Overview of Anxiety Historical Perspectives
Anxiety was first recognized as a medical diagnostic entity in the late 1800s. Before of many medical conditions. In 1871,Jacob DaCosta described a chronic cardiac syndrome that included many psychological and somatic symptoms exhibited by soldiers. This “irritable heart syndrome” due to autonomic cardiac symptoms was later referred to as the DaCosta syndrome. World war II veterans and other survivors of combat exhibited a similar cluster of symptoms due to severe stresses that was eventually identified as post-traumatic stress disorder.