- Wellness EditorDhesh Muniswamy MS
Dhesh Muniswamy MS
Wellness Editor
As a health and wellness expert with over 20 years of practice and 10 years of teaching experience, I’m dedicated to guiding people through life’s challenges by helping them find peace and balance through holistic wellness practices.
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Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental health conditions, affecting millions of people worldwide. They cause excessive fear, worry, and physical symptoms that can disrupt daily life.
There are normal states of anxiety, and there are abnormal states of anxiety. And sometimes, both types of anxiety can co-exist at the same time.
While occasional anxiety is a normal stress reaction, people with anxiety disorders experience persistent and excessive worry or fear that can interfere with their ability to function.
In this article, we will look at the types of anxiety disorders, their causes, symptoms, and the various ways to treat anxiety disorders.
What are Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders are a group of mental health disorders characterized by feelings of worry, fear, or panic that are intense and persistent. Panic attacks can be overwhelming and may arise when there is no actual danger.
Anxiety disorders include conditions such as generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and separation anxiety disorder. While everyone may feel anxious at times, those with an anxiety disorder experience these feelings at a more intense level and for more extended periods.
Statistic: According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 4% of the global population currently experience an anxiety disorder. In 2019, 301 million people in the world had an anxiety disorder, making anxiety disorders the most common of all mental disorders.
Types of Anxiety Disorders
Normal range of anxiety
All of us, to one degree or another, will experience different levels of anxiety during our lifetime.
Normal states of anxiety should not be confused with clinical anxiety disorders.
Experiencing anxiety is a normal response to what is perceived as a threatening situation. It is also normal to have different perceptions of what one considers threatening.
For example, it would be expected to experience anxiety if you are suddenly confronted with a growling pit bull following you. It would also be expected for a person to experience anxiety going on their first date or anxiously awaiting their college admissions test scores.
Abnormal states of anxiety
In a report published by the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI), over 40 million adults (19.1 percent of the U.S.) suffer from an abnormal anxiety disorder, with most developing symptoms before age 21.
What makes anxiety an abnormal behavior is the frequency and intensity of its onset and the fact that it can quickly escalate into intense fear and worry without the presence of an imminent or threatening event.
Anxiety disorders cover a broad spectrum of emotional disorders. A person can have more than one anxiety disorder simultaneously. Anxiety disorders can also result from severe medical conditions such as cardiac disorders, diabetes, and tumors that stimulate anxiety-inducing hormones.
The American Psychiatric Association recognizes several types of anxiety disorders. The most common are:
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (G.A.D.)
Generalized anxiety disorder includes excessive anxiety and worries about one’s life and all the events that could go wrong. Anxiety and fear are almost always out of proportion to the actual circumstances.
This disorder involves persistent and excessive worry about various aspects of life, such as work, relationships, or health.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), people with GAD often find it difficult to control their worries and may experience physical symptoms like fatigue and difficulty concentrating.
- GAD affects 6.8 million adults or 3.1% of the U.S. population, yet only 43.2% are receiving treatment.
- Women are twice as likely to be affected as men.
- GAD often co-occurs with depression.
Social Anxiety Disorder (S.A.D.)
Social anxiety disorder (previously called social phobia) can trigger high anxiety levels, especially in those predisposed to bouts with anxiety.
While most of us are shy when meeting new people in social situations and feel uncomfortable, those suffering from social anxiety can experience severe emotional reactions to social gatherings.
Those severely inflicted with anxiety can feel almost paralyzed in such situations. Feelings of inadequacy, self-consciousness, and sensing others are judging them.
This disorder causes extreme fear in social situations, such as speaking in public or meeting new people. Those with social anxiety often fear being judged or embarrassed in front of others.
- SAD affects 15 million adults or 7.1% of the U.S. population.
- SAD is equally common among men and women and typically begins around age 13. According to a 2007 ADAA survey, 36% of people with social anxiety disorder report – experiencing symptoms for ten or more years before seeking help.
Agoraphobia Disorder
Agoraphobia is a type of anxiety in which the person fears leaving their home’s safety and avoiding locations and circumstances that could cause them to feel trapped, helpless, and isolated. Sometimes, the anxiety can quickly escalate into a disabling panic attack.
