The prevalence of anxiety across the country may well take you by surprise. It has been estimated that the impact of anxiety, which is the most common mental illness in the country, costs the US economy $42 billion per year.

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, a total of 44 million American adults suffer from anxiety. Only a third of those with anxiety disorders receive treatment, pointing to the need for more awareness-raising about the nature of anxiety disorders so that they can be identified and treated.

The number of teenagers with anxiety who do not get treatment is even higher. On average, only one in five anxiety sufferers in this age group get support from a medical professional.

Women are twice as likely as men to suffer from an anxiety disorder. Research also indicates that women with anxiety experience more severe symptoms than men.

Each category contains several disorders with a wide range of behaviors and symptoms.

Here are several of the most common types of anxiety disorder with a brief explanation of their symptoms. Please remember that this is for informational purposes only and that a firm diagnosis can only be carried out by a trained medical professional.

 

Selective mutism: This disorder occurs when a person persistently fails to speak in a social situation, whether that be at work, in an academic setting, or with friends. However, under other conditions, the person is capable of speaking normally. For a diagnosis of selective mutism, the mutism must have resulted in an impairment in workplace, social or academic achievements. In addition, the mutism must have lasted more than one month and not be confined to the first month of a child’s attendance at school.

 

Panic disorder: This is diagnosed if a person suffers from unpredictable panic attacks, and continues to fear having another panic attack for a long period of time (one month) afterwards.

Disorders in this group are linked to obsessive thoughts that force their way into someone’s thinking. They trigger compulsive behaviors that can have a detrimental impact on an individual’s ability to participate in daily life. For example, a person might find it difficult to leave their home without performing a compulsive activity several times, or could repeatedly wash their hands because they worry about staying clean.
You should bear in mind that someone who has one or two unusual behavioral traits is not considered to have an obsessive compulsive disorder. The behaviors they exhibit must be compulsive and linked to sustained bouts of worrying and/or fear.

Below are some of the most common types of obsessive compulsive disorders, and a brief description of each one.

 

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD): an individual with OCD will experience obsessive thoughts that often cause distress or discomfort. One typical example of this is the idea that a series of activities must be carried out in a particular order or in a certain way so as to avoid harm to the individual or other people. Symptoms of OCD can include spending more than an hour a day performing the compulsive activity, becoming distressed due to the compulsive thoughts, or being prevented from going to work or participating in social activities due to the obsessions.

 

Hoarding disorder: This describes a condition where someone always wants to get hold of new items, whether or not they are useful or valuable. It can result in living spaces becoming cluttered and difficult to use. The sufferer will find it extremely difficult to give up personal possessions or other items, and may also become distressed or anxious if they cannot acquire new items on a regular basis.

 

Excoriation: This is a condition where the individual persistently picks at their skin, producing lesions. A diagnosis may be made if the person has made numerous attemptsto reduce the skin picking behavior, and if it has hampered them from pursuing their professional career or attending social events.

 

Trichotillomania: When someone consistently pulls out their own hair, frequently from the scalp, eyebrows or eyelashes. As with excoriation, it could be diagnosed by a medical professional if the individual has sought on many occasions to stop the behavior.

Events like a serious car accident, the death of a relative or the experience of abuse can produce trauma. In some cases, this can develop into a disorder characterized by anxiety and other symptoms. Below are some of the most common types of trauma-related disorder.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Everyone feels sad at the death of a loved one or shaken after surviving a car crash. That does not mean they have PTSD. A diagnosis will only be made if the symptoms have persisted for longer than a month and have significantly impeded the individual’s participation in professional or social activities. PTSD symptoms can express themselves in very different ways, once again underscoring the importance of consulting a trained medical professional to make a reliable diagnosis. One of the symptoms of PTSD is re-experiencing, when someone with PTSD relives the traumatic event either through dreams, involuntary memories, psychological distress brought on by cues in their environment, or episodes like flashbacks. Other symptoms include avoidance, where someone endeavors to avoid memories or cues of the trauma, negative cognitions and mood, including negative emotions or thoughts, and hyperarousal. This latter symptom can find expression in irritable behavior, excessively startled responses to incidents, or self-destructive behavior.

Adjustment Disorder: When someone exhibits emotional or behavioral symptoms linked to a stressful episode, such as moving house, losing their job or a divorce, they may have Adjustment Disorder. The symptoms must be clinically significant and be associated to a stressful event, also known as a stressor.

Acute Stress Disorder: This disorder emerges following a traumatic event and the symptoms last from between three days to one month. As in the case of PTSD, symptoms can vary considerably, but one feature of the disorder will generally be extreme anxiety in relation to reliving or re-experiencing the traumatic event. This can take place through dreams, negative thoughts, repetitive and distressing memories, or flashbacks in which the individual feels as though they are going through the event again.

Anxiety can have a debilitating impact on a person’s health in many ways. The likelihood that you will suffer from a cardiovascular disorder, such as heart disease, diabetes and obesity, increases if you have anxiety. The presence of more than one medical condition, such as heart disease and an anxiety disorder, is referred to as co-morbidity.

Another area where problems can arise is with the immune system. The human body has evolved to deal with a concrete danger by activating stress hormones, which change how our body responds to an event. Energy is used for higher levels of adrenalin and a faster heart rate, allowing us to respond swiftly to the threat. Other bodily functions, such as the immune system, are neglected because healing can wait until the danger has passed.

However, a person who has heightened levels of anxiety all the time runs the risk of suffering a more permanent weakening of their immune system. This increases the possibility that they will contract other illnesses which could normally be fought off. It may also mean that recovery from an illness requires a longer period of time.