A problem with the anxious condition is that the term anxiety is not specific only to medical terminology. Anxiety as a term, or to say that someone is anxious, has become frequent in common language. The problem here is that anxiety becomes so commonly used that a legitimate case of anxiety, a specific psychological condition and a potentially serious one, may be diminished.

Being anxious is not in itself a bad thing. In fact, all people at some point or other feel anxiety, and the anxiety a person feels can have beneficial effects. An anxious condition focuses one's mental and physical state in preparation for some form of coping. In the most dramatic possible scenario, enhanced mental and physical focus from anxiety would enable someone to try and escape physical danger. Anxiety then can be an asset.

Where anxiety becomes problematic is when it becomes chronic, or the anxious response is an overreaction to the circumstances. The chronically anxious condition can be characterized as a person being almost incessantly on edge, expecting the worst and constantly prepared for flight. The damage this sort of chronic state can cause can be quite extreme. The person who is chronically anxious is placing a heavy physical strain on themselves, essentially putting their bodies on constant high alert for a flight response. When the body is put under these sorts of physical demands, the body fatigues and wears out. As blood pressure rises under an anxious state, chronic anxiety can also lead to the problems elevated blood pressure causes: stroke, coronary problems, compromised kidney function, and other physical problems besides.

Having an overreactive anxious response can also be damaging. The person who feels anxiety when there's no real threat at hand is overreacting to life's circumstances. People who tend to react in this way are prone to withdrawing as a way of averting their upset, or self-medicating themselves through alcohol and drugs, or both. Withdrawal often, if not always, leads to mood problems such as depression, and even anger and hostility. The use of alcohol and drugs in a coping pattern is, obviously, an open door to addiction.

Chronic anxiety is a serious state, and can lead to further emotional and physical disorder. Any chronic dysfunction is unlikely to just go away on its own: the fact that a dysfunction is chronic indicates the problem has become set in place. Some form of treatment then for chronic anxiety is always called for. The good news is that there are effective methods for anxiety treatment, and once a person has gone through treatment for an anxious condition their outlook can change almost entirely.