We define anxiety as the emotional state in which we experiment a sensation of permanent anguish and desperation, due to unknown conscious causes. It can affect people of all ages y mainly those who are submitted to constant labor or familiar tension. It can also affect people who have in their behavior pattern a sense of perfectionism towards everything they do and say (excess of responsibility).
Anxiety can be acute or chronic and it is more frequent in women than in men. Anxiety disorders can be psychological and/or physiological; and they can have a genetic tendency. The psychological factors involved correspond to the management of the autonomous nervous system.
The repetition of stress situations in a patient with anxiety (assaults, traffic accidents, kidnaps or natural disasters) can lead to a panic attack (see later).
A known reason or non exteriorized subconscious trauma (war experiences, unconfessed love, childhood or adolescent personal traumas, labor dissatisfaction, etc), may be a cause of anxiety. Anxiety can also be the result of a medicine reaction (abuse of psychoactive substances), glandular disorders, hypoglycemia, cardiovascular diseases, post-addictive stages (when giving up smoking, alcohol), etc.
It is estimated that 56% of the general population present more than one anxiety disorder. Statistics indicate that 8.8% of the people have had in the last year one of the most frequent anxiety disorder: simple phobia, which is generally not very invasive. Another 7.9% of the population has had a much more disabling anxiety disorder: social phobia. It is calculated that 2.3% of the people have had panic attacks, a phenomena which has been increasing in the last 5 years in Argentina.
Finally, 2.8% has developed agoraphobia without panic (agoraphobia consists on being anxious when being in places or situations when escaping can be difficult or where in case of having a crisis of anguish, may not have help.)
A study coordinated by WHO (World Health Organization) made on 25,916 individuals distributed in primary assistance centers in 14 countries, revealed that the general anxiety incidence is of 7.9%, whereas panic attack constitutes 1.1% of the cases.
