ABSTRACT

The specific anxiety disorder will depend on the specific cues, the relative balance between panic and general anxiety, and the relative balance of the three major dimensions within the anxiety structure. Delineating similarities and differences in the phenomenology of the anxiety disorders and determining in a more precise way the core dimensions of the anxiety disorders and the relationship of the dimensions to basic emotional processes will be difficult. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is infrequently assigned as an additional diagnosis despite the fact that phenomenologically the four criteria for GAD are commonly found in other anxiety disorders To determine the essential features of anxiety, many researchers are returning to more basic investigation of the psychological structure of emotion. General anxiety, as distinct from panic, also seems a variable feature in the anxiety disorders. Somatic manifestations are common in most anxiety disorders, but perhaps more ubiquitous in panic disorder and its close relatives than in social or simple phobia.