Everyone experiences anxiety at some time in their life. It is a universal emotion. In fact, it has been recognized as part of the human condition since time began.
It was first recognized in the medical writings of the Greek physician Hippocrates. Hundreds of years later, the philosophers Seneca and Cicero recognized both the benefits and dangers of anxiety.
Charles Darwin noted similarities in how anxiety and fear were expressed in mammals as an adaptive behavior. However, anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders reported in older adults.