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Anxiety Disorders Generalized Anxiety Disorder
(GAD)
Generalized
anxiety disorder (GAD) is characterized by chronic, ongoing worry,
despite their being no real cause for such concern. It is twice as
common among women as among men. Those who suffer from GAD are afraid
of something, yet they cannot state just what that something is.
Others would characterize them as constant worriers. The sufferer
seems unable to relax and find it extremely difficult to concentrate
on one thing for any length of time. Physical manifestations of
their anxiety, including headaches, heart palpitations, dizziness,
and insomnia are common. These physical complaints, combined with the
intense, long-term anxiety, make it difficult to cope with normal
daily activities.
Panic Disorder
Panic is the body’s normal response
to danger. Imagine yourself walking across a highway. You suddenly
notice a car speeding directly toward you. Instant physical and
chemical changes in your body enable you to sprint to safety.
But now imagine
this same feeling of panic with no apparent
cause. Panic attacks are produced when panic deceives the
brain into thinking there is imminent danger. Only those who have
experienced such attacks can fully grasp their intensity. Panic
disorder is like an adrenaline rush that screams through your body
for five minutes or an hour or a day and then departs as quickly and
mysteriously as it came, leaving you limp, exhausted and dreading the
next one.
Panic attacks
usually begin in young adulthood and affect more women than men. What
causes them? There is no clear answer. Some say that sufferers are
biologically predisposed because of an abnormality in the brain’s
limbic system. Many feel that this condition can be inherited, while
others claim that the brain’s chemistry is altered by
stress-inducing factors.
In some cases the
attacks are induced by memories of traumatic experiences, such as
war, rape, or child abuse. Yet, not all panic attacks are induced by
trauma.
Phobia
THE
word “phobia” refers to an intense, unrealistic fear of an
object, an event, or a feeling. Unlike generalized anxiety disorder,
a phobia involves a specific stimulus that triggers the phobia. There
are hundreds of known phobias, but experts usually arrange them in
three categories. Simple
phobias
focus on an object or a situation, such as insects, animals, flying,
and being in closed spaces. Agoraphobia
usually occurs in conjunction with panic attacks. The sufferer fears
having a panic attack to the extent that he or she avoids all places
and situations where previous attacks occurred. Social
phobias
are characterized by a fear of being embarrassed in public settings,
such as speaking before an audience.
People
with phobias generally acknowledge that their fears are irrational.
However, they simply lack the ability to control them.
Obsessive-Compulsive
Disorder
Obsessive
compulsive disorder is a type of anxiety disorder characterized by
recurring,
unwanted thoughts or obsessions and/or actions or compulsions.
Obsessions are distressing, repetitive thoughts or images that the
individual often realizes are senseless. Compulsions are repetitive
behaviors that the person feels forced or compelled into doing, in
order to relieve anxiety. Examples of common compulsions are hand
washing, counting, checking that doors are locked and cleaning. The
sufferer performs these actions in the hope that the compulsive
desires will lessen. Any relief, however, is temporary.
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