Anxiety

While there are several types of anxiety disorders, they all include excessive worrying, especially in situations that are not threatening. Some anxiety conditions include:

• General Anxiety Disorder (GAD): a disorder characterized by persistent and extreme worry and anxiety about different things (such as health, money, family, or work), which causes significant distress or impairment.
• Panic Attack: a sudden or abrupt surge of intense fear, sometimes including a fear of losing control, that is accompanied by physical symptoms such as accelerated heart rate, sweating, dizziness, and shortness of breath.
• Panic Disorder: occurs when you have recurring and unexpected panic attacks, so that you continuously worry about having another attack; you may also change your behavior to avoid situations that you associate with panic attacks.
• Social Anxiety Disorder: characterized by a severe fear of social situations, like meeting new people or eating in public, so much so that you avoid those situations and may experience panic attacks when social situations can’t be avoided.
• Phobia: a fear of an object or situation that becomes a significant problem because it prevents you from participating in routine activities, causing distress or impairment.

Any of these disorders may disrupt your life, and people who struggle with anxiety sometimes also experience depression or other mental illness. The most important thing to know about anxiety disorders is that they are treatable.