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 disorders are believed to be the most frequently occurring of mental disorders.

Anxiety disorders are detrimental to a person's emotional and physiological being. Emotional symptoms of anxiety can include irritability, feelings of catastrophe, trouble concentrating, apprehensiveness, and restlessness. Accompanying physical symptoms often include heart pounding, shortness of breath, insomnia, sweating, diarrhea, and muscle tension.

Six types of anxiety disorders are generally recognized: generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social phobias, specific phobias, post traumatic stress disorder, and panic disorder. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) classifies anxiety disorders somewhat differently, using the following categories: panic attack, panic disorder (with and without a history of agoraphobia)-fear of a situation or place where escape may be difficult-agoraphobia (with and without a history of panic disorder), specific phobia, social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, acute stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, anxiety disorder due to a general medical condition, substance induced anxiety disorder, and anxiety disorder not otherwise specified.