ABSTRACT
Anxiety States and Anxiety Neurosis Anxiety states are characterized by cognitive, visceral, and motoric changes (Zilboorg, 1933). The anxious patient presents with a distinctive feeling of apprehension or dread. He also typically reports a variety of autonomic symptoms: shortness of breath, increased heart rate, dizziness, flushes or pallor, hot flashes or chills, a dry mouth, sinking feelings in the stomach, and stomach cramps. Alternations in motor functioning are also common: shaking, tremors, weakness of limbs, and restlessness. When patients are anxious, attention and concentration are impaired. Thinking becomes less clear. According to Schur (1953), anxiety reactions involve a regression in cognitive functioning. On the one hand, anxiety represents a regression in evaluation; situations that are potentially only mildly dangerous are interpreted as being traumatic. On the other hand, "resomatization" occurs (Schur, 1955); like the infant, the patient reacts to real or fathomed danger primarily with somatic discharge and temporarily loses the capacity for secondary process thinking about the potential danger. Anxious persons seldom articulate their reasons for feeling so anxious, but they experience strong visceral reactions.
