Anxiety Disorder

Anxiety disorder is a group of mental health conditions in which a patient has a feeling of nervousness, panic, fear, extreme sweating, or rapid heartbeat. Patients may respond to certain situations with fear or nervousness. It is often accompanied by physical signs of anxiety disorder such as rapid heartbeat or sweating. During such times, anxiety and avoidance behavior predominate. These could include panic disorder, social phobia, specific phobia, agoraphobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, stress disorder, acute stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and substance abuse disorder.

It is quite normal for people to be anxious many a time. But it becomes a disorder when it interferes with the ability to function regularly. Patients usually cannot control their response to situations.

Types of Anxiety Disorders

Though the anxiety disorders can be of multiple types, but there are five major ones.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Generalized Anxiety Disorder is usually characterized by anxiety exaggerated by worry and tension. It usually develops slowly over years. In simple terms, the worry usually gets out of control.

Patients usually suffer from

Fatigue
Trouble sleeping
Nervousness
Muscle ache
IBS

Patients are usually prescribed psychotherapy and medications.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

OCD usually includes both obsessions and compulsions. Patients usually suffer from repeated thoughts that lead to repetitive behavior.

Patients are usually prescribed a combination of psychotherapy and medications. Depending upon the severity, some patients may need a long term or more intense treatment.

Panic Disorder

A panic attack is a sudden onset of intense fear without warning. The attack usually peaks in a couple of minutes. During the time of the attack, a patient feels that he/she is losing control, having a heart attack, chest pain, shortness of breath, and a few more.

A panic disorder characterized by recurrent anxiety attacks, episodes of intense apprehension, fear or terror associated with somatic symptoms, such as dyspnoea, palpitation, dizziness, vertigo, faintness or shakiness and with psychological symptoms such as feeling of unreality or fear of dying, going crazy or losing control. There are usually chronic nervousness and tension between attacks and almost always associated with agoraphobia.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

PTSD is a condition that is triggered by a terrifying event or incident. Symptoms usually include flashbacks, nightmares, severe anxiety, or uncontrollable thoughts about the event. The symptoms might last for years and start interfering with daily activities. PTSD leads to a lot of physical and emotional changes.

Patients usually suffer from hopelessness, trouble sleeping, aggressive behavior, easily startled, guilt, suicidal thoughts, etc.

The primary treatment is psychotherapy and is usually supported by medications.

Social Phobia

Social phobia is a mental condition where patients suffer from self -consciousness and a fear of being judged negatively by others. Patients usually suffer from a fear of embarrassment.

Treatment usually consists of psychotherapy and medications.