This document provides information about anxiety and anxiety disorders. It defines mental health as a state of balance and harmony between an individual and their environment. Anxiety is described as the anticipation of future threat, characterized by muscle tension and vigilance. Several types of anxiety disorders are outlined, including separation anxiety disorder, specific phobia, social anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder, and panic disorder. The document notes that anxiety disorders involve excessive or persistent fear and anxiety that interfere with daily life. Finally, the document discusses some treatment options for anxiety disorders, including medication and therapy, and provides coping strategies like limiting caffeine and getting sufficient sleep.

1. ANXIETY AT A GLANCE
UMMIKHAIRA SOFEA BT JA’AFAR
PEGAWAI PSIKOLOGI, UNIT PSIKOLOGI DAN KAUNSELING,
PUSAT KHIDMAT PELAJAR, UNIMAS

2. “If we start being honest about our
pain, our anger, and our
shortcomings instead of pretending
they don’t exist, then maybe we’ll
leave the world a better place than
we found it”
- RUSSELL WILSON

3. What is Mental Health?
Mental health is a state of balance
between the individual and the
surrounding world. A state of
harmony between oneself and
others. A state of co-existence
between the realities of the self and
that of the other people and the
environment.

4. Criteria for
Mental
Health:
1. Adequate contact with reality
2. Control of thoughts and
imagination
3. Efficiency in work and play
4. Social acceptance
5. Positive self-respect

5. MentalIllness?
A mental illness is a health
problem that significantly
affects how a person feels,
thinks, behaves, and
interacts with other people.

6. Difference of Mental Health and
Mental Illness
Mental Health Mental Health Issues Mental Illness
Capacity to think, feel and act in
ways that enhance our ability to:
• Enjoy life
• Deal with challenges
Diminished capacities (cognitive,
emotional, attentional, etc) that
interfere with:
• Enjoyment of life
• Interactions with society and
environment
Conditions that affect how a
person’s thinking, feeling mood,
or behavior including:
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Post traumatic stress disorder

7. Anxiety?
It’s your brain’s way of reacting to stress
and alerting you of potential danger
ahead
Is it normal to
have anxiety?
YES! You’re completely normal if you
have anxiety, OCCASIONALLY

8. Fear
+ Fear is the emotional response to real or
perceived imminent threat
+ Fear more often associated with surges of
autonomic arousal necessary for fight or
flight, thoughts of immediate danger, and
escape behaviours
Anxiety
+ Anxiety is anticipation of future threat
+ anxiety more often associated with muscle
tension and vigilance in preparation for future
danger and cautious or avoidant behaviours

9. Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders differ from developmentally normative fear or anxiety by being excessive or persisting
beyond developmentally appropriate periods. The symptoms can interfere with daily activities such as
job performance, schoolwork, and relationships. Individuals with anxiety disorders typically overestimate
the danger in situations they fear or avoid.

10. Types of
Anxiety
Disorders:
Separation Anxiety Disorder
Specific Phobia
Social Anxiety Disorder
Agoraphobia
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Panic Disorder

11. Separation Anxiety Disorder
A person with separation anxiety disorder is excessively fearful or
anxious about separation from those with whom he or she is attached.
The feeling is beyond what is appropriate for the person’s age, persists (at
least four weeks in children and six months in adults) and causes
problems functioning.
A person with separation anxiety disorder may be persistently worried
about losing the person closest to him or her, may be reluctant or refuse to
go out or sleep away from home or without that person, or may experience
nightmares about separation.
Physical symptoms of distress often develop in childhood, but symptoms
can carry though adulthood.

12. Specific Phobia
+ A phobia is an intense fear of—or aversion to—specific objects or situations. Although it can be realistic
to be anxious in some circumstances, the fear people with phobias feel is out of proportion to the actual
danger caused by the situation or object.
+ People with a phobia:
• May have an irrational or excessive worry about encountering the feared object or situation
• Take active steps to avoid the feared object or situation
• Experience immediate intense anxiety upon encountering the feared object or situation
• Endure unavoidable objects and situations with intense anxiety

13. Social Anxiety
Disorder
+ People with social anxiety disorder have a general intense
fear of, or anxiety toward, social or performance situations.
They worry that actions or behaviors associated with their
anxiety will be negatively evaluated by others, leading them
to feel embarrassed.
+ This worry often causes people with social anxiety to avoid
social situations. Social anxiety disorder can manifest in a
range of situations, such as within the workplace or the
school environment.

14. Agoraphobia
- having an extreme or
irrational fear of entering
open or crowded places
A person with agoraphobia
experiences this fear in two or
more of the following situations:
• Using public transportation
• Being in open spaces
• Being in enclosed places
• Standing in line or being in a crowd
• Being outside the home alone
The individual actively avoids the
situation, requires a companion or
endures with intense fear or
anxiety.

15. Generalized Anxiety Disorder
People with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) display excessive anxiety or worry, most
days for at least 6 months, about a number of things such as personal health, work, social
interactions, and everyday routine life circumstances. The fear and anxiety can cause
significant problems in areas of their life, such as social interactions, school, and work.
Generalized anxiety disorder symptoms include:
• Feeling restless, wound-up, or on-edge
• Being easily fatigued
• Having difficulty concentrating; mind going blank
• Being irritable
• Having muscle tension
• Difficulty controlling feelings of worry
• Having sleep problems, such as difficulty falling or staying asleep, restlessness, or unsatisfying
sleep

16. Panic Disorder
People with panic disorder have recurrent
unexpected panic attacks. Panic attacks are
sudden periods of intense fear that come on
quickly and reach their peak within minutes.
Attacks can occur unexpectedly or can be
brought on by a trigger, such as a feared object
or situation.
During a panic attack, people may experience:
• Heart palpitations, a pounding heartbeat, or an
accelerated heartrate
• Sweating
• Trembling or shaking
• Sensations of shortness of breath, smothering, or choking
• Feelings of impending doom
• Feelings of being out of control

17. Treatments for
Anxiety Disorders
Medication
Therapy

18. Coping with anxiety
+ Limit alcohol and caffeine, which can aggravate anxiety and trigger panic attacks.
+ Get enough sleep. When stressed, your body needs additional sleep and rest.
+ Learn what triggers your anxiety. Is it work, family, school, or something else you
can identify? Write in a journal when you’re feeling stressed or anxious and look for a
pattern.
+ Talk to someone. Tell friends and family you’re feeling overwhelmed and let them know
overwhelmed and let them know how they can help you. Counsellor or therapist.
+ Surrender your worries to God.

19. THANK YOU