What is an anxiety disorder?

What is an anxiety disorder?

• A. Causes a person anxiety, fear, or panic.
• B. Affects the person's mood as the primary symptom.
• C. Involves delusions.
• D. Leads to memory loss.

Answer: (A)

Anxiety disorders are characterized by persistent, excessive fear or worry that disrupts daily life. The statement that best fits this is the one that says the disorder causes a person to experience anxiety, fear, or panic. That emphasis on these emotions as the central experience reflects what defines anxiety disorders, which include conditions like generalized anxiety, panic disorder, phobias, and social anxiety. These disorders involve fear or worry that is out of proportion to actual danger, is hard to control, and leads to avoidance or impairment in functioning. The other options point to symptoms more typical of other conditions—mood changes as the main feature align with mood disorders; delusions are associated with psychotic disorders; memory loss isn’t a defining trait of anxiety disorders.

Anxiety disorders are characterized by persistent, excessive fear or worry that disrupts daily life. The statement that best fits this is the one that says the disorder causes a person to experience anxiety, fear, or panic. That emphasis on these emotions as the central experience reflects what defines anxiety disorders, which include conditions like generalized anxiety, panic disorder, phobias, and social anxiety. These disorders involve fear or worry that is out of proportion to actual danger, is hard to control, and leads to avoidance or impairment in functioning. The other options point to symptoms more typical of other conditions—mood changes as the main feature align with mood disorders; delusions are associated with psychotic disorders; memory loss isn’t a defining trait of anxiety disorders.