Often Avoiding, a Sign of Anxiety?

Anxiety is a feeling of fear, worry, or unease. While it can occur as a reaction to stress, anxiety can also occur without a clear trigger. Anxiety is one sign that someone is experiencing a mental health problem

Signs and Symptoms of Anxiety

• Feeling nervous, agitated, or tense
• A sense of impending danger, panic, or doom
• Having an increased heart rate
• Breathing rapidly (hyperventilating)
• Sweating
• Shaking
• Feeling weak or tired
• Having trouble concentrating or thinking about anything other than the current worry
• Having trouble sleeping
• Having gastrointestinal (GI) problems
• Having trouble controlling worry
• Having urges to avoid things that trigger anxiety

Types of anxiety disorders

• Agoraphobia is a type of anxiety disorder in which you fear and frequently avoid places or situations that can cause you to panic and make you feel trapped, helpless, or embarrassed.
• Anxiety disorder due to a medical condition involves symptoms of intense anxiety or panic that are directly caused by a physical health problem.
• Generalized anxiety disorder involves persistent and excessive worry and anxiety about specific activities or events, even ordinary and routine matters. The worry is out of proportion to the actual situation, is difficult to control, and affects how you feel physically. It often occurs with other anxiety disorders or depression.
• Panic disorder involves repeated episodes of sudden feelings of intense anxiety and fear or terror that peak within minutes (panic attacks). You may have a sense of impending doom, shortness of breath, chest pain, or a racing, pounding, or pounding heart (heart palpitations). These panic attacks can lead to fears of having another panic attack or avoidance of situations in which panic attacks have occurred.
• Social anxiety disorder (social phobia) involves high levels of anxiety, fear, and avoidance of social situations because of feelings of embarrassment, low self-esteem, and concerns about being judged or viewed negatively by others.
• Specific phobias are characterized by intense anxiety when you are exposed to a specific object or situation and a desire to avoid it. Phobias trigger panic attacks in some people.
• Substance-induced anxiety disorder is characterized by symptoms of intense anxiety or panic that are a direct result of drug abuse, drug use, exposure to toxic substances, or drug withdrawal.

These feelings of anxiety and panic interfere with daily activities, are difficult to control, are disproportionate to the actual danger, and can last a long time. To overcome this, Hermina's friends can avoid places or situations that can trigger anxiety, although sometimes anxiety is caused by a medical condition that requires treatment by a mental health doctor or psychologist to overcome and find an approach to treating anxiety.

References:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anxiety/symptoms-causes/syc-20350961
https://www.healthline.com/health/stress-and-anxiety