Everyone has experienced anxiety at some point. Anxiety is the natural body’s response to stressful situations and is perfectly normal, as it helps us react to potential dangers and stay alert. Situations that may trigger anxiety include moving, financial difficulties, stress at work, loss, and so on. However, anxiety can become persistent and difficult to control, thus interfering with your day-to-day activities. When this happens, you may be suffering from an anxiety disorder. People may experience the following symptoms of anxiety disorders:
- Overreacting or lack of control to emotional triggers
- Irritability
- Panic attacks
- Avoiding social situations
- Having irrational fears, and so on
Anxiety disorders are often caused by past traumatic experiences or events. However, people with certain traits, such as those experiencing behavioral inhibition or are overly shy, are predisposed to these disorders. Fortunately, they can be diagnosed and be treated by a professional clinician.
Common Anxiety Disorders and Their Symptoms
Social Anxiety Disorder
Also known as social phobia, this disorder makes one extremely self-aware and instills a lot of anxiety in social settings. One has an irrational fear of being judged or embarrassed, which may trigger hyperventilation, excessive sweating, and increased heart rate. Someone with this disorder is likely to isolate and avoid social places or events.
Panic Disorder
This disorder is characterized by regular and sudden episodes of fear or panic. Main panic disorder symptoms are a racing heartbeat, sweating, dizziness, chest pains, and shaky limbs.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
A person with GAD worries uncontrollably over things that they should not normally worry too much about. Excessive worry interferes with everyday life. Some of its symptoms are; difficulties in concentrating and sleeping, sweaty palms, irritability, and fatigue.
Phobias
Phobia is an irrational fear of something that is not threatening. Facing the source of fear causes one to have a heightened sense of anxiety. There are several types of phobias, such as hemophobia, which is the fear of blood.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
This is a disorder in which a person has strong recurrent, unwanted obsessions or compulsions that they feel the urge to repeat.
OCD symptoms come in a broad number of ways but can be placed under four categories:
- Checking – person suffering from this disorder may constantly be checking for mistakes or problems. They may, for example, keep checking their bodies for a sign of injury or illness, keep checking for keys or pipe leakages.
- Intrusive thoughts – one may feel lacking the control to avoid recurrent, unwanted thoughts such as harming themselves or others. This may be very uncomfortable to the person, although they are unlikely to act according to these thoughts.
- Orderliness – a person with this disorder, is often compelled to arrange objects in a particular pattern or symmetry.
- Sense of contamination – this disorder may make a person do such things as keep washing hands, cleaning places, or objects feeling that they have been contaminated.
Contact Me
Anxiety disorders are mental health problems that can be successfully diagnosed and treated. If you are experiencing any of the mentioned symptoms, contact me for a full professional diagnosis in Chandler, Arizona. I will offer you all the support and resources necessary to help you with all your mental health issues.