Understanding the Symptoms of Anxiety

Understanding the Symptoms of Anxiety

Anxiety is an emotion caused by fear, nervousness or unease that often stems from anticipation of something but has yet to occur. It can range in intensity, with mild cases leading to severe cases; often leading people to avoid situations they believe might trigger a panic attack or other symptoms.

Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent psychiatric conditions, often coexisting with other conditions like depression or substance abuse. Thus, clinicians must be familiar with the symptoms associated with anxiety in order to effectively treat patients.

ICD-10 is a medical classification system developed to assist healthcare providers in recognizing and classifying health problems. It’s based on the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), an international system that has been in use since 1992.

The ICD-10 prioritizes patterns of symptoms over the specificity of each symptom. This marks a major departure from previous versions of the ICD, which prioritized specificity when diagnosing symptoms.

In the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10), mood (affective) disorders F30-F39 and neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders F40-F48 are divided into distinct categories. While this organizational distinction may seem minor at first glance, it serves to highlight their commonality as well as highlight their detrimental effect on mental health.

Social phobia, defined as fear of social interactions with other people, is one of the most frequently diagnosed anxiety disorders. This disorder may also manifest itself in avoiding certain settings like restaurants, theaters or public transportation. Since this condition is highly culturally specific it may be more challenging to diagnose and treat than other anxiety disorders.