About Anxiety
By Henry-001 on
Name of the medical condition and other names that it’s been known by
Anxiety Disorder
What are Anxiety Disorders?
Anxiety disorders are a group of mental health conditions that cause constant and overwhelming anxiety and fear. While anxiety is a normal emotion everyone feels occasionally, anxiety disorders involve more than temporary worry or fear. These conditions most often begin in childhood, adolescence, or early adulthood.
Types of Anxiety Disorders
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): This involves persistent and excessive worry that interferes with daily activities. The worries may focus on everyday things such as job responsibilities, family health, or minor matters such as chores, car repairs, or appointments.
Panic Disorder: This involves sudden, intense fear that brings on a panic attack. During a panic attack, you may break out in a sweat, have chest pain, and have a pounding heartbeat (palpitations). Sometimes you may feel like you’re choking or having a heart attack.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): This involves anxiety and other symptoms that occur after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event, such as a natural disaster, serious accident, or violent crime.
Social Anxiety Disorder: This involves an intense fear of social situations, such as public speaking, meeting new people, or eating in front of others. This fear can be so severe that it interferes with daily activities.
Specific Phobias: These involve an intense fear of a specific object or situation, such as heights, flying, or spiders. The fear can be so severe that it interferes with daily activities.
Symptoms
Symptoms of anxiety disorders can interfere with daily activities such as job performance, schoolwork, and relationships. They may include:
Restlessness, a sudden feeling of panic and fear, and uneasiness
Physical symptoms like nausea or cramps, sleep-related problems, cold or sweaty hands or feet, numbness in the hands or feet, shortness of breath, increased heart rate, chest pain, dry mouth, hot flashes or chills, sudden trembling, and dizziness
Behavioral symptoms like avoidance of situations that may cause fear, obsessions, and compulsions
Causes and Treatment
The causes are currently unknown, but researchers suspect a combination of factors plays a role, including genetics, brain chemistry, and environmental factors. However, anxiety disorders are treatable with a number of psychotherapeutic treatments, which help most people lead normal, productive lives.
Trend
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health conditions in the US, affecting about 40 million Americans.
Approximately 30% of women and 23.5% of men in the US have anxiety disorders.
History
Anxiety disorders were only recognized in 1980 by the American Psychiatric Association. Before this recognition, people experiencing one of these disorders usually received a generic diagnosis of ‘stress’ or ‘nerves’.
Anxiety - Sources of Information
For informational purposes only. Consult a medical professional for advice.