Anxiety is defined as a state of consistent worry and fear over a period of six months or more. However, there are a variety of anxiety disorders that manifest in different ways.

GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER

Generalized Anxiety Disorder, or GAD, can be described as a constant state of tension and dread that comes with everyday activities.This is the most common type of anxiety disorder.Like most people, GAD sufferers worry about their health, money, work, and other common issues.But those with GAD take the worries to a greater extreme, usually involving themselves in irrational thoughts and fears.These worrisome thoughts can be overwhelming.

SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER

Also known as SAD or social phobia, this is a condition anxiety in which a person has worries and fears that are intensified by social situations.The most frightful ones are those with unfamiliar surroundings or people.Just thinking about these events brings up anxious reactions:the racing heart, hyperventilating, and nausea amongst other symptoms.

Social situations such as making small talk, calling people on the phone, and dining in public tend to trigger anxiety symptoms.What SAD sufferers fear about such gatherings is the thoughts of others.People with social phobia feel that others always judge or scrutinize them, or that they will do something to embarrass themselves in public.People with social phobia will often avoid situations that trigger anxiety.This greatly affects their relationships with others.

PANIC ATTACKS AND PANIC DISORDER

A panic attack is a sudden urge of overwhelming anxiety and fear.It lasts for a few minutes, but for the person undergoing a panic attack feels as if he or she is dying as the physical symptoms can be overwhelming. Usually strike without warning and can happen even while relaxed.

Panic attacks can be isolated and not be connected to any anxiety disorder.They can, however, lead to panic disorder.

A panic disorder is the diagnosis for a person who experiences frequent panic attacks not triggered by a particular event or situation.A person with panic disorder will worry about having another attack and avoid places where such attacks took place before.The fear of having a panic attack is so overwhelming that a person will alter their behavior in ways they think will prevent the onset of another attack.People with panic disorders sometimes develop agoraphobia of varying severities.

The cause of panic attacks is not entirely known.

OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a type of anxiety in which a person has to deal with recurrent, unwanted thoughts and/or repetitive and ritualized behaviors.The brain becomes stuck on a particular thought.

People with OCD go over actions fearing the worst if they aren’t checked over and over again.Some of these actions include repeating hygienic rituals over and over (such as washing hands continuously for several minutes), checking and rechecking (and rechecking) door locks, or going over work done to make sure it’s perfect far more times than is necessary.These repetitive actions are time consuming and the OCD sufferer knows that they are irrational, but he or she is compelled by recurring thoughts to go over them several times.

PHOBIAS AND FEARS

A phobia is an acute fear of something or a situation that is in fact harmless.People can have intense fears of almost anything, but common phobias include fears of closed-in spaces, fear of heights, and highway driving.Most phobias develop in a person’s childhood

A person with a phobia will develop anxiety symptoms just thinking about what they fear. In fact, being exposed to the fear can be overwhelming, terrifying.The anxious reaction to what they fear is instantaneous.

As a result, a person with a phobia will go to great lengths and sacrifice a lot in order to avoid what they fear, even if it is inconvenient to do so.

POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER

Many people experience anxiety by thinking about events that are unlikely to happen, or situations that have never taken place.However, for a person with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the anxiety and fear is from the memory of a real event in which the person experienced intense fear or helplessness.

Most people involved in a traumatic event have a brief period of recuperation in which they cope with the event.They eventually move on.Some develop PTSD, in which symptoms may last for months or even years.Symptoms include flashbacks, nightmares related to the event, emotional numbness, and having trouble concentrating or maintaining relationships.

WHAT IS THE COMMON LINK?

Though anxiety disorders differ, they are all similar due to the fact that people with these conditions are debilitated and inhibited by irrational fears and worries.These negative thoughts occur over and over again and take over people’s lives.

A closer look into the different types of anxiety disorders.