Most people experience feelings of anxiety before an important event such as a big exam, a business presentation, wedding or some other big event. Anxiety disorders, however, are illnesses that fill people's lives with overwhelming anxiety and fear that are chronic, unremitting, and can grow progressively worse. Tormented by panic attacks, obsessive thoughts, flashbacks of traumatic events, nightmares, or countless frightening physical symptoms, some people with anxiety disorders even become housebound or lose functionality to some extent. Fortunately, through research supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), there are effective treatments that can help.
What Are the Different Kinds of Anxiety Disorders?
• Panic Disorder—Repeated episodes of intense fear that strike often and without warning. Physical symptoms include chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, abdominal distress, feelings of unreality, and fear of dying.
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder—Repeated, unwanted thoughts or compulsive behaviors that seem impossible to stop or control.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder—Persistent symptoms that occur after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. (More details on PTSD are in this resource book)
• Phobias—Excessive fear related to an experience or object to the point that the individual puts in a great deal of effort to avoid the experience. Two major types of phobias are social phobia and specific phobia. People with social phobia have an overwhelming and disabling fear of scrutiny, embarrassment, or humiliation in social situations, which leads to avoidance of many potentially pleasurable and meaningful activities. People with specific phobia experience extreme, disabling, and irrational fear of something that poses little or no actual danger; the fear leads to avoidance of objects or situations and can cause people to limit their lives unnecessarily.
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder—Constant, exaggerated worrisome thoughts and tension about everyday routine life events and activities, lasting at least six months. (More details about GAD are in this resource book.
NIMH Research Recommends these Treatments for Anxiety Disorders:
Medications- such as antidepressants, a type called SSRI’s, benzodiazepines and beta-blockers.
Behavioral Therapy- Focuses on changing specific actions and uses several techniques to stop unwanted behaviors.
Cognitive Therapy- Teaches patients to understand thinking patterns so they can react differently to the situations that causes them anxiety.