Anxiety Disorder Symptoms Explained
Anxiety is in itself a normal feeling and can be helpful in motivating you or helping to keep you away from danger.
However, if anxiety becomes excessive it can be counter productive and decrease your performance in your daily routine and interfere with the quality of your life.
Anxiety can be manifest in different forms and is categorised as: general anxiety disorder(GAD), panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), social anxiety disorder, or post-traumatic disorder.
General Anxiety Disorder This refers to a state of anxiety that exists most days for a period of a few months and the person finds it difficult to control the worry.
The sufferer usually has three or more of the following symptoms:
These mind disturbances cause noticeable and distressing physical symptoms such as a pounding heart, shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness, loss of balance, blurred vision and headache or nausea.
The thoughts of the mind often revolve around impending doom or death.
Often the person suffering will misinterpret these symptoms as a heart attack and will become even more fearful as a result.
When panic attacks appear frequently they contribute to a raised general level of anxiety that can lead to loss of sleep or unwillingness to venture out in case an attack should occur.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder This anxiety disorder is characterised by persistent and invasive disturbing thoughts that are not directly worries in real life.
In addition there are compulsions, i.
e.
repetitive habits that a person can feel the need to carry out.
These behaviours are seemingly aimed at preventing or reducing distress, but are either not connected in a realistic way with what they are designed to neutralise or are clearly excessive.
Compulsions can take up a lot of time and seriously disrupt a person's daily life.
Social anxiety disorder This disorder is characterised by an unnecessary fear of social situations.
The individual may fear that he or she will act in a way that will cause embarrassment.
The person often recognises that their fears are unfounded or unreasonable but can't help themselves.
The avoidance of social meetings or the anxiety associated with them is enough to cause disruption in their routine.
Post-traumatic stress disorder This is a condition of continuing anxiety as a result of a person being exposed to, or involved in a traumatic event The traumatic event would have been bad enough that death was apparent or threatened, and has had the effect of repeated recollection by way of distressing thoughts or dreams.
Other symptoms can include: difficulty in getting to sleep.
, irritability or out bursts of anger, difficulty concentrating, and an increased startle response.
The Anxiety syndrome then, covers a range of disorders with some specific symptoms but also with many shared features.
However, if anxiety becomes excessive it can be counter productive and decrease your performance in your daily routine and interfere with the quality of your life.
Anxiety can be manifest in different forms and is categorised as: general anxiety disorder(GAD), panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), social anxiety disorder, or post-traumatic disorder.
General Anxiety Disorder This refers to a state of anxiety that exists most days for a period of a few months and the person finds it difficult to control the worry.
The sufferer usually has three or more of the following symptoms:
- Restlessness, or a feeling of being wound up or on edge all the time.
- Feeling tired all, or a lot of the time.
- Difficulty with concentrating, or the mind going blank.
- Irritability
- Muscle tension
- Sleep disturbances ( difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep)
These mind disturbances cause noticeable and distressing physical symptoms such as a pounding heart, shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness, loss of balance, blurred vision and headache or nausea.
The thoughts of the mind often revolve around impending doom or death.
Often the person suffering will misinterpret these symptoms as a heart attack and will become even more fearful as a result.
When panic attacks appear frequently they contribute to a raised general level of anxiety that can lead to loss of sleep or unwillingness to venture out in case an attack should occur.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder This anxiety disorder is characterised by persistent and invasive disturbing thoughts that are not directly worries in real life.
In addition there are compulsions, i.
e.
repetitive habits that a person can feel the need to carry out.
These behaviours are seemingly aimed at preventing or reducing distress, but are either not connected in a realistic way with what they are designed to neutralise or are clearly excessive.
Compulsions can take up a lot of time and seriously disrupt a person's daily life.
Social anxiety disorder This disorder is characterised by an unnecessary fear of social situations.
The individual may fear that he or she will act in a way that will cause embarrassment.
The person often recognises that their fears are unfounded or unreasonable but can't help themselves.
The avoidance of social meetings or the anxiety associated with them is enough to cause disruption in their routine.
Post-traumatic stress disorder This is a condition of continuing anxiety as a result of a person being exposed to, or involved in a traumatic event The traumatic event would have been bad enough that death was apparent or threatened, and has had the effect of repeated recollection by way of distressing thoughts or dreams.
Other symptoms can include: difficulty in getting to sleep.
, irritability or out bursts of anger, difficulty concentrating, and an increased startle response.
The Anxiety syndrome then, covers a range of disorders with some specific symptoms but also with many shared features.
