Different Types of Anxiety Disorders

When a person is confronted with potentially problematic or dangerous situations, anxiety is a common occurrence. It is also experienced when a person detects an external threat. Chronic and irrational anxiety, on the other hand, can result in an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders are classified into several types based on their origins or triggers.

Anxiety Disorders That Are Commonly Encountered

1. Generalized Anxiety Disorders

This type of anxiety disorder is characterized by prolonged anxiety that is frequently unfounded. People suffering from generalized anxiety disorders are unable to articulate the source of their anxiety. This type of anxiety typically lasts six months and is more common in women.

People suffering from generalized anxiety disorder are constantly fretting and worrying as a result of the anxiety's persistence. As a result, you may experience heart palpitations, insomnia, headaches, and dizzy spells.

2. Specific Phobia

A person with a specific phobia, as opposed to someone with generalized anxiety disorder, has an extreme and often irrational fear of a specific situation or object. People with specific phobias exhibit signs of intense fear when exposed to the object or situation they fear, such as shaking, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, and nausea.

Fear of heights, enclosed spaces, blood, and animals are all common specific phobias. The fear that a person suffering from a phobia experiences can be so intense that he or she may disregard safety in order to escape the situation.

3. Panic Disorder

Panic disorders, also known as "agophobia," are characterized by recurring panic attacks that are frequently unexpected. Shaking, chest pains, dizziness, fear of losing control, and aversion to being alone are common symptoms.

People suffering from panic disorder are aware that their panic is often unfounded and illogical. This is why they avoid being in public and being alone. People who are experiencing a panic attack may lose control and injure themselves.

4. Social Phobia

A person with social phobia, also known as social anxiety, may exhibit symptoms similar to those of panic disorder, particularly in social situations.

When a person with social phobia finds himself or herself at the center of attention or in the company of many people, whether strangers or not, shaking, dizziness, shortness of breath, and heart palpitations may occur.

5. Obsessive-compulsive Disorder

Anxiety is caused by a persistent obsession or idea in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder. They tend to avoid anxiety by engaging in repetitive actions or behaviors that cause it.

A person who is obsessed with cleanliness, for example, may become anxious at the sight of a vase that is slightly off-center. He or she will clean and organize everything compulsively, sometimes without reason, to alleviate anxiety.

6. PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)

If a person suffering from PTSD comes into contact with an object, person, or situation that he or she associates with the traumatic event, he or she may literally relive the event by crying uncontrollably, panicking, or losing control. Insomnia and avoidant behavior are minor symptoms. PTSD can appear immediately after a traumatic event or years later.

Following a highly traumatic event, a person may develop post-traumatic stress disorder. He or she may replay the event in his or her mind, causing stress and anxiety.

It is critical to determine the type of anxiety disorder a person has before seeking treatment and recovery. Techniques and methods used to assist a person in coping with specific types of anxiety typically target not only the management of symptoms but also coping mechanisms when exposed to triggers. Treatment and recovery for anxiety disorders can only begin after a thorough diagnosis.

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