Most people experience feelings of mild anxiety before an important event such as a big exam, business presentation, or a first date. Anxiety disorders, however, are illnesses that fill people's lives with overwhelming anxiety and fears that are chronic, unremitting, and can grow progressively worse. Anxiety disorders are characterized by excessive and uncontrollable worry about everyday things. The frequency, intensity and duration of the worry are disproportionate to the actual source of worry, and such worry often interferes with daily functioning.

Tormented by panic attacks, obsessive thoughts, flashbacks of traumatic events, nightmares, or countless frightening physical symptoms, some people with anxiety disorders even become housebound.

Extremely common, in fact anxiety disorders are currently the most common mental health problem in the United States and encompasses panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, phobias, and generalized anxiety disorder.

Approximately 19.1 million American adults ages 18 to 54, or about 13.3% of people in this age group in any given year, have an anxiety disorder.

Women are more likely than men to suffer from anxiety disorders. Approximately twice as many women as men suffer from panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, and specific phobia, although about equal numbers of women and men have obsessive-compulsive disorder and social phobia.

The annual cost of anxiety disorders to society is estimated to be $42.3 Billion. More than half of these costs are due to repeat use of healthcare services to relieve anxiety related symptoms that mimic those of other physical conditions. Hence those individuals who suffer anxiety disorders are all too often misdiagnosed.

Children and adolescents can also develop anxiety disorders.

Typical anxiety symptoms can incorporate any or all of the below and prolonged anxiety can develop into
panic attacks.

Feelings of fear that become constant and inescapable;
Becoming overly introspected, self-imposed and secluded;
Withdrawing from society and avoiding interaction with others;
Chest pain and heart palpitations;
Shortness of breath or feelings of fatigue;
Stomach problems (nausea, "butterflies", diarrhea, "knots");
Headaches, dizziness;
Nervousness, shaking;
Muscular tension;
Startle ness, restlessness;
Flushing;
Urgency to urinate;
Sweating or feeling cold and clammy;
Fatigue and difficulty concentrating;
Sleeping problems including insomnia, oversleeping and nightmares;
Dry mouth;
Tingling in the hands or feet and repeated hand washing;
Fearfulness, worrying and feelings of insecurity;
Uncontrollable obsessive thoughts;
Intrusive memories of traumatic experiences;
Isolation from others.

There are many different types of anxiety disorders as individually defined by their specific symptoms.

Agoraphobia involves intense fear and avoidance of any place or situation where escape might be difficult or help unavailable in the event of developing sudden panic-like symptoms. Although the severity of the anxiety and the extent of avoidance behavior are variable, this is the most incapacitating of the phobic disorders and some sufferers become completely housebound.

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Avoidant Personality Disorder, or anxious personality disorder, is a personality disorder characterized by a pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and extreme sensitivity to negative evaluation.

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Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) is a mental disorder, which involves a disturbed body image. It is generally diagnosed of those who are extremely critical of their physique or self image, despite the fact there may be no noticeable disfigurement or defect.

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Generalized Anxiety Disorder - Constant, exaggerated worrisome thoughts and tension about everyday routine life events and activities, lasting at least six months. Almost always anticipating the worst even though there is little or no reason to expect it; accompanied by physical symptoms, such as fatigue, trembling, muscle tension, headache, or nausea.

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Hypochondria (or hypochondriasis, sometimes referred to as health anxiety or health phobia) is a somatoform disorder in which one has the unfounded belief that one is suffering from a serious illness.

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Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - People with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) suffer intensely from recurrent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) or rituals (compulsions), which they feel they cannot control. Rituals such as hand washing, counting, checking, or cleaning are often performed with the hope of preventing obsessive thoughts or making them go away. Performing these rituals, however, provides only temporary relief, and not performing them markedly increases anxiety.

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Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD), or anankastic personality disorder, is a personality disorder that is characterized by a general psychological inflexibility, rigid conformity to rules and procedures, perfectionism, and excessive orderliness.

