Private psychiatric practice
with Cabinet for psychotherapy
Dr. Sandic
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Anxiety
Normal anxiety
Back in 1926. in his study „Symptoms, Inhibitions and Anxiety" Sigmund Freud described the phenomenon of, as he named it, signal anxiety. Freud noted how this signal anxiety was not to be recognized a consequence of the instinctuous tension (unconscious), but a signal that emerges in the ego due to the anticipation of a drive induced tension. This is how, from the psychodynamic point of view, emergence of the signal anxiety is observed as a sign recognized by ego, a warning, that in a rather short time frame something undesirable, even horrifying, might take place. Its signal function is crucial as it warns us about the threat or danger that could negatively affect our psychological equilibrium.
Normal anxiety is thus of a use for a human being. It is exactly that while experiencing it an individual increases the alertness and meaningful activity. So one will agree that experience of this kind of anxiety, to a certain degree, is an experience common to all of us. It can be expressed related to, for example, worries about certain family member's health, tension felt before various public performances etc.
Experience of anxiety is always associated with certain somatic sensations provoked on a side of vegetative nervous system that is in a disbalance and thus hyperactive. In normal anxiety those are significantly less emphasized than it is the case in emergence of anxiety characterized by pathological traits. Typical sensations fall within the range of pain/spasm in the gastric area, difficulties sensed in throat (swallowing difficulties), increased sweating, various digestive difficulties etc.
A significant distinction between manifestation of normal and pathological anxiety is that in the case of the signal anxiety person is able to clearly locate the cause of this unpleasant state.
Normal anxiety
Pathological neurotic anxiety
Hypotheses about the genesis of anxiety disorders
Psychological hypotheses