The Facts
Anxiety disorders are a group of conditions with exaggerated anxiousness and worry about a number of concerns that persists for an extended period of time. They are not the same as the common anxiety that we feel as a result of a situation that we perceive as threatening, such as having to do an oral presentation, having a near-miss with a car, or waiting for the results of a lab test.
Some level of anxiety can be helpful. Anxiety can help people deal with a threatening situation, study harder for an exam, and perform better in sports.
When anxiety becomes persistent and interferes with the ability to cope and disrupts daily life, the person may have an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders are illnesses that may make people feel anxious most of the time without an obvious reason. In addition to persistent, general anxiety, people may also get occasional, intense moments of anxiety that immobilize them.
Anxiety disorders are the most common of all mental disorders. Many people misunderstand these disorders and think they can get over them on their own (i.e., without treatment). This is usually not the case. Fortunately, there are many treatments available today to help.
Causes
Anxiety disorders are often related to chemical imbalances in the nervous
system, life experiences, or both.
Keep in mind the following:
- Some medical conditions such as anemia and thyroid problems can cause symptoms
of anxiety.
- Coping with a serious physical illness like cancer can make you anxious.
- Concern over diagnosis and treatments can lead to excessive and overwhelming
anxiety.
- Certain drugs such as caffeine, alcohol, diet pills, and stimulants can
cause anxiety.
- Constant negative stress in life (such as worries about one's job) can
lead to general chronic worry and anxiety.
- Many anxiety disorders run in families and likely have a genetic predisposition.
Different types of anxiety disorder
Doctors divide anxiety into several different categories to help in creating
guidelines for treatment. These are the main types:
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) affects about 4% of the population
every year. GAD is twice as common in women as in men. GAD usually appears
in childhood or adolescence. Worries tend to be about normal things (work, money,
chores, etc.), but to an exaggerated degree. It's called "generalized" because
there's no particular source of fear. The cause isn't known, but children of
people with GAD are more likely to develop anxiety problems.
Panic attacks and panic disorder: Panic
attacks are extremely common - 10% to 20% of the population experience a panic
attack at some point in their life. People with phobias may have a panic attack
if they encounter the object of their fear. Panic disorder is much less
common. It's recognized as recurring feelings of terror and fear, which often
come on unpredictably, without any clear trigger. Most panic attacks last a
couple of minutes, but can continue for up to 10 minutes. After a while, fear of panicking
becomes a sort of phobia in itself, as the person tries to avoid situations
that might provoke one. Panic attacks can begin at any age, but most often begin
in young adults.
Phobic disorders are irrational, intense fears about a particular object
or situation. Phobias are common, affecting more than 1 in 10 people. Some phobias
begin in childhood, such as fear of animals, the dark, or of strangers, while
others usually appear in adulthood, as in phobias of weather, water, heights,
flying, or enclosed places. The inconvenience of a specific phobia depends on
how likely you are to encounter the object of your fear. The most debilitating
types are agoraphobia and social phobia. Agoraphobia (literally,
"fear of the marketplace") is anxiety about being caught in public
situations when panic develops. It can develop after an embarrassing public
panic attack. Social phobia may be a general shyness or fear of particular situations
like public speaking. It tends to be more common in women but more severe in
men.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is equally common among men and
women, and affects about 1.6% of the population every year. These people are
bothered by recurring images or ideas that are unpleasant (obsessions), or they
develop repetitive habits or rituals (compulsions). The images and ideas may be connected
to the repetitive habits. For example, people who fear infection may wash their
hands constantly, or those who fear burglars may repeatedly check that the door
is locked. Sometimes there's no connection at all between the thoughts and the
rituals.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorder are
the only types of anxiety with a clear cause. Extreme anxiety often appears
after a frightening or horrible experience, particularly if injuries
or deaths were witnessed. Acute stress disorder comes on quickly after a traumatic event and
lasts less than a month. Feelings are often complicated by feelings of guilt, unworthiness,
and betrayal in those who have survived a stressful experience but lost
loved ones to it. PTSD, a longer-lasting, more severe form of acute stress disorder,
is particularly common among war veterans.
