The Five Major Anxiety Disorders in Adults

People often complain that as they grow older, they have more and more things to worry about. This, in a way, is completely true. As a teenager, you may have considered homework as a major stressor and whined about it for days on end. Give or take a few years and you’ll probably be more than glad to take on those piles of homework instead of the piles of paperwork on your desk.

Indeed, as adults, we are more acquainted with the fact that there are so many things that could go wrong. The more we see of life, the more we realize that the rug can be pulled out from under us at any time – and this thought is what gives rise to anxiety. Of course, it’s up to the person whether or not he will allow himself to be defeated by his anxious thoughts. Problems will always come and nobody can stay in their comfort zones forever. Most people simply deal with the anxiety and try to cope with it the best way that they can. They live on, taking life in a stride and dealing with problems as they come.

Some people, however, succumb to their feelings of anxiety and suffer intensely because of it. They understand that living means having to deal with problems occasionally. In fact, they seem to know this too well and thus they spend all their days anticipating these problems; this is ironic for this really defeats the whole purpose of “living.” However, a mindset like this is not completely the fault of the person. These people do not choose to be that way. Sometimes, it really is just a disorder.

Research shows that more than 40 million people, 18 years and over, in the United States alone suffer from anxiety disorders. Some of these people don’t even know that they have an anxiety disorder and that their lives could get better if they just see a psychiatrist and get their condition treated.

This article will discuss the different types of anxiety disorders and their respective symptoms. It is hoped that this article will help those who have anxiety disorder recognize their condition so that they can get treatment and have better and richer lives afterwards.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Generalized Anxiety Disorder or GAD is a chronic condition characterized by a person’s tendency to worry excessively about matters like health, work and family. People who have this disorder are usually very pessimistic; they are always expecting the worst in situations and are always worrying about things that aren’t really worth the amount of worry expended on them.

People with this disorder are perpetually tense and irritable, and act as if they have the weight of the whole world on their shoulders. They’re usually the ones people call “worry-warts” because they worry incessantly about everything from global warming to the dress they’re going to wear to a party. People with GAD can’t relax, they constantly think about their problems – even those about which they cannot do anything. Sometimes, these worries disturb them so much that they have trouble falling and staying asleep. Because of this, they are usually fatigued. They suffer from headaches and get startled quite easily. Other symptoms include muscle tension, trembling, sweating, nausea, and difficulty swallowing.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is a condition characterized by a person’s persistent thoughts, which are rather upsetting in nature. These thoughts are his “obsessions.” To deal with these upsetting thoughts, a person performs rituals. These rituals are his “compulsions.”

For instance, a person may be obsessed about germs. He is always thinking about germs and is always anxious about germs. To deal with this, he washes his hands vigorously, and he does this over and over again. In another instance, a person may be perennially anxious about his house being burgled when he is sleeping so he becomes obsessed with his home’s security. Thus, he is compelled to check the locks over and over again before he sleeps every night.

People with OCD are usually obsessed about symmetry and repetition to a point that their actions become incredibly senseless. Their compulsions are done precisely, in a particular way and a particular sequence and they absolutely have to be performed, even if such rituals interfere with their lives or cause them to harm others. If you try to prevent someone with OCD from doing his rituals, he may harm you or himself just so he could do what he thinks he has to do. In fact, trying to keep someone with OCD from doing his rituals will often bring more harm than good, so it’s best to just let a person with OCD do what he must then encourage him to get treated.

Panic Disorder

A person with panic disorder is someone who is prone to experiencing sudden terror that is typically characterized by pounding heartbeat, diaphoresis, weakness, chest pain, and nausea. These panic attacks are often mistaken for heart attacks. The person with panic disorder feels a sense of impending doom or a feeling of losing control each time he gets these attacks. People who have panic attacks may even pass out because of their severe anxiety.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, as the name implies, is a condition that develops after a person has had a traumatizing experience. Traumatic experiences include witnessing the murder of a loved one, being raped, being tortured, and being held captive. Sufferers of Post-traumatic stress disorder are usually women who have been sexually abused and soldiers who have been prisoners of war. They usually feel great anxiety when they experience flashbacks of their ordeal. Their symptoms are also usually extreme as the anniversary of the traumatic experience draws closer.

Social Anxiety Disorder

People with Social Anxiety Disorder, also termed Social Phobia, are those who are overly anxious when it comes to social situations that most people consider to be normal everyday situations. They have this intense fear of being judged and looked down upon, of being embarrassed or humiliated in front of several people.

A person with Social Phobia is usually overly anxious even hours before he does something in public, and he obsesses about what those who were present thought of him hours after the said event – even if the people didn’t really pay him any mind. He feels as if everyone’s always looking at him and judging his every move.

Some of the common symptoms include blushing, sweating, nausea, and stuttering. Some people, however, experience Social Phobia only in specific situation (e.g. eating in public restaurants, using the public toilet, etc.) while others experience it through most or all social situations.