Knowing the key features of anxiety can help people tell if their concerns about family, finances and health are normal or becoming part of a disorder. Worries from time to time are normal, but when they become all consuming or obsessive, problems develop. There are five different types of anxiety disorders, and each has its own symptoms.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
This type of anxiety is when normal everyday worries become excessive. Key features include a feeling that something bad will happen, a worry about how to make it through the day and a feeling of not being able to control thoughts and worries. Other symptoms include headaches, insomnia, irritability, sweating and difficulty swallowing. The Anxiety Disorders Association of America states that generalized anxiety disorder effects 6.8 million Americans in any given year.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive compulsive disorder causes people to have obsessive thoughts without the power to stop them. These people will perform compulsions to help deal with the anxiety. Features of this disorder include performing complicated rituals like hand washing, counting or turning an item on and off several times. These rituals are an attempt to push off and deal with the unwelcome obsessive thoughts. Without treatment, this disorder can prevent people from socializing and working.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
This disorder comes on after experiencing a personal trauma or watching a loved one experience it. The National Institutes of Health states that those with PTSD often re-live the trauma during the daytime and in nightmares. Key features of this type of anxiety include emotional numbness to those who used to be close, startling easily, irritability, increased aggression and flashbacks. The flashbacks can be triggered by loud noises or situations similar to the trauma.
Social Anxiety Disorder
Social anxiety disorder is a fear of being harshly judged or embarrassed in public. This causes people to be excessively self conscious about being out in normal day to day situations. The Anxiety Disorders Association of America states that 15 million adults suffer from this disorder. This disorder causes people to avoid social situations including work, school and relationships.
Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia
Panic disorder is also known as an anxiety attack. These attacks happen without warning and without apparent triggers. Since these attacks happen without warning, there are no distinguishable features to this disorder other than the symptoms of a panic attack. Agoraphobia will develop in response to the panic attacks. People will start to avoid places they have had attacks in the past and most often avoid locations where it seems that escape is not readily accessible. Often this includes areas where there are large crowds.