Panic Disorder (PD)
Panic attacks can overwhelm a person’s physical, mental, and emotional states. The main trigger of anxiety is caused by an intense and debilitating fear of an impending event that is perceived as an existential threat.
People with panic disorder experience sudden and unexpected panic attacks, which are episodes of intense fear accompanied by physical symptoms like chest pain, rapid heartbeat, and shortness of breath.
Panic attacks used to go by the non-clinical term nervous breakdown, which is no longer used or considered a medical term.
These attacks can occur at any time, often making the person fearful of future attacks.
Statistic: Panic Disorder (PD) affects 6 million adults or 2.7% of the U.S. population. NIMH: Panic Disorders.
Separation Anxiety Disorder
Most common in children, this disorder involves intense anxiety when separated from loved ones or caregivers. However, separation anxiety can also affect adults, causing unrealistic worry about being away from family members.
Specific Phobias
These are intense fears of particular objects or situations, such as heights, animals, or flying. People with specific phobias go to great lengths to avoid the feared object or situation, even when the fear is excessive.
What Are the Symptoms of Anxiety Disorders?
The symptoms of anxiety disorders can vary depending on the type of disorder, but common symptoms of anxiety disorders include:
- Excessive worry or fear about everyday situations
- Feeling restless, tense, or on edge
- Rapid heartbeat and shortness of breath
- Chest pain or discomfort
- Trouble sleeping or staying asleep
- Difficulty concentrating or focusing on tasks
- Muscle tension and headaches
- Feeling fatigued or quickly tired, exhaustion
- Sweating, trembling, or feeling shaky
- A sense of impending doom or danger
- Intense nervousness
- Hopelessness
- Tremors
In addition to these symptoms, people with anxiety often experience other symptoms related to other mental health conditions, such as depression. The anxiety and depression association is common, with many people experiencing both conditions at the same time resulting in a heightened state of fear and anxiety.
What Causes Anxiety Disorders?
Anxiety disorders can develop from a combination of general risk factors, including genetic, environmental, social, and psychological influences. Traumatic events, such as the unexpected loss of a loved one from a traffic accident, or being a victim of domestic violence, can trigger anxiety disorders.
Additionally, ongoing stress from work, relationships, or health issues can contribute to the development of anxiety. Certain personality traits, such as perfectionism, may also increase the risk of experiencing anxiety.
- Brain Chemistry: An imbalance in brain chemicals that regulate mood, such as serotonin and dopamine, can contribute to anxiety.
- Environmental Factors: Stressful life events, such as a divorce, job loss, or financial difficulties, and facing foreclosure or eviction can lead to severe anxiety.
- Physical Health Conditions: Chronic illnesses, such as heart disease or diabetes, can cause or exacerbate anxiety.
- Emotional Trauma: Experiencing intensely emotional events, such as getting a divorce, being wrongfully terminated from your job, or facing homelessness, can cause anxiety disorders. The onset of anxiety can also begin from an emotionally traumatic experience suffered in childhood, such as being sexually molested, and then being regularly retriggered by associative events.
Suppressed and unprocessed emotional trauma
As described earlier, generalized anxiety disorder is a chronic condition characterized by worry, fear, and nervous tension. This condition is challenging to diagnose or treat because the condition does not have an apparent or objectifiable emotional trigger. This is usually because the emotional source of the anxiety resulted from an emotional trauma that was never fully processed or even understood by the person.
A person who suffers from unprocessed trauma is often mistaken for someone who is unduly negative, excessively worries, or just overthinks about what might happen if things don’t go as planned – even in the absence of an actual or imminent threat.
While general anxiety disorder is often misunderstood as excessive exposure to stress, in many adult cases, the real source of their anxiety can be traced back to an unresolved emotional trauma that was experienced and usually suppressed in the person’s childhood.
Children are unable to process emotional trauma
Instead, emotional wounds caused by trauma get buried in the child’s subconscious and manifest as innate fear, nervousness, and tension – but without knowing or understanding the cause of the internal chaos.
Unfortunately, the emotional wounding can be so profound that it will rarely go away or work itself out without active and engaged emotional support and psychotherapy.
Having never processed the emotional trauma, the child’s anxiety is left to fester and, in time, gets entangled with other worries and setbacks. The anxiety often spreads to other parts of the child’s life and is absorbed into different levels of their psyche as well as their physical sense of being.
