Anxiety Disorders
Understanding Anxiety Disorders
Do I have an AnxietyAn abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear often marked by physical signs (such as tension, sweating, and increased pulse rate), by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt about one’s capacity to cope with it. More Disorder if I’m Nervous?
You hear people saying all the time that they have anxiety or that they are nervous. Does that mean they have an Anxiety Disorder? No. The type of anxiety people who have anxiety disorders live with every day takes over their lives. It’s disabling. No matter where you go or what you do, there is no escape from it. Your mind battles with it day and night, and it continues to grow over time until it interferes with all the activities of your life—your job, school, your relationships, everything. The anxiety so consumes you that you can’t eat, breathe, sleep, open, or close your eyes without knowing it’s there, feeling its presence and the weight of it crushing your very being. It consumes who you are.
Several types of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and various phobia-related disorders. While medication and psychotherapy are both used as treatments, various psychotherapies provide the best treatment options in helping the individual learn to cope with their fears. Exposure therapy (desensitization), combined with relaxation and imagery, helps teach the individual how to face their anxiety through a progressive encounter with their fear trigger. Cognitive therapy teaches the individual to face their anxiety by thinking about, behaving, and reacting to the object generating fear using coping skills.
The National Institute of Mental Health provides detailed information on most mental health conditions. If you would like to read more about anxiety disorders in general, go to https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-disorders/index.shtml
Anxiety Disorder Symptoms
All anxiety disorders seem to have the following symptoms in common plus some that are unique to their diagnosis:
- Feeling restlessness, tense, wound-up, on edge.
- Easily fatigued
- Have difficulty concentrating; the mind goes blank easily.
- Becomes irritable easily
- Significant muscle tension
- Difficulty controlling feelings of worry or thoughts about topics of worry
- Difficulty sleeping, falling asleep, staying asleep
Symptoms of Panic Disorder
Panic attacks are characterized by intense fear that peaks within minutes resulting in heart palpitations, a pounding or racing heart rate, sweating, trembling or shaking, shortness of breath or feeling like they can’t take a breath, a feeling of impending doom, and that everything all around them is totally out of control.
Symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
People with OCD usually have both obsessions and compulsions but may have only one or the other. The symptoms are so severe they interfere with all aspects of life, including but not limited to work, school, and personal relationships.
Symptoms of PTSD include
- Re-experiencing the trauma in dreams and thoughts, including physical symptoms like racing heart rates, sweating, panic attacks.
- Avoiding places near the trauma area, being around people involved with the event, or using anything associated with the event. Refusing to talk about what happened.
- Feeling jumpy, being easily startled and on-edge, having difficulty sleeping, having angry outbursts.
- Holding onto negative feelings about themselves and the world. Experiencing distorted feelings of guilt
• feelings of deserving blame especially for imagined offenses or from a sense of inadequacy;
• a feeling of deserving blame for offenses;
• the fact of having committed a breach of conduct especially violating the law and involving a penalty
More or blame. Losing any interest in participating in pleasurable activities.
Phobia-Related Symptoms
A phobia is an intense fear of—or aversion to—specific objects or situations. Although it can be realistic to be anxious in some circumstances, the fear people with phobias feel is out of proportion to the actual danger caused by the situation or object. If they are unfortunate enough to encounter the situation, they experience immediate, intense anxiety.
Separation Anxiety
Adults and children may be affected by Separation Disorder. People who have separation anxiety disorder have fears about being parted from people to whom they are attached. They often worry that some harm or something untoward will happen to their attachment figures while they are separated. This fear leads them to avoid being separated from their attachment figures and to avoid being alone. People with separation anxiety may have nightmares about being separated from attachment figures or experience physical symptoms with anticipated separation or when they occur.
