Wednesday, March 27, 2024

The Difference Between Anxiety and Fear

 

                                               (Downy Woodpecker in our back yard - anxiety-free.)


"What Is Anxiety? 

Anxiety is related to fear, but is not the same thing. The diagnostic manual of psychiatry (DSM-5-TR) defines fear as “the emotional response to real or perceived imminent threat, whereas anxiety is anticipation of future threat.” Both can be healthy responses to reality, but when excessive, they can become disorders."

Haidt, Jonathan. The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness (pp. 26-27). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.