THE ESSENTIAL
- Anxiety disorders affect approximately 15-20% of the population at some point in their lives.
- They are twice as common in women as in men.
- Our propensity to worry would determine the stability of our anxiety level.
“Existing theories and empirical evidence suggest that worry propensity is associated with an anxiety response. However, it is unknown how worry propensity may influence the experience of anxiety throughout the day” . This is what American scientists wrote in a study recently published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences.
To find out how the level of worry affects the anxiety felt during the day, the researchers recruited 136 adults. Participants had to complete a questionnaire every day for a week. In the latter, the volunteers indicated how anxious they were in the morning, followingnoon and evening so that the authors might measure their level of anxiety.
“Worry can become dangerous”
Scientists found that anxiety levels decreased over the day for people with low or moderate anxiety because they were less prone to worry. In contrast, adults with a high worry propensity reported an increase in anxiety that was sustained throughout the day, even into the evening. According to the researchers, these results suggest that giving in to excessive worry can keep anxiety levels high and constant.
“At healthy levels, worry can help us anticipate threats and prepare for the future, explains the researcher. Worry can become dangerous if its frequency or intensity is disproportionate to its source. If I’m so worried regarding an upcoming test that I can’t concentrate on my studies, or if I’m so often worried regarding storms that I don’t leave my house, then the worry becomes problematic “, explained Dr. Rebecca Cox, lead author of the work.
