Anxiety, worry, and stress are all a part of most people’s life today. But simply experiencing anxiety or stress in and of itself does not mean you need to get professional help or you have an anxiety disorder. In fact, anxiety is a necessary warning signal of a dangerous or difficult situation. Without anxiety, we would have no way of anticipating difficulties ahead and preparing for them.
Anxiety becomes a disorder when the symptoms become chronic and interfere with our daily lives and our ability to function. People suffering from chronic anxiety often report the following symptoms:
- Muscle tension
- Physical weakness
- Poor memory
- Sweaty hands
- Fear or confusion
- Inability to relax
- Constant worry
- Shortness of breath
- Palpitations
- Upset stomach
- Poor concentration
Types of Anxiety Disorders:
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder- Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is more than the normal anxiety people experience day to day. It’s chronic and exaggerated worry and tension, even though nothing seems to provoke it. Having this disorder means always anticipating disaster, often worrying excessively about health, money, family, or work. Sometimes, though, the source of the worry is hard to pinpoint.
- Panic Disorder- People with panic disorder have feelings of terror that strike suddenly and repeatedly, most often with no warning. They usually can’t predict when an attack will occur, and many develop intense anxiety between episodes, worrying when and where the next one will strike. Between attacks there is a persistent, lingering worry that another one could come any minute.
- Phobias- Many people experience specific phobias, intense, irrational fears of certain things or situations–dogs, closed-in places, heights, escalators, tunnels, highway driving, water, flying, and injuries involving blood are a few of the more common ones. Phobias aren’t just extreme fear; they are irrational fear. You may be able to ski the world’s tallest mountains with ease but panic going above the 10th floor of an office building. Adults with phobias realize their fears are irrational, but often facing, or even thinking about facing, the feared object or situation brings on a panic attack or severe anxiety.