Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorder is a blanket term used to describe states of irrational fear and/or dread. Although anxiety can be a normal reaction to stress, when an individual's mood is impacted negatively affecting one physical and emotional being, an anxiety disorder is thought to exist. Anxiety is the result of the body's fight-or-flight reaction, which is the automatic response from perceived harm or attack. Anxiety disorders are often comorbid with other mental or physical disorders and are subject to flare-ups with stress and are typically diagnosed after six months of being present. Clinical depression has been thought to occur with anxiety disorders 60 percent of the time. Anxiety disorders also are believed to have a genetic component, thus running in families. The various types of anxiety ...