I shouldn’t assume that everyone knows about anxiety disorders, but i feel confident that everyone has heard about them. Unfortunately, social media and the burning desire to be able to monotize your face means there’s a whole lot of idiots spreading misinformation as they pretend to be therapists, or some other mental health expert, in their quest for likes.
To spare you the personal rage I experience when putting the slightest bit of thought on the absolute dumb fuckery that thrives online and just explain some basics about anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders are among the most common disorders to be diagnosed and even those without an anxiety disorder can still experience anxiety at any time and can struggle to manage aspects of their anxiety.
In the United States , 19 % , or around 40 million people have an anxiety disorder. These disorders are characterized by excessive fear and worry that directly impact an individuals thoughts and behaviors. The major distinction between typical, or normal anxiety , and a disorder is when these thought and behaviors become severe enough to cause significant distress and impairment on the domains of a persons life. These domians include work/school, home, relationships, physical and emotional self. When the impact on these domains is enough to disturb daily functioning a persons anxiety becomes a disorder.
The DSM-5, has 11 recognized anxiety disorders. They include Generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, seperation anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, specific phobia, selective mutism, other specified anxiety disorder, substance/medication induced anxiety disorder, and post- traumatic stress disorder.
For a brief as fuck overview, Generalized anxiety disorder involves persistent and excessive wory that interferes with daily activities. This worry can be about a number of different things and present in a variety of ways. it is one of the most common types of anxiety.
Panic disorder is when an individual has recurring episodes of panic with the fear that present as recurrent panic attacks , the result is significant changes in behavior as they try to avoid more attacks. Symptoms can be severe and present in an abrupt surge of intense fear with physical symptoms that include, but are not limited to dizziness, difficulty breathing, sweating, nausea and shooting pains.
Social anxiety disorder is a marked and persistent fear of social situations where the individual feels exposed to unfamiliar people/situations, or scrutiny towards themselves or their performance. Seperation anxiety disorder can impact children and adults. SOmeone is diagnosed when they report high levels of distress when seperated from another person that view as being crucial in their ability to handle themselves and situations.
Agoraphobia is the fear of being in situations where escape may be difficult or embarrassing , or help may not be available in the event of any number of emergencies and scenarios. Specific phobias is an excessive and persistent fear of a specific object, situation or activity that is usually not harmful but has caused a deep fear in the individual. Phobias are very common and the signifying difference between common phobias and a disorder is when an individual will go to great lengths to avoid the possibility of encountering their “phobia” to the point where it is interferrin with and impeding on their day to day life.
Selective Mutism is most common in children , starting at age 5, and is exhibited when the child experiences an inability to speak in certain social settings. It is the least common anxiety disorder and affects less than 1 percent of the population. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a disorder where a person begins ritualistic behaviors as a way to manage their recurring obsessive thoughts. Post-Traumatic stress disorder is an anxiety disorder that results from exposure to trauma. This , as well as substance use/medication induced anxiety disorders are when anxiety symptoms are triggered by outside forces. Such as drug/alcohol abuse or repeated exposure to trauma.
Lastly ,Other specified anxiety disorder is a category in the DSM-5 that applies to people that have symptoms characteristics of an anxiety disorder but do not meet enough specifiers to meet the full criteria of any disorder. This diagnosis can be used to further evaluate and consider other diagnosis and their specifiers.
If you or someone you know is having difficulty managing their anxiety, I hope this brief review is somewhat helpful in helping them understand what’s going and as well as give them the support to seeking professional help. This help will provide them with education about their disorder as well as teach about coping skills to help manage them. It will also provide them with the medications that may be necessary to help them with their symptoms and manage their life.
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