According to SAMHSA, the impact of emotional childhood trauma can last well beyond the person’s childhood and is often a life-long battle.
Childhood trauma survivors may experience:
- Learning problems
- Difficulty focusing and keeping their attention on one task
- Behavior problems resulting in school suspensions and expulsions
- Unable to make new friends
- Speech problems such as anxiety-induced stuttering
- Feeling depressed and alone
How Are Anxiety Disorders Diagnosed?
To diagnose anxiety disorders, a mental health professional, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist, will typically conduct a thorough assessment, including a review of the person’s medical history and current symptoms.
The American Psychiatric Association provides criteria for diagnosing anxiety disorders based on the severity and duration of symptoms.
Healthcare providers may also evaluate the presence of any other mental disorders or physical health conditions that could contribute to anxiety.
Medication Management of Anxiety
Over the past fifty years, medical treatment for the management of anxiety disorders has been through the combination of medication and psychotherapy.
- Anti-Anxiety Medications: Benzodiazepines, such as Xanax and Ativan, can provide short-term relief for anxiety symptoms. However, these medications must be used cautiously due to their potential for dependency and abuse.
- Antidepressant Medications: For people with chronic and severe anxiety disorders, antidepressants such as Selective serotonin reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI) have been prescribed to manage the symptoms of chronic anxiety disorders. SSRI medications are not mood elevators or tranquilizers.
Types of antidepressants
Psychiatrists are specialists in determining which antidepressants might work best for you. You must follow up with your doctor to adjust the dosage and ensure the antidepressant prescribed is a good fit for you.
Financial Tip
Numbing the pain with alcohol and drugs
It is essential to remember that the most intense levels of anxiety surface when life presents traumatic or profoundly disturbing circumstances to face, with or without an anxiety disorder.
These combined experiences can culminate in an emotionally charged state and lead to acute emotional trauma, clinical depression, and other psychological disorders.
Unfortunately, instead of seeking therapy, many people resort to numbing their pain through alcohol and drugs. Should this happen, the risk of drug and alcohol addiction can result in self-harm and spiral out of control with devastating consequences.
Other Treatments for Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders are treatable with a variety of approaches, including talk therapy, medication, and coping strategies. The most effective treatments for anxiety disorders are often a combination of therapy and medication.
Talk Therapy:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): CBT is one of the most widely used therapies for anxiety disorders. It helps people change negative thought patterns and behaviors that contribute to their anxiety.
- Exposure Therapy: This form of therapy for conditions such as agoraphobia involves gradually exposing the person to the feared situation or object in a controlled environment, allowing them to confront their fears and reduce their anxiety over time.
- Support Groups: Mental health settings such as support groups can provide a sense of community and understanding between people with anxiety disorders.
Self-Support and Coping Strategies:
- Exercise and Nutrition: Regular physical activity and a healthy diet can improve overall mental well-being and reduce anxiety.
- Sleep Hygiene: Establishing a regular sleep routine and improving sleep habits can alleviate anxiety-related fatigue.
Complementary and alternative treatment
Relaxation exercises, such as deep breathing, meditation, and yoga, can help manage anxiety symptoms.
Stress and Relaxation Techniques
Relaxation techniques may produce a reduction of stress and anxiety in people with ongoing health problems. These techniques have also been shown to be useful for older adults with anxiety. Movement-Dance Therapy is becoming an increasingly popular form of therapy for older adults.
Meditation
Increasing evidence suggests that meditation can be helpful for symptoms of anxiety and depression in adults. Read this ADAA blog post: Mindfulness Meditation for Anxiety
Yoga
Yoga, which combines physical postures, breathing exercises, meditation, and a distinct philosophy, is one of the top ten practices of CAM (complementary and alternative medicine). It may also help alleviate anxiety and depression. Watch this ADAA webinar: Can Yoga Help with Anxiety or Depression? What Does the Research Say?
Acupuncture
Evidence for the use of acupuncture — the Chinese practice of inserting needles into the body at specific median points to manipulate the body’s flow of energy — to treat anxiety disorders is becoming stronger.
Wellness Tips
How to Support Someone with Anxiety
If you know someone who is struggling with anxiety, there are several ways you can offer support:
Be Understanding: Listen to their concerns without judgment. Let them express their feelings and fears and reassure them that anxiety is a common and treatable condition.
