When is anxiety normal and when is it a disorder? A psychiatrist explains

Christopher W.T. Miller, MD, is a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst practising at the University of Maryland Medical Centre and an associate professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

He is the author of “The Object Relations Lens: A Psychodynamic Framework for the Beginning Therapist”. OPINION Is it normal to feel this anxious all the time? How do I know if it’s too much? These are questions many of my patients ask. Anxiety affects all of us and can be thought of as tension or worry about a situation or stressor.

Anxiety can be adaptive and is a necessary survival skill considering our environments can be dangerous and unpredictable. An anxiety response is a way of heightening attention to and preparing defences against something that can threaten our bodies, physical space or loved ones..