Anxiety disorders cause people to feel anxious most of the time, making some everyday situations so uncomfortable that they may avoid them entirely.
Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders cause people to feel anxious most of the time, making some everyday situations so uncomfortable that they may avoid them entirely. Or, people may experience occasional instances of anxiety that are so terrifying and intense that they may cause the person to feel immobilized. Often, symptoms of depression accompany anxiety disorders.
Anxiety disorders are very treatable. The various types of anxiety disorders include:
- Generalized anxiety disorder
- Panic disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Phobias
Generalized anxiety disorder
Generalized anxiety disorder is characterized by at least six months of persistent and excessive anxiety and worry about a number of events and activities. People who have it also experience at least some of the following:
- Inability to relax
- Inability to fall asleep or stay asleep
- Trembling or irritability
- Twitching or muscle tension
- Headaches
- Sweating or hot flashes
- Lightheadedness or breathlessness
- Nausea
- Going to the bathroom frequently
- Fatigue or lack of concentration
Panic disorder
Panic disorders exist when someone has persistent panic attacks, which are feelings of terror that strike suddenly and without warning and build to a peak within about ten minutes. Although, in some cases, they may last for as long as an hour. In addition, the person develops intense concern between attacks, worrying about when another one will occur. Symptoms of a panic attack may include:
- Sweating
- Trembling or shaking
- Shortness of breath or a feeling of choking or smothering
- Chest pain or discomfort
- Nausea or abdominal distress
- Dizziness or lightheadedness
- Sense of unreality
- Fear of losing control or "going crazy"
- Fear of dying
- Chills or hot flashes
- Tingling in the hands
- Pounding heart
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or OCD, causes people to have intrusive, unwanted thoughts or obsessions that last more than one hour a day or cause them to become distressed. Even though people who have them recognize that these obsessions or compulsions are unreasonable, they are unable to stop them.
Obsessions are persistent ideas, thoughts, impulses or images that are experienced as intrusive and inappropriate and that cause marked anxiety or distress.
Compulsions are repetitive behaviors, such as hand washing or checking, or mental acts, such as praying or counting. The goal of these behaviors or acts is to reduce anxiety or distress, rather than to provide pleasure or gratification.
In most cases, the person feels driven to perform the compulsion in order to reduce the distress that accompanies an obsession or to prevent some dreaded event or situation.
Because people with OCD realize that their thoughts and behaviors are unreasonable, they may fear that people will think they are crazy or silly and try to hide their problem.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder can be developed by anyone who has experienced a severe crisis, agony or torment. This includes victims or witnesses of a violent crime, a natural or man-made disaster, such as riots and military combat. Sometimes the symptoms of PTSD are short-lived and are quickly resolved. Others persist for months or years.
People with PTSD re-experience their trauma in some way. Most often, they develop intrusive and recurrent memories of extremely distressful and repeated nightmares about the experience. Some people even seem to lapse into a trance and may re-enact the traumatic event.
People with PTSD also develop immediate emotional distress when they encounter a situation or condition that resembles or symbolizes their past traumatic experience. They avoid thinking about or doing anything that reminds them of the experience, and they experience persistent symptoms of increased anxiety, watchfulness or vigilance about what is happening in their surroundings. They may have an exaggerated startle response, a hard time falling or staying asleep and trouble concentrating.
Phobias
Phobias are the most common psychiatric illness in women and the second most common in men over 25. There are three main groups.
Specific phobias are the most common and have a specific focus. Social phobia, for instance, causes extreme anxiety in social or public situations, while Agoraphobia is the fear of being alone in public places when there is no easy escape.
Specific phobias case intense fear of a particular object or situation that is actually relatively safe. People who suffer from specific phobias are aware that their fear is irrational, but they still experience severe anxiety and even a panic attack at the thought of facing the object or situation. Examples of specific phobias include persistent fear of dogs, insects or snakes, driving a car, heights, tunnels or bridges, thunderstorms or flying.
Social phobias cause fear and anxiety of being humiliated or embarrassed in front of other people. It can be related to feelings of inferiority and low self-esteem and can drive someone to drop out of school, avoid making friends and remain unemployed.
Agoraphobia causes people to suffer anxiety about being in places or situations from which they find it difficult or embarrassing to leave or escape. Examples include being in a room full of people or in an elevator. In extreme cases, a person with agoraphobia may be afraid to leave his or her house, and remain housebound for months or even years.
For more information on this illness and the other services of Information and Referral, visit Information and Referral Resources.
