"Different types of anxiety disorders" All You Need To Know
Anxiety is common when a person faces potentially troublesome or dangerous situations. It is also felt when a person perceives an external threat. However, chronic and irrational anxiety can lead to a form of anxiety disorder. There are different types of anxiety disorder depending on their causes or triggers.
Common forms of anxiety disorders
Generalized anxiety disorder
A person with this type of anxiety disorder often experiences prolonged anxiety that is often unfounded. More accurately, people with generalized anxiety disorders cannot articulate the reason behind their anxiety. This type of anxiety usually lasts for six months and usually affects women. Due to the persistence of anxiety, people affected by generalized anxiety disorder constantly fret and worry. This results in heart palpitations, insomnia, headaches, and dizziness.
Specific phobia
Unlike someone with generalized anxiety disorder, a person who has a specific phobia experiences extreme and often irrational fear of a certain situation or object. When exposed to the object or situation they fear, people with specific phobias exhibit signs of intense fear such as tremors, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, and nausea. Common specific phobias include fear of heights, closed spaces, blood, and animals. The fear that a person with a phobia feels can be so extreme that they may ignore safety just to escape the situation.
Panic disorder
Also known as agoraphobia, panic disorders are characterized by recurring panic attacks that are often unexpected. Symptoms are usually tremors, chest pains, dizziness, fear of losing control, and reluctance to be alone. People with panic disorder are aware that their panic is often unfounded and illogical. That is why they avoid public situations and loneliness. A panic attack can be so severe that people can lose control and hurt themselves.
Social phobia
Also called social anxiety, a person with social phobia can present symptoms similar to those of panic disorder, especially in social situations. Tremors, dizziness, shortness of breath, and palpitations can occur when a person with social phobia is in the center of attention or in the company of many people, regardless of whether they are strangers or not.
Obsessive compulsive disorder
People with obsessive compulsive disorder experience anxiety caused by a persistent obsession or idea. They tend to avoid experiencing anxiety by resorting to repetitive actions or behaviors that prevent anxiety. For example, a person who is obsessed with cleanliness may experience anxiety at the mere sight of a vase placed slightly off-center. To avoid anxiety, she will clean and organize everything compulsively or for no reason.
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder can occur after a person has experienced a severely traumatic event. He or she can relive the experience in your mind that causes you stress and anxiety. If a person with PTSD comes into contact with stimuli (any object, person or situation) that they associate with the traumatic event, they can literally re-experience the event by crying uncontrollably, panicking, or losing control. The more subtle symptoms include insomnia and avoidance behavior. PTSD can manifest itself immediately after the traumatic event or even years later.
Determining the type of anxiety disorder a person has is critical to seeking treatment and recovery. The techniques and methods that are used to help a person cope with a certain anxiety generally address not only the management of the symptoms, but also the coping mechanisms when exposed to the triggers. Only after a full diagnosis can treatment and recovery from anxiety disorders really begin.
