Stress, worry, tension, and anxiety are all parts of everyone’s life. But merely experiencing any of these at a normal doesn’t suggest anything out of ordinary. Anxiety problems only turn into something sinister once these cause the development of disorders that inhibit one’s ability to function normally.
There are many forms of anxiety disorders – most can often become severe enough as to affect every aspect of one’s life. All in all, there are 6 anxiety conditions that are considered major physical and mental health concerns.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder or GAD
Everyone worries to a certain degree, but the level at which people with GAD or generalized anxiety disorder worry are anything but ordinary. Their worries are out of proportion, excessively irrational, and life-inhibiting, to say the very least.
Physiological symptoms such as muscle tension, trembling and shaking, sweating and hot flashes to name a few often accompany worrying. People with generalized anxiety disorder also often suffer from physical symptoms like light headedness, fatigue, frequent urination, nausea, sleep disturbances, diminished ability to focus or stay focused, and irritability.
Panic Disorder and Panic Attacks
Panic attacks are the hallmarks of an anxiety disorder called panic disorder and within this symptom alone are dozens of different psychological and physical symptoms, as well as emotional sensations. Not all of the symptoms occur simultaneously though. Usually, only four is necessary to qualify the condition as panic attack.
Patients of panic disorder or panic attack commonly report of the following symptoms: chest discomfort, racing or poundingheart, shaking or trembling, shortness of breath, nausea, tingling sensations, weakness or fatigue, depersonalization, derealization, and fear losing control, and of going crazy.
Social Phobia or Social Anxiety
Social situation is the object of fear of people suffering from social anxiety. The patients’ fears are mostly rooted on the prospect of being judged in such situations or their sense of incapability to measure up to other people’s judgment or expectations.
Phobias
Phobia is characterized by one’s intense apprehension or fear of certain objects or specific situations. Most patients, especially adults, are very aware that their fears are irrational. Nevertheless, their fears are often so overwhelming that when faced with their objects of fear, they forget all reason. Instead, these fears cause them severe anxiety or situationally predisposed panic attacks.
People with phobia end up performing avoidance behaviors, if not, endure them with extreme anxiety or distress. Neither approach is unhealthy for the person.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder or OCD is an anxiety disorder that is comprised of two things – obsessions or obsessive thoughts and compulsions or ritualized behaviors. In the majority of cases, obsessions occur alongside compulsions. However, in less than 20% of all patients, OCD develops into a condition that involves only obsessions OR compulsions.
Ritualized behaviors or compulsions are often performed to ease anxiety, although in not a few cases, performing ritualized behaviors only worsen the anxiety.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post-Traumatic Disorder or PTSD is a form of anxiety problems that develops from experiencing or witnessing an intensely traumatic, tragic or terrifying event. Usually, such experiences leave people with PTSD emotionally numb particularly to people they were once close to and bothered with memories of the event unless treated.
Anxiety problems come in many different forms, but all have symptoms that often inhibit people suffering from them from living normal lives. To know more about the individual disorders and the treatments available for them, visit my website.