Anxiety disorders are primarily marked by which of the following?

Anxiety disorders are primarily characterized by feelings of tension or uneasiness. This encompasses a broad range of experiences, including worry, fear, apprehension, and a sense of impending doom. Individuals with anxiety disorders often report physical symptoms like increased heart rate, sweating, or a feeling of restlessness, which stem from this pervasive sense of anxiety. This emotional response is at the core of anxiety disorders and is what distinguishes them from other mental health issues.

While compulsive behaviors, episodes of sadness, and social interaction challenges can occur in various mental health conditions, they do not specifically define anxiety disorders. Compulsive behaviors are more aligned with obsessive-compulsive disorder, intense sadness is a hallmark of mood disorders like depression, and difficulty interacting socially is often a symptom of social anxiety or other related disorders but does not encompass the entirety of anxiety disorders. Thus, feelings of tension or uneasiness accurately capture the essence of anxiety disorders and highlight their pervasive nature.