What is Catastrophe Anxiety?

Anxiety is a normal part of life. Its purpose is to prepare you for a potentially stressful situation, like facing a challenge or getting through a hazardous situation. Some people experience anxiety even when there is no real threat. Catastrophes such as robberies, earthquakes or tornadoes can happen, but the overall odds are low. Some people still get stressed out by the thought that they could happen, no matter how unlikely the possibility.

Definition

• Anxiety can take on many forms and manifest itself in a variety of disorders. The Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA) explains that many people have a realistic fear of dangerous circumstances and situations. They avoid things like walking alone down dark streets, staying outside during storms or leaving the doors of their homes unlocked when they are sleeping or are not home. However, some fear catastrophes that rarely happen, such as airplane crashes, terrorist attacks or natural disasters. This catastrophe anxiety may keep them from doing normal activities because they don't want to be exposed to the possibility of something bad happening.

Causes

• Catastrophe anxiety can have a variety of causes. It may have its roots in a real disaster that affected the person at some point in his life. For example, he might have survived a house fire as a child or have a near miss on an airplane as an adult. He might develop a fear or fires or plane crashes based on those incidents. It might simply be the way in which generalized anxiety manifests itself in a particular person even though he has never had a bad experience with the object of his fear. Social worker Mark Sichel of the Healthy Place, a mental health website, explains that catastrophic thinking without a factual basis is a characteristic of panic disorders.

Level

• Catastrophe anxiety does not always rise to a level that requires treatment. It may be centered around a real possibility, even though the fear itself is exaggerated. For example, a person who lives on the coast might be afraid of hurricanes even when storm season has passed for the year. She might stock up on an overabundance of supplies and watch every weather report. This is okay unless the catastrophe-related activities interfere with everyday living. For example, she most likely has a disorder if her entire home is crammed with supplies or if she refuses to watch anything but weather reports and won't leave her home when there is a storm, even if it is far away.

Treatment

• The ADAA explains that anxiety disorders are very treatable if a person is willing to seek professional help. Catastrophe anxiety can be controlled with medication prescribed by a family doctor or psychiatrist. It can often be resolved through cognitive therapy administered by a counselor. The ADAA maintains a database of qualified professionals.

Prevention

• Catastrophe anxiety is preventable with good stress management techniques. Regular exercise, meditation, massage and engaging in enjoyable activities reduce overall stress levels and decrease the chance of anxious feelings. The Help Guide mental wellness site states that proper physical and emotional self-care can be a powerful prevention tool.