Anxiety Types
There are several types of anxiety disorders:
Generalised anxiety disorders are present all the time, to a varying degree. The person feels constant mental and physical tension about a vast variety of things that may never happen. They persistently stress, for no apparent reason or without knowing exactly what they are worried about. They simply expect that something, somewhere, will go wrong. They are unable to shake off the feeling. This is the most common anxiety disorder.
Panic disorders are actually feelings of doom, rather than panic. They are unexpected bouts of intense fear of something that is not a realistic concern. Healthy people can fear they may have a potential illness and actually land in hospital, not because they had the feared illness, but because of disorders brought on by their intense worries about it.
Specific phobias refer to excessive dread of clearly defined phenomena. Sufferers strenuously avoid these things. Example are: certain animals, insects, reptiles, blood, heights, thunderstorms, tight spaces, wide open spaces, flying, being a passenger in a car, etc. Sometimes the fear seems outrageously irrational, such as a fear of pigeons.
Social phobia is worse than shyness or stage fright. You stress even when just having a peaceful, private conversation with two or three people. You feel that you are being closely observed and negatively judged by them. The larger the gathering, the more the fear of public humiliation and the need to avoid it.
Separation anxiety happens when someone is separated from a person or place and they feel unsafe or insecure because of the separation. It may also come from a major lifestyle change. Mild insecurity may be normal, but excessive reaction is a disorder that results in trauma and panic attacks.
Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) results from an extremely unpleasant event experienced by a person. It may be a natural disaster, combat duty, sexual assaults and rape, serious accident, etc. The event is relived in the mind and brings on bouts of panic. Sufferers also live in fear of a real world repetition. They anxiously avoid things that remind them of, or expose them to, such an event.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is symptomised by repetitive, intrusive actions. The actions are unnecessarily repeated, over and over. It involves things like constantly checking if machines are switched off, washing hands, checking door locks, etc. Sufferers do it to soothe a simmering anxiety about the possibility that something may go wrong.