Anxiety is a human trait and most i

Anxiety is a human trait and most individuals will have experience of it. Anxiety helps with vigilance (警戒), learning and general performance but in excess, it starts to work against us as extreme self-focus and apprehension reduces this attention and performance. Anxiety at the minor symptom level is familiar to virtually all of us. This often seems to weigh against an acute sufferer seeking help. Embarrassment and shame at an “over reaction”, perhaps aggravated by the particular blending of emotions (such as anger, shame, guilt or sadness mixing with a dominating fear) that make up their “personal anxiety” keeps the problem hidden and prevents this person from understanding that their response doesn’t mean they are weak, soft or immature. It is often not understood that anxiety can follow a continuum from mild to acute that leaves some people with “liveable” responses but others deeply disabled. With animal phobias, the vast majority of people will be at, or close to, the mild end of the line where the problem is, at most, irritating, but in no way affects their everyday lives. This can work against the severe phobic as people experiencing a similar fear at a low level very easily come to believe that the acute sufferer is weak or “over reacting”.