Anxiety disorders have different symptoms

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

People with GAD experience constant, chronic and unwarranted worries about health, family, money, work, etc. This worrying must go on for at least six months and disrupts social activities and interferes with work, school or family.

Symptoms: muscle tension, fatigue, restlessness, difficulty sleeping, irritability, gastrointestinal discomfort, etc.

 

Obsessive-Compulsive disorder

OCD is defined by two different phenomena; obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are intrusive thoughts that compel them to act out compulsions. Compulsions are ritualistic behaviors that run the gamut. For some OCD sufferers compulsions are time-consuming, complicated and can include counting,

hand-washing, cleaning, repeating, touching and arranging, etc. 

Symptoms: (obsessions) constant irrational worry about dirt and germs, excessive concern with order and arrangement, fear that failure to do rituals correctly will result in the harm of loved ones. (compulsions) cleaning, checking, repeating, hoarding, touching/arranging, mental rituals. 

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Trauma is characterized by exposure to threatened or actual death, serious injury, or sexual violation. Examples of trauma are war, disasters, violence, sexual abuse, rape, terrorism, etc. PTSD can be triggered by directly experiencing the traumatic event, witnessing, in person, a traumatic event, learning traumatic events that happened to a close family member or friend, and experiencing repeated and extreme exposure to details of traumatic events. It is normal for humans to have flashbacks, nightmares or intrusive memories after they’ve been through a traumatic experience. However, if these symptoms persist for more than one month, it is categorized as PTSD

Symptoms: re-experiencing (flashbacks, nightmares), emotional numbness, avoidance of places/people/activities that are reminders of trauma, difficulty sleeping and concentrating, feeling jumpy, irritability, anger, persistent feelings of horror, guilt, anger, detachment or shame, reckless or self-destructive behavior, problems concentrating, diminished interest and participation in significant activities, inability to experience positive emotions, hypervigilance, problems falling and staying asleep.

Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia

Panic disorder is diagnosed in people who experience spontaneous, out-of-the-blue panic attacks and are preoccupied with the fear of repetitive attacks. Agoraphobia is diagnosed when people stop going into situations or places in which they’ve experienced a panic attack before for fear that it will happen again. People with agoraphobia typically avoid public places like grocery stores, shopping malls, public transportation and other settings where immediate escape might be difficult.

Symptoms: feelings of imminent danger or doom, need to escape, sweating, chills, nausea, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, feelings of choking, chest pain, dizziness, derealization (sense of things becoming unreal), fear of dying or “going crazy”

Social Anxiety disorder

Everyone can relate to feeling anxious or nervous before giving a speech of asking someone on a date. Those with social anxiety disorder have an extreme fear of being judged and scrutinized by others in a social setting. Social anxiety disorder isn’t just shyness, and some people literally feel sick from fear in a seemingly nonthreatening situation. Symptoms can be so severe that they may disrupt daily life. Also known as social phobia, those who suffer from it may have few or no friends or romantic relationships, which leads to feelings of powerlessness, aloneness or being ashamed. 36 percent of those with social anxiety disorder report symptoms for 10 or more years before seeking help.

Symptoms: blushing, sweating profusely, trembling, nausea, abdominal distress, rapid heartbeat, headaches, dizziness, loss of self-control, feelings of detachment, shortness of breath, lightheadedness