Yes and no. When people get chronic anxiety or depression, it does seem like it comes on all of a sudden. When you look back, you see the signs it was coming but because most people have some anxiety and some phobias, when it breaks out full bore it is pretty jarring. In your case, because it's accompanied by this appetite thing, though, it does sound a bit different. I'm wondering if something traumatic happened just before this started? And I'm also thinking I'd get a much more complete physiological exam to rule out the hard to find things, such as thyroid problems, blood sugar imbalances, hormonal imbalances, etc. There are a lot of things out there that can cause symptoms that resemble anxiety. Only after ruling these out can you attribute it to a full breakout of a more severe mental illness that requires therapy and, if that fails, perhaps medication. And not all anxiety diseases are panic attacks -- there's a condition called GAD, or Generalized Anxiety Disorder, that is pretty much ever-present anxiety. Lots of fish in the anxiety sea. Make sure if you do see a psychologist they specialize in treating anxiety -- most don't. Good luck.