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Panic Disorder - Repeated episodes of intense fear that strike often and without warning. Physical symptoms include chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, abdominal distress, feelings of unreality, and fear of dying.

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Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - Persistent symptoms that occur after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event such as rape or other criminal assault, war, child abuse, natural or human-caused disasters, or car crashes. Some common symptoms include: Nightmares, flashbacks, numbing of emotions, depression, and feeling angry, irritable or distracted and being easily startled are common. Family members of victims can also develop this disorder.

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Separation Anxiety Disorder (or simply separation anxiety) is a psychological condition in which an individual has excessive anxiety regarding separation from home or from people to whom the individual has a strong emotional attachment (like a mother).

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Social Anxiety - People with social anxiety (or social phobia) have an overwhelming and disabling fear of scrutiny, embarrassment, or humiliation in social situations, which leads to avoidance of many potentially pleasurable and meaningful activities.

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Somatization Disorder occurs when a patient manifests a psychiatric condition as a physical complaint. One prevalent general etiological explanation is that internal psychological conflicts are unconsciously expressed as physical signs.

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Specific Phobia - Specific phobia is an illness that causes people to experience extreme, disabling, and irrational fear of something that poses little or no actual danger; this fear leads to avoidance of objects or situations and can cause people to limit their lives unnecessarily.

Symptoms of a panic attack can incorporate any of the following:

Physical
Sweating
Shortness of Breath (dyspnea)
Racing or pounding heartbeat or palpitations
Chest pain
Dizziness or Vertigo
Light-headedness
Nausea / Stomach Pains
Hyperventilation
Choking or smothering sensations
Uncontrollable Itching
Tingling or numbness in the hands, face, feet or mouth (Paresthesia)
Hot/Cold Flashes
Faintness
Trembling or shaking
Exhaustion

Mental
The loss of the ability to react logically to stimuli
Loss of cognitive ability in general
Loud internal dialogue
Feeling of impending doom

Emotional
Fear that the panic is a symptom of a serious illness
Fear of losing control
Fear of death
Fear of going crazy
Flashbacks to earlier panic triggers
Terror, or a sense that something unimaginably horrible is about to occur
and one is powerless to prevent it

Perceptual
Tunnel vision
Heightened senses
The apparent slowing down or speeding up of time
Dream-like sensation or perceptual distortion (derealization)
Dissociation, or the perception that one is not connected to the body or is
disconnected from space and time (depersonalization)

No. Most people are relieved to know that although anxiety symptoms can feel terrifying or even life-threatening, they are in fact harmless. Your body is simply setting off a "false alarm" even though no real danger exists.

There are several factors experts believe can contribute to an anxiety disorder, these are:

Thought Patterns (Most common)

Stress Overload/Lifestyle Factors

Childhood Environment

Biological Factors (physical overreaction to stress)

Genetic Factors

An anxiety disorder is usually caused by a combination of several of these factors working together over a period of time. Usually one factor alone will not result in an anxiety disorder.

Most definitely. The most effective treatment options help the sufferer to do three things: reduce physical symptoms, change their anxious thoughts, and address their anxious or avoidance behavior. Click here for effective anxiety treatment options.

Yes. People frequently suffer from more than one type of anxiety disorder at once or a combination of anxiety and depressive disorders. This is called comorbidity.

Unfortunately, No. Prescription drugs can be a helpful tool in reducing the physical symptoms of anxiety and get the body on a more even keel, particularly when anxiety is so debilitating that it is difficult to function.

However, prescription drugs are not a cure-all and do not alone address the root causes of anxiety. To find lasting freedom from anxiety, you must change the detrimental thought patterns of anxious perception that cause the condition.

Yes. With proper treatment and a little effort, you can completely recover from anxiety. In order to maintain lasting freedom from anxiety it's essential to reinforce daily the positive changes in your lifestyle, self-care activities, thought patterns, and behaviors.

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