About Anxiety Disorders

In our society nowadays, it is hard to detect people who are suffering from anxiety. Although it is considered as one of the most common mental health dilemmas, it is unusual to find sufferers voluntarily seeking psychiatric treatment. This is a result of the stigma most people attach to
anyone who seeks psychiatric therapy, counseling, or treatment. Common perception has it that people seeing shrinks are instantaneously classified as lunatics. What most of us are not aware of is that there is a multitude of emotional and mental disorders that could afflict any of us and it does not necessarily mean that we have totally lost our marbles and would readily run amok at the slightest provocation.

However, this stigma is so strong that the sufferers themselves are reluctant to consult psychiatrists who are the only ones capable of treating anxiety disorders for fear of being called crazy. Deliberate denial of their problem does not only hinder them from seeking medical attention, but it also encourages them to rely on self-medications, which is more disadvantageous to the point of being harmful to them. Thus, it comes as no surprise that majority of them are forced to live a self-imposed life of discomfort brought about by this stigma they themselves accept.

Below are the many different kinds of anxiety disorders. It is important that we become familiarized with them so as to avoid falling into the trap of attaching ourselves to this harmful stigma, which is basically a result of ignorance.

Panic Disorder
Although panic attacks are symptoms mainly identified with panic disorder, it does not automatically follow that if you experience them you automatically have the aforementioned ailment. Because panic attacks are terrifying, sometimes a person experiencing them is likely to think that he or she has heart disease. Basically panic attacks are identified through the following symptoms: palpitation, discomfort, breathing difficulty, fear of dying, tightening of the chest, choking, trembling, light-headedness, dizziness, distress in the abdominal area, hot flushes or chills, numbness or tingling, fear that you are going crazy, and feeling that you are beyond yourself.

Phobia
People with phobias experience a very forceful fear associated with certain things or circumstances. During instances of exposure to the latter, the person involved is liable to be very uncomfortable.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
A person riddled with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is likely to experience any or both of the following syndromes:
Distressful ideas or images that occur frequently
A compulsion to do specific activities repeatedly; which elicits feelings of distress, anxiety, or dread.

General Anxiety Disorder
People encumbered with General Anxiety Disorder(GAD) often experiences many anxieties and has the inclination to worry more than other people.

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
People who are either subjected to extremely traumatic events or has witnessed them are bound to come down with post-traumatic stress disorder. These circumstances are characterized by the following: feelings of helplessness, terror, and inability to move.