origin of the experience is also same. In this paper we have not actually differentiated between the two aspects of ‘anxiety’ and ‘anxiety disorder’ and this has helped us explore greater dimensions of anxiety. So these two ideas have been used interchangeably. This is the first assumption. Again, animals and birds might experience anxiety as a response to an anticipation of future occurrence, as well. However this paper will focus on anxiety with respect to human living. This is the second assumption. Anxiety causes in man a hint of fear for the consequences, which can at times lead to the survival of the people. Nevertheless, people all around the world have suffered due to an overdose of anxiety. This can be attributed to the environment in the modern world. The world has been more economically developed and there has been more emphasis led on Darwin’s “survival for the fittest” theory. The stress of the life in the modern world has made people feel anxious about their life more often. They get tensed more often in the modern generation. Anxiety has been responsible for the birth of various diseases. (Barlow, 2002, pp. 1-2; Bourne, 2005, p. 1) The nursing managers must be well versed in the concept of anxiety to take care of the patients. Definitions The definition of ‘anxiety’, as presented in The Free Dictionary by Farlex is appropriate to the context of our study. In technical terms, anxiety may be defined as “‘a multisystem response to a perceived threat or danger” (The Free Dictionary by Farlex, 2010). This is brought about by a sequence of biochemical responses within the body of the victim and affects him or her both physically and mentally. Human imagination moves in all directions, can anticipate future events, which it relates to the past occurrences. Normally it is described as a kind of emotion. Satre (1956) defines anxiety in the following words: “Anguish [angoisse, anxiety] then is the reflective apprehension of freedom by itself. In this sense it is mediation, for although it is immediate consciousness of itself, it arises from the negation of the appeals of the world.” (cited in Harari, 2001, p. 7). Reviews of different literatures shows that ‘anxiety’ can be perceived form various dimensions. Lacanian concept of anxiety refers to the concept as a kind of experience and hence it does not provide any specific definition. Both Lacan (1986) and Green (1999) use the theory of affectivism and suggest that anxiety affects the subject. Lacan also bring forth the ‘the catalogue method’ where a series of feelings are integrated under the simple construct o the term ‘anxiety’. In his seminar Lacan (1986) says that anxiety works as a signal and refers to a different system or order. Therefore ‘anxiety does not represent itself’ (cited in Harari, 2001, p. 5). According to the definition of Freud (1936), “anxiety is therefore on one hand an expectation of trauma and on the other, a repetition of it in a mitigated form” (cited in Idema, 1990, p. 84). The later part is referred as repression. Repression of past experiences might help in cooping with a particular mishap but this way of reducing anxiety might cost a lot. Putting away the uneasy thoughts and moving with the natural flow of things mainly suppress anxiety. Going by this theory we may say that when there is no repression of any negative feelings about a particular experience and an anticipation of future happenings, then anxiety comes into play. According to Carpenito-Moyet (2007), anxiety is defined as a “vague feeling of dread or apprehension; it is a response to external or internal stimuli that can have behavioral, emotional, cognitive and physical symptoms.” (Carpenito-Moyet, 2007, p. 71) These categories present a wide range of symptoms such as diarrhea, enlarged pupils, tiredness, sleeplessness, etc. The Quick Reference Dictionary for Occupational Therapy presents the definition of anxiety to be “characterized by an overwhelming sense of apprehension; the expectation that something bad is happening or will happen; class of mental disorders characterized by chronic and debilitating anxiety”. (Jacobs & Jacobs, 2009, p. 13) Another comprehensive definition is given in the Concise Textbook of clinical Psychiatry. It states that the anxiety is characterized by a diffuse, unpleasant, vague sense of apprehension, often accompanied by autonomic symptoms, such as headache, perspiration, palpitations, tightness in the chest, and mild stomach discomfort" (Kaplan & Sadock, 2008, p. 189). From the above discussion of definition of anxiety given by various sources, we find that this concept may be explained from psychological, emotional and physical dimensions. While Freud (1936) and Sartre (1956) concentrate on the cognitive and emotional aspects respectively, the other definitions reflect upon the concept through physical symptoms and describe this term in biochemical terms. The definitions of anxiety underline the fact that anxiety has been one of the most well researched subjects in the world of psychology, nursing and other fields of healthcare. The definitions point out in simple terms that that anxiety is the expectation of the worst and this brings about the tension in the people’s mind. Attributes The definitions of anxiety points out the fact that the anxiety causes changes in the set up of the mental and the physical health of the body in expectancy of some events. The general outlook of the people in the society is to be liked and appreciated by the others in the society. Therefore, in the case of some