The goal of any treatment is to make anxiety a manageable part of daily existence. There is no single cause for the development of anxiety disorders. Diathesis refers to a risk factor, underlying weakness, or innate trait that predisposes an individual to the development of a disorder. Examples would be a genetic predisposition to anxiety, a cognitive or attributional style that leads to increased anxiety, or an individual's sex. In many cases a stress on the system is required for the development of an anxiety disorder, although alleviating the stress may NOT bring about a return to normal levels of anxiety.
Anxiety disorders are one of the most common and pervasive mental disorders.
The different disorders have different prevalence rates. In depth prevalence information can be found in the sections describing the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for each disorder. One year prevalence rates refer to the percent of individuals expected to have a current diagnosis of a disorder during the preceding twelve months. Lifetime prevalence rates refer to the percent of individuals who report having been diagnosed with the disorder in their lifetime, regardless of current diagnostic status. Estimates vary widely due to different thresholds used to calculate the presence of the disorder.