Phobia-RElated Disorders
Phobia =Fear
People with phobias have an irrational intense fear or aversion to a specific object or situation. They worry excessively about encountering this situation to such an extreme that it affects all aspects of their life. The level of fear they feel when they encounter the object that is the subject of the phobia is significantly disproportionate to the level of danger it can direct to the individual. However, that doesn’t matter. The person will take steps to avoid the feared object or situation.
Types of Phobias
There are several types of phobias and phobia-related disorders. Simple phobias against the fear of flying, heights, animals (snakes, spiders, dogs, etc.), shots, blood, etc.
For More Information On Phobia-Related Disorders
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-disorders/index.shtml
Additional Anxiety Disorders
Factitious disorders:
Factitious disordersFactitious disorders are conditions in which a person knowingly and intentionally creates or complains of physical or emotional symptoms to place the individual in the role of a patient or a person in need of help. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-types-illness More are conditions in which a person knowingly and intentionally creates or complains of physical or emotional symptoms to place the individual in the role of a patient or a person in need of help.
https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-types-illness
Impulse Control and Addiction DisordersImpulse Control and Addiction Disorders: People with impulse control disorders cannot resist urges, or impulses, to perform acts that could be harmful to themselves or others. Pyromania (starting fires), kleptomania (stealing), and compulsive gambling are examples of impulse control disorders. Alcohol and drug are common objects of addictions. Often, people with these disorders become so involved with the objects of their obsession that they begin to ignore responsibilities and relationships. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-types-illness#1 More:
People with impulse control disorders are unable to resist urges, or impulses, to perform acts that could be harmful to themselves or others. Pyromania (starting fires), kleptomania (stealing), and compulsive gambling are examples of impulse control disorders. Alcohol and drug are common objects of addictions. Often, people with these disorders become so involved with the objects of their obsession that they begin to ignore responsibilities and relationships.
Personality DisordersPeople with personality disorders have extreme and inflexible personality traits that are distressing to the person and cause problems in work, school, or social relationships. Also, the person’s patterns of thinking and behavior significantly differ from society’s expectations and are so rigid that they interfere with the person’s normal functioning. Examples include antisocial personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, and paranoid personality disorder. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-types-illness#1 More:
People with personality disorders have extreme and inflexible personality traits that are distressing to the person and cause problems in work, school, or social relationships. Also, the person’s patterns of thinking and behavior significantly differ from the expectations of society and are so rigid that they interfere with the person’s normal functioning. Examples include antisocial personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, and paranoid personality disorder.
https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-types-illness#1
Sexual and gender disordersSexual and gender disorders: These include conditions that affect sexual desire, performance, and behavior. Sexual dysfunction, gender identity disorder, and paraphilias are examples of sexual and gender disorders. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-types-illness More:
These include conditions that affect sexual desire, performance, and behavior. Sexual dysfunction, gender identity disorder, and paraphilias are examples of sexual and gender disorders.
Somatic symptom disordersSomatic symptom disorders: A person with a somatic symptom disorder, formerly known as a psychosomatic disorder or somatoform disorder, experiences physical symptoms of an illness or pain with an excessive and disproportionate level of distress, regardless of whether or not a doctor can find a medical cause for the symptoms. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-types-illness More:
A person with a somatic symptom disorder, formerly known as a psychosomatic disorder or somatoform disorder, experiences physical symptoms of an illness or of pain with an excessive and disproportionate level of distress, regardless of whether or not a doctor can find a medical cause for the symptoms.
https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-types-illness
Stress response syndromesStress response syndromes (formerly called adjustment disorders): Stress response syndromes occur when a person develops emotional or behavioral symptoms in response to a stressful event or situation. The stressors may include natural disasters, such as an earthquake or tornado; events or crises, such as a car accident or the diagnosis of a major illness; or interpersonal problems, such as a divorce, death of a loved one, loss of a job, or a problem with substance abuse. Stress response syndromes usually begin within three months of the event or situation and end within six months after the stressor stops. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-types-illness#1 More (formerly called adjustment disorders):
Stress response syndromes occur when a person develops emotional or behavioral symptoms in response to a stressful event or situation. The stressors may include natural disasters, such as an earthquake or tornado; events or crises, such as a car accident or the diagnosis of a major illness; or interpersonal problems, such as a divorce, death of a loved one, loss of a job, or a problem with substance abuse
• Improper or excessive use or treatment, physically mistreated
• To use excessively, to injure or damage;
• To inflict physical or emotional mistreatment or injury on (as one’s child) purposely or through negligence or neglect
More. Stress response syndromes usually begin within three months of the event or situation and end within six months after the stressor stops.
