Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety is a common and normal emotion that everyone feels from time to time. We feel anxious when we’re about to make a speech, have a difficult conversation with someone, or when we anticipate bungee jumping, for example. But when you are feeling constant or overwhelming anxiety in everyday situations that cause you to feel tension, apprehension, or extreme fear, that is accompanied by physical sensations such as heart palpitations, sweating, etc. then you are likely dealing with an anxiety disorder.

Generally, there are the following kinds of anxiety disorders:

• Generalized anxiety disorder
• Phobic disorder (phobias)
• Social anxiety disorder
• Panic disorder
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Post-traumatic stress disorder

All of these disorders may have a biological cause or predisposition, but many of them can also be conditioned, learned, or induced by a belief or event. Stress can also be a factor that increases the likelihood of anxiety disorders.

Generalized anxiety disorder

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is characterized by high levels of chronic anxiety about regular day-to-day life events, that are generally not related to any specific form of threat. People with GAD may experience physical symptoms such as:

• Trembling
• Muscle tension
• Diarrhea
• Faintness
• Dizziness
• Sweating
• Heart palpitations
• Fatigue

This disorder tends to start gradually, sometimes not being noticed for a long time until symptoms get to be too much to bear and begin to affect everyday life by causing you to avoid particular events or situations.

Phobic disorder (phobias)

Phobic disorder (or phobias) is a type of anxiety disorder identified as a persistent and/or irrational fear of something or a situation that usually presents no realistic danger to the individual. Many people have mild phobias such as fears of large animals, spiders, or public speaking. If you have a phobia, you likely either avoid what it is that causes your extreme fear or you endure it with great stress and fear. However, to be classified as a phobia, it has to seriously interfere with your general everyday behavior. Phobias can be specific and perhaps not overly impactful on your life –  example, if you have a fear of snakes, it may not be that debilitating to avoid hiking where snakes may exist. Other specific phobias can be more problematic if say, you have a love of travelling but a fear of flying. If the phobia is related to something that is not easy to avoid such as being around people (social anxiety disorder) or agoraphobia (a fear of being in public places where it would be difficult or embarrassing to make a sudden exit), this can very negatively affect your everyday life and your quality of life in general.

Social anxiety disorder

Social Anxiety Disorder is the most common anxiety disorder and is characterized by an intense fear of normal social situations. You may fear being embarrassed, judged, or rejected in social situations such as parties, going for lunch with co-workers or even making a phone call. As a result, you may avoid these situations and become more and more reclusive and isolated, possibly causing you distress and impairing your ability to function in daily life. Often, you recognize your anxieties or fears as unreasonable but can’t move to overcome them without help.

Panic disorder

Panic Disorder is identified usually by some form of recurrent panic attacks that happen suddenly and unexpectedly. Panic attacks are sudden and intense feelings of overwhelming fear that include physical sensations that sometimes can be mistaken as having a heart attack. You may feel intense emotions as well such as the world ending or that you can’t breathe and/or are dying.

Symptoms of panic attacks:

• Feeling as if your heart is beating very hard and/or very fast
• Sweating
• Shaking
• Shortness of breath/difficulty breathing
• Chest pain/discomfort
• Light-headedness, dizziness, or feeling faint
• Nausea
• Numbness or tingling

It’s important to note that these symptoms are mistaken for cardiovascular events because they are consistent with heart episodes as well, so it’s important to get checked out at the hospital or doctor to rule out medical causes – especially if you’re experiencing a panic attack for the first time.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Obsessive-compulsive disorder, also known in its shortened form as OCD, is an anxiety-based mental disorder. OCD tends to occur when your anxious thoughts are uncontrollable and you feel the urge to engage in some form of ritual that is usually senseless or excessive to feel relief from these intrusive thoughts. Read more about OCD here.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Post-traumatic stress disorder first entered our vocabulary when it was identified in soldiers who returned from tours of duty. It’s been identified in other first responders as well, and PTSD can and does occur in anyone who has recently been through a traumatic situation. Assaults and abuse, kidnappings, car accidents, and serious or life-threatening injuries or illnesses are examples of situations that can cause you to develop PTSD. Read more about PTSD here.