Human Psychology And Anxiety

At the end of a whole day of hectic work, Mr. John Simpson, the project manager of a reputed company, stepped out of his office with a face, the expression of which cannot be actually mentioned! When asked by his colleagues, he replied that he was very anxious about the partially completed project which, by any means, had to be completed by the next day i.e. as it is the deadline date!

Now what is Anxiety? Is it tension? No. Is it fear? Well, not fear either. It is something which is invisible, intangible. It is a sort of sickness sometimes irresolute, sometimes violent and again at times it is unendurable! It is not real fear, yet it belongs to the fear syndrome. So what actually is it?

Well, it is a kind of fear. But a fear that is inexplicable. It is best described as the fear of a danger which does not in reality exist. A fear for the unknown! Anxiety, during a period of crisis, sometimes brings about severe physical disturbances such as quickening or slowing down of the pulse rates, paleness, drooping mouth, sweating, haggard eyes and respiratory or cardiac troubles.

Effects of Anxiety

Anxiety is an exaggerated tension, with several common side effects. The very common effects of anxiousness or anxiety are:

Anxiety - Physical or Psychological?

Anxiety is basically a psychological effect, although certain physical illnesses such as epilepsy or cardiac troubles do cause anxiety. Psychologically, anxiety appears when some element within becomes menacing to an individual. For instance, take the case of a timid chief. Because of his job profile he is forced to appear timid.

Yet the thought of being discovered as a timid person presents to him a permanent threat. It is very logical to assume that in the face of permanent menace, anxiety will appear. Now this anxiety may be a conscious or an unconscious one.

In any case, anxiety arising from a psychological cause is just as intense as a fear which is provoked by a visible danger. Too often, there is a tendency to diagnose such sickness as being 'imaginary illness' because the victims are unable to define their anxieties. But it is not imaginary and very real.