Definition
Anxiety
Definition
Anxiety is the experience of worry, fear, or unease about a future event or uncertain outcome. As a clinical category, anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety, social anxiety, panic disorder, and specific phobias. Anxiety as a passing feeling is part of the human experience. Anxiety as a clinical concern is when the worry is persistent, disproportionate, and interferes with daily life.
Clinical Context
DSM-5 organizes anxiety disorders by their pattern (generalized, social, panic, phobia) and the typical triggers. Affirming clinical practice avoids treating anxiety as a personal deficit; many anxiety patterns make sense given the person's context, history, or neurology. Treatment that ignores context is incomplete.
How This Shows Up in Our Work
In our work, anxiety is approached with curiosity first. We map what the anxiety is responding to, what tools you already use, and what is missing. CBT and DBT-informed practice provide structured tools. Trauma-informed framing applies when the anxiety has a trauma history beneath it. Neurodiversity-affirming framing applies when the anxiety is interleaved with sensory or executive-function patterns.