of the events people expect the support of the others in the society. In other words, people fear the negative reactions of the others. This is one of the main attributes in the rise of the anxiety in people. When people fear negative reactions of the people, it leads to the rise of anxiety in the minds and bodies. This influences some changes in the minds and bodies of the people that can have a severe effect on the health of the people. (Hofmann, Korte & Suvak, 1999) Anxiety disorder might take place in specific cases of psychological state of being. It is accompanied by some symptoms that can be seen in the physical and the mental set up of the people. It has to be understood that anxiety is a group of disorders and therefore the symptoms may vary. Some people may feel anxious before a presentation and some may be fearful of every event. The fearfulness and the tension factor are the most common attributes in the case of anxiety disorder. Additionally, there are other traits that speak of the anxiety disorders. This may be physical or emotional. The most common emotional attributes of anxiety, touchiness, agitation, trouble in concentrating on work, expectation of the worst-case scenario etc. These symptoms or attributes make the people ill mentally and contributes in the development of the problems. In the case of the physical attributes, the most common are the headaches, fatigues, sweating, pounding of heart, stomach upset, insomnia etc. Therefore, it can be gauged from the symptoms, what dangers anxiety holds for the people. The physical disorders can be fatal for the health of the people. The symptoms of anxiety disorder lead the people in to the clutches of depression, which can have a negative effect on the mind and the body of the people. (Smith & Segal, 2010) The symptoms of anxiety can be misleading in the sense that it can give the view of some general incidents. In addition to this, there are many symptoms and it is really hard to keep a track of those symptoms. The fear and anxiety in the minds of the people lead to some changes in the physical and the mental set up of the people. The symptoms are an exaggeration of biological changes in the body and the mind of the people. The symptoms may differ from people to people and this leads to the confusion. Some people may have serious trembling in the body while some other person may just have a chest pain. The changes in the biological set up of the body will have a degrading effect on the mind and body of the person. This leads to the rise of various diseases. (Anxiety symptoms, 2010) The attributes of anxiety underline the importance of the disorder in the case of the health related problems in the people. Anxiety leads to the origin of most of the diseases in the people. The attributes in anxiety disorder can be described with the help of the different cases. Cases Model Case: A model or exemplar case is an example of a perfect use of the concept. The case will describe the attributes of the disorder. Adam has been living in a village on the banks of a river. The river had no history of flooding its plains. However, the area receives heavy rainfall in the rainy season. In one such season, the rain was more than expected. Adam could not gauge the velocity of the situation in the first hand. However, when the rain began to pour on more ferociously, he felt certain anxiety about the condition of the village and the case of flooding. He saw that the waters were splashing its banks and the level was rising in every passing hour. He was tensed about the conditions of the river and the consequences. Adam fled the village with his belongings. This helped him to save himself from death. (Barlow, 2002, pp. 2-4). The case describes the attributes of anxiety and the benefits caused by it. He was feeling tensed and was anxious about the conditions, which led him to flee the village. Contrary case: In this case the ill effects of anxiety disorder will be endorsed. John lives in the border area of the country where the threats of eviction are always there. He is troubled by the anxiety and that leads him to be mentally and physically ill. Like the other people in this area, he is evicted causing him more trouble than that of the other people in the area. The anxiety disorder makes him ill whereas the other people in the region left it to the authority. The unnecessary panic by John leaves him at a worse condition than the other people. (Wolfe & Shalit, 2007, p. 68). Related case: Roy is a student in a management institute. He gets anxious before every presentation in front of the class. He gets tensed. However, in every term end he finds that his marks are better than he expected. This is a related case where Roy thinks that anxiety has led him to perform badly in the presentations. However, the marks suggest otherwise. It can also be said that anxiety could have restricted him to perform better. Borderline case: Joann gets sever headaches before every examination, which restricts her ability to study for a longer period. However, she is happy with the performance. Her teachers feel she deserves more than she achieves. This is a borderline case where Joann will struggle in fulfilling her potential because of the anxiety disorder. Theoretical definition The anxiety disorder is the disturbance in the mental and the physical set up of the people due to the fear or worry. There is a certain indication of uncertainty in the case of the disorder. In the case of nursing anxiety disorder has been one of the most important concepts