Anxiety can be classified into different types based on subjective, physiological, and behavioral manifestation. This approach is useful for understanding how anxiety manifests itself at different levels of human experience.
The main types include:
1. Subjective Anxiety (Cognitive/Emotional)
• Related to the internal perception of anxiety.
• Involves worries, fears, catastrophic thoughts and a sense of imminent threat.
• May include:
• Rumination (repetitive thinking about a problem).
• Hypervigilance (constant feeling of alertness).
• Feeling of loss of control or being “on the verge of collapse”.
2. Physical Anxiety (Somatic/Physiological)
• Involves the responses of the autonomic nervous system to a state of alert.
• Includes symptoms such as:
• Increased heart rate (tachycardia).
• Rapid breathing (hyperventilation).
• Muscle tension and tremors.
• Excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis).
• Feeling of a lump in the throat or tightness in the chest.
• Digestive problems (nausea, diarrhea, gastric discomfort).
• Related to the activation of the HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal) axis and the release of cortisol and adrenaline.
3. Behavioral (Motor) Anxiety
• Refers to the observable reactions and actions taken due to anxiety.
• May include:
• Avoidance of feared situations (such as avoiding public speaking).
• Motor restlessness (fidgeting, biting nails, rocking).
• Impulsivity (acting without thinking to relieve anxiety).
• Compulsions (repetitive rituals, such as hand washing in obsessive-compulsive disorder – OCD).
4. Existential Anxiety
• Related to philosophical questions of purpose and meaning in life.
• May involve:
• Fear of the future or the unknown.
• Anxiety about mortality and the meaning of existence.
• Constant doubts about choices and the purpose of life.
• Common in times of personal crisis or significant change.
5. Social Anxiety
• Related to fear of evaluation by others and social situations.
• May involve:
• Fear of being judged or rejected.
• Difficulty speaking in public or interacting socially.
• Intense anxiety before social events.
6. Anticipatory Anxiety
• Occurs before future events, leading to excessive worry.
• Characterized by:
• Intense fear that something bad will happen.
• Imagining negative scenarios before tests, interviews, or medical exams.
• May be present in disorders such as GAD and panic.
7. Pathological Anxiety
• When anxiety becomes disproportionate, maladaptive and persistent, affecting quality of life.
• Can lead to anxiety disorders, such as Panic Disorder, GAD and Phobias.
Anxiety can have subjective aspects (thoughts and emotions), physical (body reactions) and behavioral (motor and social responses). Each person can experience these types differently, and the combination of factors can indicate the presence of a clinical disorder.