Tic disordersPeople with tic disorders make sounds or display non-purposeful body movements repetitively, quickly, suddenly, or uncontrollably. A tic is a sudden, brief, repetitive movement such as eye blinking or eye movement, facial grimacing, shoulder shrugging, or head/shoulder jerking. Vocal tics are sounds made involuntarily and include repetitive throat-clearing, sniffing, or grunting. Tourette’s syndrome is an example of a tic disorder. More:
People with tic disorders make sounds or display non-purposeful body movements repetitively, quickly, suddenly, or uncontrollably. (Vocal tics are sounds made involuntarily) Tourette’s syndrome is an example of a tic disorder.
Other diseases or conditions, including various sleep-related problems and many forms of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, are sometimes classified as mental illnesses because they involve the brain.
https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-types-illness
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Generalized AnxietyAn abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear often marked by physical signs (such as tension, sweating, and increased pulse rate), by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt about one’s capacity to cope with it. More Disorder
Individuals with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) worry about everything. They display the symptoms noted in the introduction every day for at least six months and have no relief in sight. They worry about their health, the health of their familyThe basic unit in society traditionally consisted of two parents and their children but the family has now been expanded to include any of various social units differing from but regarded as equivalent to the traditional family. More, their job, home, the state of the economy, the dog down the street; it could be anything. They cannot control their worry. Fear and anxiety eat away at them every waking minute and into their sleep at night. It interferes with their family life, their ability to perform well in their job, their health, and their will to live.
To read more about this disorder: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-disorders/index.shtm
Panic Disorder
Panic
Another common anxiety disorder, Panic Attacks, occurs suddenly without warning. People who are plagued with them live in fear that an attack will hit them at an inopportune moment when they cannot manage both the attack and what is happening in their lives at that moment. Therefore, many avoid places, situations, and behaviors they feel might trigger an attack. Unfortunately, the more they worry about triggers, the more they generate anxiety.
For more information on Panic Disorders, go to:
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/panic-disorder-when-fear-overwhelms/index.shtml
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), like most illnesses, has various degrees of severity. Most of us have a bit of an obsession with something in our lives that we feel must be done “just so,” and if it’s not, we don’t feel “right” until it’s corrected.
For Example
Over the years, I had many people who would enter my office and notice I had a picture that hung crooked. Instead of beginning our meeting, they would ask to put our meeting on hold until they could correct the picture’s angle because they just “had” to fix it. They explained that if they didn’t, they would be too distracted to meet with me. These individuals would then precisely fix the crooked frame, ensuring that all sides were level. That’s how someone with OCD acts.
For more information on OCD, go to:
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd/index.shtml
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post -Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Individuals who experience traumatic events such as war, abuse
• Improper or excessive use or treatment, physically mistreated
• To use excessively, to injure or damage;
• To inflict physical or emotional mistreatment or injury on (as one’s child) purposely or through negligence or neglect
More, assault, disasters, accidents, and sudden death are at risk for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). While most people tend to experience symptoms within three months of a traumatic event, PTSD can hit many years later.
If you or your familyThe basic unit in society traditionally consisted of two parents and their children but the family has now been expanded to include any of various social units differing from but regarded as equivalent to the traditional family. More member has PTSD, more information is available on this topic at
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/index.shtml
Please encourage your family member to seek a support group to help them move beyond the event(s) causing PTSD into a time of peace.
