What Are The Types Of Anxiety Disorders?

What are The Types of Anxiety Disorders?

There are various types of anxiety disorders. There are effective, evidence based treatments available for anxiety disorders. Contact a Psychiatrist to seek timely professional help. Untreated anxiety disorders can increase risk of depression, in addition to worsening of anxiety over time. A brief description of the various types of anxiety disorders is, as below:

1. Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Characterized by excessive worry about multiple things, on most days for at least 6 months. The worry may be accompanied by irritability, sleep difficulty, difficulty concentrating, muscle tension, restlessness, and/or fatigue. The symptoms significantly interfere with functioning in one or more areas of life- such as work/school, social relationships, or other.
2. Social Anxiety Disorder: Excessive worry or fear of social situations, often leading to avoidance of social situations or tolerating them with distress. There is a fear of negative evaluation or judgement by others which underlies this worry.
3. Panic Disorder: This is characterized by recurring panic attacks. Panic attacks are sudden episodes of anxiety or fear that peak rapidly in a few minutes, with or without a known trigger. Palpitations, sweating, shaking, sense of impending doom, and/or shortness of breath may be experienced during a panic attack.
4. Separation Anxiety Disorder: This can affect children as well as adults. Fear or worry about being separated from people the individual is close to (attachment figures) is the main worry. Affected individuals may have nightmares and/or physical symptoms on separation or anticipation of separation from their attachment figures.
5. Agarophobia: Fear of not being able to leave or escape from certain situations/places, such as enclosed spaces, open spaces, train/airplane.
6. Specific Phobia: These are specific fears, such as fear of snakes (or other animals), fear of heights, etc.

Not all the above-mentioned symptoms need to be present in order to meet criteria for an anxiety disorder. In an anxiety disorder, the symptoms usually interfere significantly with functioning in one or more areas of life.

Consult a Psychiatrist to seek timely evaluation and treatment.