as most of the diseases in the modern times rise due to the anxiety. (Noyes & Saric, 1998, p. 37) Measurement tools In the case of anxiety there are no clear cases for the measurement of the disease or the symptoms. Therefore, it becomes imperative to keep a close observation on the patients. The patients have to be observed after he complains about the symptoms. There are psychological tests that help in the measurement of the normal behavior of the people. Divergence from the normal behavior may be a source for the disturbance. The Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale (MAS) was one such tool. However, the process was not much helpful and continuous development in the field has been made. Mandler and Sarason prepared a questionnaire, in order to estimate the anxiety of the people. However, the symptoms of anxiety are the most useful tools of measurement and various process of examining them has been developed. The Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) is one such method. The symptoms are to be closely observed to detect anxiety disorders. (Gottschalk & Gleser, 1969, pp.18-20) Antecedents The antecedent is the pre occurrence of the incidents or the cause of the events. The cause of the anxiety disorder is not known and can be a consequence of a blend of factors. It can be caused by the genetics of the people. Another cause is the set up of the brain. The brain consists of certain neurotransmitters that help in the communication of the nerve cells. When these are imbalanced the disorder occurs. The environment also has a hand in the cause of the disorders. The modern environment is stressful. Other than the environment several traumatic incidents in life can cause the disorder. (Generalized anxiety disorder, 2010). The person may undergo fear of some of the unexpected events. It gives rise to a stimulus that may involve violent behavior from the individual. One of the most important antecedents is the inconsistency of the behavior of the individual. The threats or fear in the case of anxiety are not life threatening and are more inclined to the biological homeostasis like bankruptcy or the fear of surgery etc. (Bay & Algaise, 1999) Consequences The consequences of the disorder are severe. The general order of the life is halted. In the case of the anxiety disorder, the person may not be able to behave in a normal manner. He is unmindful and his works are filled with mistakes. This can influence the professional and the personal life. (Severe anxiety: consequences and treatments, n.d.). In the time of the stress and anxiety, the body releases hormones that are dedicated to produce the white blood cells. The white blood cells are needed for the protection of the body from the viral attacks and the infections. However, the large-scale production misbalances the body and the effect is bad. The person may suffer from the digestive and the cardiovascular system. People may suffer from illness and the weakness. There may be skin diseases like the psoriasis. Recent studies claim that anxiety may lead to cancer. (Mills, 30th July, 2008) Empirical referents The empirical referents in the case of the anxiety can be gauged by the observation of the patients. The symptoms and the consequences of the anxiety disorder can be traced only with the help of observation of the patients. The nursing managers to gauge the importance of the situation should review the symptoms in the patients. Surveying them with the help of a questionnaire to capture their feelings and responses might also help. Application to Nursing The anxiety disorder has been the most common form of occurrence in the health industry. This has increased the importance of the knowledge about the disorder. The nurses have to be well aware of the problem and have to be knowledgeable about the symptoms. This will help in the treatment. For example, it is advisable that the nurses take a look at the history of the patients if they show symptoms of the disorder. The knowledge will help in the treatment of the growing number of people suffering from the disorder. (Antai-Otong, December 2003) Application to Nursing Research The researches in the case of anxiety in the field of nursing are important for the evaluation and the treatment of the patients. Several works has been done in this field and the outcomes have been successful in the development of the treatment of the patients. The researches stressed on the fact that the nurses should use the understanding of the stress factor. It is evident that if the nurses are aware of the stress situations the patients will be treated in a more effective way. The nursing research underlines the fact that the patients need to be attended every time. The findings of the nursing research help the field of study. More researches are being commenced and with the growing number of anxiety disorder cases, it will help in the treatment of the patients. (Peterson & Bedrow, 2008, p. 214) Conclusion Anxiety is therefore a simple one-word construct, which finds its application in psychoanalysis, nursing and healthcare and even in day-to-day interactions. Anxiety disorder has been a major problem in the case of the health related issues. The growing stress of life in the modern generation has contributed in the development of the disorder. Therefore, the nursing fraternity must be aware of the symptoms and the consequences of the disorder to take care of the patients. References Antai-Otong, D. (December, 2003). 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