Anxiety disorder is a blanket term for several forms of conditions whose main root is pathological anxiety and fear. Below are brief descriptions about the 5 major kinds of anxiety disorders.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Generalized anxiety disorder or GAD is an anxiety disorder that is described as exaggerated worry, chronic anxiety, and tension that are focused on an object or situation. Often, even when there is very little or no reason at all to worry, people with GAD still worry. The hallmark of people with generalized anxiety disorder is that they anticipate disaster all the time and are overly worried about the worst-case scenarios that may happen to them or to the people close to them. For the majority of people with generalized anxiety disorder, even the thought of getting through the day is enough to cause them more than enough worry.
Panic Disorder
Panic disorder is a condition that is characterized by sudden attacks of intense terror, fear and apprehension that is often accompanied by physical symptoms like pounding hear, dizziness, weakness, sweatiness, shaking, confusion, faintness, nausea and difficulty breathing.
Panic attacks can last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours, often peaking within 10 to 30 minutes after the initial symptoms have occurred. An attack may occur suddenly, even during sleep. The triggers is not exactly know although most common causes are identified as exercising or any strenuous physical activity, stress, and intense fear.
Phobias or Phobic Disorders
The largest group of anxiety disorders is phobia or phobic disorders. People with phobia most frequently experience or anticipate intense levels of fear and anxiety as they encounter their objects of fear, which can be anything from a location, a small animal, or a bodily fluid. When talking about anxiety disorders, the most common phobias are social anxiety disorder or social phobia and agoraphobia.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, better known as OCD, is the anxiety disorder that is characterized by unwanted and recurrent thoughts with repetitive behaviors. These persistent and upsetting thoughts or obsessions are controlled using rituals or compulsions. Although people with OCD initially feel lower levels of anxiety by doing repetitive behaviors, they actually end up being controlled by their compulsions. Still, compulsions such as counting, checking, hand washing, and cleaning are performed to ease the anxiety caused by their obsessions. Results, then, are temporary.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Or PTSD is an anxiety disorder that develops as a result of exposure to a terrifying experience or event in which a person experienced a great deal of physical harm or was faced with a possibility of experiencing one. Traumatic events that often develop into PTSD are natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, or military combat.
People with PTSD have persistent and recurrent frightening memories and thoughts of their ordeal, often forcing them to feel emotionally numb to people they were once close to. Left untreated, these memories could live with them to their deathbed.
If you think that you are suffering from the symptoms of any anxiety disorder, it is highly advisable that you seek medical help soon.