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What Are Anxiety Disorders?
Anxiety disorders are a certain type of mental illness which is entrenched to such an extent that approximately 40 million Americans suffer from it. When one suffers from such a disorder there life is filled with fear and overwhelming anxiety. While we all go through anxiety in the case of a stressful event like an important meeting the people who suffer from anxiety disorders find their lives to be a chain of stressful events and are at all times gripped with anxiety which is chronic and relentless.
There are five common types of anxiety disorders which are found in people who are suffering from this illness and they are all listed down briefly.
Panic Disorder
People who suffer from this form of anxiety disorder suffer from sudden attacks of panic. Such attacks are often caused without any trigger and make the person go through dashes of panic. The anxiety is predominantly caused because the person is always thinking and worrying when the next attack will strike. Most people suffering from these do not even realize that they are going through some sort of an illness and that too among the various types of disorders this one is the most easily curable. What they tend to do is avoid all places where such attacks had occurred and end up restricting a large part of their life and getting into depression and drug abuse. Panic disorder can easily be treated using medication or targeted psychotherapy.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
People who suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder are often engaged in thoughts which are unwelcome and over which they have no control at all. At the same time they are plagued by certain rituals which they feel forced to perform repeatedly. For instance the obsession may be with germs you may feel compelled to wash your hands again and again. This is a common form of anxiety disorder which affects around 2.2 million people in America and while it is easy to recognize this behavior most people tend to over look it. Like panic disorders this disorder also responds well to medication and targeted psychotherapy.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
This disorder happens when people go through a terrifying event and most of the times the people suffering from this tend to have frightening thoughts and emotions. It makes them numb emotionally and the feeling is aggravated when they are with the people who are close to them. About 7.7 million Americans suffer from one form or the other of this disease and women are more susceptible to this than men and it can happen in any age even childhood. While this needs more attention than the above two disorders this can also be treated through medication and targeted psychotherapy.
Social Phobia
This kind of anxiety disorder leads people to feel unusually anxious in everyday normal social situations. People suffering from this disorder always feel that they are being watched by others and judged by others. This is recognized as the people suffering from it will sweat profusely, blush incessantly, and will experience nausea, trembling and will have difficulty speaking. This affects roughly 15 million Americans and affects men and women equally and usually starts at childhood or adolescence. This again can be treated successfully through medication and targeted psychotherapy.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder:
This is an increased form of anxiety that people go through in their lives everyday. It is chronic and fills the person’s day with some form of the other of anxiety. A person who has this will always anticipate some ill luck to befall upon him and worry excessively about their family, careers and health more than what normal people worry about it. The people suffering from this will most of the time realize that their worries are unfounded and are more than what the situation warrants. While this is easy to spot, people very often are left unaware of it because it is not targeted at a specific situation and is very general in nature. Although it can happen anytime during one’s life the risk is greater in childhood and middle age. Women are more susceptible to it and approximately twice as many women suffer from it than men. While this can be treated with medication very often it comes along with depression and drug abuse which should also be treated separately and individually.
Author: Kitty Barker - Kitty often writes for and with Depression-Assistance. You can also see more information on this subject at Anxiety
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