What is Anxiety Disorder?

Worrying over a problem is quite normal. Everyone has some or the other stress. But when this temporary stress and anxiety makes a permanent place in your mind not letting you live a normal life, is when you may have an Anxiety disorder. For a person with an anxiety disorder, the anxiety does not go away. This feeling disturbs your personal space not letting you to focus, eat and sleep well. Anxiety Disorder is a serious mental illness. But with treatment, it is possible to live a happy life.

Identify whether a feeling is occasional or so overwhelming that it interferes with your ability to lead a normal life.

Not every fear or stress is an Anxiety Disorder.

What are the types of Anxiety Disorder?

You may experience symptoms of more than one type of anxiety disorder. So you should seek proper consultation at an early stage and get proper treatment.

Here are the types of anxiety Disorder

1. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

People with this disorder worry excessively (for many months) even when there is nothing to provoke the anxiety. People feel restless, fatigue, face difficulty in concentration, gets irritated easily, muscle tension, insomnia etc.

Even the minor thing becomes the focus of anxiety. They constantly feel that something terrible will happen.

2. Social Phobia/ Social anxiety disorder

Every one of us gets nervous or feel awkward in front of strangers. But you cannot relate this situation to Social anxiety disorder because you feel nervous for something occasional.

However, when someone is extremely self-conscious about everyday social situations (eating a meal, talking to someone) then this can be referred to social anxiety disorder.

The reason behind this overwhelming worry and self-conscious about a situation is the feeling of rejection, being judged, criticized and humiliation. They have a feeling that if something goes wrong they could be embarrassed or lead to ridicule.

A day of worry is more exhausting than a week of work- John Lubbock

3. Panic disorder

People get panic disorder suddenly and the panic attacks are so intense that a person can go crazy.
When someone gets panic attacks repeatedly for more than a month, then a person is said to have a panic disorder.
The pain is so intense that the person feels that he had a heart attack and would die. Some experience chest pain, excessive sweating, dizziness, shortness of breath, feeling of choking etc.

4. Post traumatic Stress disorder

You might have met people who experience a tragic death, sexual abuse, torture, etc. But are still in the terror of that situation. These people develop a set of reaction over any such traumatic event in their life. In post-traumatic stress disorder, there is a constant feeling of intense fear, terror, horror and helplessness.

5. Specific phobia

The inappropriate level of fear for a particular event, place or thing is specific phobia. To name few, Phobia of height, water, fire, insects etc.

This situation creates everyday common problem for you

6. Obsessive compulsive disorder

OCD is a common and long-lasting disorder in which a person has recurring thoughts (obsession) and behavior (compulsion) that he or she feels the urge of repeating it. Mostly obsession and compulsion, but are together found. It is very rare that a person has only one. Read more on OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER: Meaning and facts

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