Anxiety as THE spark for varied neuro responses

I've been giving some thought recently to a more unified theory of "mental illness"...looking at anxiety as the spark to illness sxs. i.e. anxiety ->over production of certain neurotransmitters->response to and distraction from feelings of anxiousness. I have seen this in OCD, the various Schizophrenias, dissociative disorders, affective disorders...have even looked at denial on the lower end of the continuum...there are many more responses...onmany different levels...most reality distorting to least reality distorting....Could it be that "illness" is a method which we utilize to protect ourselves from the pain of the original source of the anxiety (as anxiety relates to the precipitating event) Perhaps some people merely use avoidance while others are protected by delusion.....I'd like some feedback...agree or disagree? Why?

• Anxiety is a normal response to threat, not a mental illness by Paul Salkovskis, 2/21/98