Anxiety - Other types of anxiety disorder

Anxiety

Other types of anxiety disorder

We use the term "anxiety disorder" to mean a particular illness where you constantly worry. (Doctors call this generalized anxiety disorder. We're calling it anxiety disorder for short.) But some other conditions have similar symptoms.

Source:
Davies T, Craig TKJ.
ABC of Mental Health.
1st edition. BMJ Books, London, UK; 1998.

¹ And if you have anxiety disorder, you may also have one of these other conditions.

Panic attacks

During a panic attack you feel intense fear, as if something awful is about to happen. You begin to sweat and shake. You may have trouble breathing or feel your heart race. Panic attacks build up for about 10 minutes, then get better in the next hour or so.

Panic attacks happen suddenly, without warning. Some people have them once a week. Others get them every day. You may have several panic attacks in a day, then none for a month. If this happens to you, doctors call it panic disorder.

Phobias

If you have a phobia, it means you are extremely frightened of something. It could be a certain object or a situation. You get a panic attack when you face the thing you fear and you will do anything to avoid it. This can make it hard for you to lead a normal life. Here are some common things that people are afraid of.

Public places and crowds: this is called agoraphobia. It's commonly called "fear of open spaces." If you have agoraphobia, you might find yourself avoiding going to stores, restaurants, parks or similar places because you're worried that you'll have a panic attack in public. Some people with agoraphobia are afraid to leave their homes at all.
Small, closed-in spaces: such as elevators and subway trains. This is called claustrophobia.
Other people: this is called social phobia. It could mean you're frightened of talking with people at a party or at work. Of you may be afraid of using public restrooms or meeting strangers. If you have social phobia, you feel exposed and unprotected, and you may think others are constantly criticizing you.
Other things: some people are afraid of flying or heights. Others fear needles, blood or going to the dentist. And others are afraid of animals such as spiders and snakes.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

This disorder has two main symptoms. Obsessions are disturbing thoughts or images that keep coming into your mind, without your wanting them, and getting in the way of everything else. Compulsions are the intense need to do certain things over and over to relieve the unpleasant thoughts and worries. These constant thoughts and actions can make your life miserable.

For example, some people with obsessive-compulsive disorder have an irrational focus on dirt or germs. You may worry constantly about keeping clean. And you may wash your hands or clean the same surfaces over and over again. Or you may find yourself checking and rechecking door locks, repeatedly counting items, rearranging objects to make them exactly "right" and worrying about terrible things that might happen if you aren't careful enough. You might find yourself repeating the same actions for hours each day.

Post-traumatic stress disorder

You can get this condition after you see or live through a terrible event, such as a traffic accident, a natural disaster, a war, a violent crime or the loss of a loved one in an accident. Although the symptoms often start happening within a few months after the event, they sometimes do not begin until years afterward.

People with post-traumatic stress disorder may be anxious much of the time. Symptoms also include flashbacks of the trauma, bad dreams and troublesome memories. You go to great lengths to avoid any reminder of what happened, because that can trigger the symptoms. You may be irritable and get angry easily, and you may have a hard time trusting other people. You may even get physical symptoms such as stomach pain, chest pain or a headache. All these symptoms can make it harder for you to get on with your life.

Sources for the information on this page:

Davies T, Craig TKJ.ABC of Mental Health.1st edition. BMJ Books, London, UK; 1998.

This information was last updated on Mar 23, 2009

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