What is an anxiety disorder?
We feel anxious when we are worried, stressed or afraid - mainly about things that are about to happen or things we fear might happen in the future. This is a perfectly normal reaction when a person feels threatened. Anxiety can be experienced through thinking, feeling and physical sensation.
Most people feel anxious from time to time. It is quite common to feel some anxiety when stressful changes are about to happen, especially if they have a big impact on your future life.
Anxiety is considered a health problem if it interferes with your ability to lead a full life. It is a problem if:
*You feel very anxious or it lasts for a long time.
*Your worries and fears are not proportionate to the reality of the situation.
*You avoid moments and situations that cause you anxiety.
*All your worries seem extremely worrying or are just hard to control.
*You will often experience symptoms of anxiety, which can also cause panic attacks.
*It is difficult for you to live your daily life or to do the things you like doing.
*It's hard for you to look after yourself
*You find it difficult to keep a job
*It is difficult to build and maintain relationships
*It's hard to just enjoy your free time
Everyone experiences anxiety a little differently. You may experience some of the symptoms listed below, and you may also have some discomforts not listed here at all.
*Burning sensation in the stomach
*Dizziness or drowsiness
*Feeling of drowsiness
*Calm state, unable to sit still
*Pain, backache or any other pain/sore sensation
*Restricted breathing
*Hard, pounding or irregular heartbeat
*Hypothermia or hot flushes
*Sleeping problems
*Humminess, especially at night
*Disgust
*Visiting the site has become significantly more frequent/less frequent.
*Panic atakid
* Changes in your sexual behaviour
Anxiety can be experienced in many different ways. If the anxiety you experience is always specific, your doctor may, but not always, prescribe a particular type of anxiety disorder. The most common types of anxiety disorder are: generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, phobia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), health disorder, body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), perinatal disorder or perinatal OCD.
* Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) - This is when there is a tendency to worry uncontrollably about various everyday things. As anxiety has a wide range of symptoms, it is a fairly general diagnosis, meaning that two people's experiences of this diagnosis may not be absolutely identical.
*Social anxiety disorder - This diagnosis means that you have a very high level of fear or anxiety before going to crowded places or attending parties. This diagnosis is also known as social phobia.
* Panic disorder - This is when frequent panic attacks are experienced for no obvious reason. Usually the panic disorder patient is in constant fear of another panic attack until the fear itself can trigger the feared panic attack.
*Phobias - A phobia is an extreme fear or anxiety caused by a particular situation (e.g. situations that require interaction) or thing (e.g. spiders, snakes).
*Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - This diagnosis is given if you have problems with anxiety after experiencing something traumatic. PTSD can cause persistent flashbacks or nightmares about the traumatic situation you experienced, where you would relive it as if it were happening all over again, feeling the same fear and anxiety you felt in the actual situation.
*Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) - This diagnosis is given when a patient has persistent obsessive thoughts or compulsive behaviour.
*Healthy disorder - In this case, obsessive-compulsive behaviour is experienced in relation to illness. The patient tends to constantly search (e.g., on the internet) for symptoms of various illnesses and check that they do not have these symptoms. This is associated with OCD.
*Dysmorphic body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) - This diagnosis involves experiencing obsessive-compulsive thoughts about one's physical appearance.
*Perinatal disturbance or perinatal OCD - Some women experience anxiety problems during pregnancy or in the first year after giving birth.
It is very common to experience anxiety alongside a range of other mental health problems, such as depression and suicide. If you have symptoms of both anxiety and depression, and cannot be directly classified as one or the other, you may be diagnosed with mixed anxiety and depression.