Encourage Professional Help: Gently suggest that they see a mental health professional for diagnosis and treatment. Offering to help them find a therapist or mental health provider can make the process easier.
Avoid Minimizing Their Feelings: Statements like “Just relax” or “It’s all in your head” can be harmful and dismissive. Instead, use your emotional intelligence by offering them empathy and letting them know you understand their anxiety is real and difficult.
Offer Practical Support: Help with daily tasks that may be overwhelming, such as making appointments, organizing their schedule, or running errands.
Misconceptions about Anxiety Disorders
Misconception: Anxiety is just worrying.
Reality: Anxiety disorders involve intense, persistent fear and physical symptoms that go beyond worrying and disrupt daily life.
Misconception: Anxiety is just overthinking or a lack of willpower.
Reality: Anxiety disorders are medical conditions with neurological and psychological roots, not a sign of weak character.
Misconception: People with anxiety just need to calm down.
Reality: Anxiety disorders are complex and often require professional help through therapy, medications, and lifestyle changes.
Fears Related to Anxiety Disorders
Fear of losing control during a panic attack.
Reality: Panic attacks may be intense but are temporary and are normally not dangerous. Being able to identify a panic attack and learning coping strategies can greatly reduce its symptoms.
Fear that anxiety medications will lead to addiction.
Reality: While some anti-anxiety medications have addiction risks, SSRIs are non-addictive and effective for long-term treatment.
Fear of seeking help because of the embarrassment and stigma.
Reality: Mental health awareness is growing, and seeking help is a proactive step toward recovery and well-being.
Legal and Financial Issues Related to Anxiety Disorders
People with anxiety disorders often face various life-changing legal and financial challenges that can worsen their symptoms and turn into a dangerous feedback loop.
Understanding how stress and anxiety can be both a cause and a consequence of financial and legal challenges and how major stressors can result in disabling anxiety which then can adversely impact how you respond to legal and financial challenges, is key to your recovery.
This can become a confusing and dangerous cycle that is both emotionally destabilizing and exhausting and leaves you vulnerable to abusing drugs and alcohol to numb the pain.
The danger is that your anxiety can significantly escalate when addiction and substance abuse are added to the cycle.
At this point, all lights should be flashing red. Your immediate health and safety can be at risk. You must reach out for emotional and mental help as soon as possible.
Workplace Discrimination:
Legal Tip
If you feel you are being discriminated against at work due to your anxiety, you can seek legal advice and file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). If you cannot afford legal fees, there are low-cost and no-cost options through local legal Aid offices and clinics.
Financial Struggles:
Anxiety disorders can lead to missed workdays, reduced productivity, and even job loss, resulting in financial instability. Managing the cost of mental health services, such as therapy and medication, might also be overwhelming.
Financial Tip
Actionable Advice:
Seek Legal Support: If you face workplace discrimination due to your anxiety, consider consulting a lawyer who specializes in disability rights.
Access Financial Resources: Contact local government programs or nonprofit organizations that offer financial support for mental health care. You may also want to explore online resources for affordable therapy and medication options.
Don’t wait to seek help – you have options now
Many helpful publicly funded state assistance resources are available to you, irrespective of your ability to pay. There are also nonprofit addiction and recovery organizations ready to help if you truly desire to recover.
Consider consulting with an online mental healthcare professional for more information.
For a more holistic approach to maintaining emotional balance, consider also learning about the benefits of yoga and contemplative meditation and how to release the innate healing power of your heart-mind connection.
Emergency 24-Hour Suicide Hotline
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK. (8255)
Conclusion
Living with an anxiety disorder is extremely challenging, but the good news is they’re manageable with the proper treatment and support. If you or someone you know is dealing with anxiety, remember that help is out there.
Effective treatments like therapy, medication, and coping strategies can make a significant difference in reducing anxiety symptoms and improving quality of life. If anxiety is impacting your daily life, reach out to a mental health provider or talk to your doctor about your symptoms.
With the right approach, you can take back control and find relief from the overwhelming worry and fear that come with anxiety disorders.
Sources and References
Anxiety and Depression Association
American Psychiatric Association
National Institute of Mental Health
