cont. from

There are five general types of anxiety:

A. Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is much more than the normal anxiety people experience day to day. Chronic and exaggerated worry and tension characterize it, even though nothing seems to provoke it. Another term for GAD is "free-floating anxiety". This term conveys the generalized nature of the feeling that a dreadful, unknown event is about to befall the sufferer. A person suffering from GAD always anticipates disaster and often worries too much about health, money, family, or work. GAD is diagnosed when a person appears to be affected by excessive worry and anxiety for at least six months.

GAD comes on gradually and most often affects people in childhood or adolescence. It can also appear in adulthood. More women than men appear to suffer from GAD, and it does appear to run in families, either because of heredity, or else because of behavior patterns that are common to a particular family. People who suffer from GAD can't seem to shake their sense of dread and worry, even if they appear to be intellectually aware that their anxiety is more intense than the situation warrants. People with GAD also seem unable to relax. They often have trouble falling or staying asleep, and their worries are frequently accompanied by physical symptoms like muscle tension and nausea. They tend to feel tired, have trouble concentrating, and sometimes suffer depression, too.

Usually a person who suffers from GAD is able to carry on with normal activities. He or she can function in social settings, or on the job, and does not usually have to avoid certain situations as a result of the disorder. However, severe GAD can be very debilitating and it can make daily life difficult, as well as having a negative impact on the sufferer's relationships with friends and family.

Panic Attacks

People with panic disorder have feelings of terror that strike suddenly and repeatedly with no warning. The person having a panic attack experiences physical symptoms, like a pounding heart, weakness and a smothering sensation. The sufferer may genuinely believe that he or she is having a heart attack or stroke, or is on the verge of death. The sufferer cannot predict when an attack will occur, and many develop intense anxiety between episodes, worrying when and where the next one will strike. In between times there is a persistent, lingering worry that another attack could come any minute.

Most panic attacks last for just a few minutes, but they can last longer. In rare cases, they may last an hour or more.

Panic disorder can strike one in every 10 Americans over their lifetime. It can appear at any age, but most often it begins in young adults, and affects twice as many women as men. Not everyone who experiences panic attacks will develop panic disorder. This much more serious condition is often accompanied by other conditions such as depression or alcoholism, and may give rise to phobias, which can develop in places or situations where panic attacks have occurred. For example, if a panic attack strikes while the sufferer is out shopping, he or she may develop a fear of stores, and start avoiding them.

Some people's lives become greatly restricted as they start to avoid any situation where they fear a panic attack may occur. When people's lives become so affected by the disorder that they are afraid to leave their homes, the condition is called agoraphobia. This is a fear of public or open places.

continue

top . pages 1 2 3 4 . send to friend . anxiety site map

Reviewed: 02/2006