Archive for February, 2010
Anxiety Disorders Classification
Anxiety Disorders Classification
What is an anxiety? Anxiety is a common problem in general population which is a kind of fear to unseen problems or dangers. It is also experienced when a person perceives an external threat. When anxiety becomes chronic and irrational it takes the form of anxiety disorders. When anxiety leads to anxiety disorders then it starts to interfere with normal life. There are different forms of anxiety disorders which are classified according to causes or triggers.
Here are the common forms of anxiety disorders:
Generalized anxiety disorder
A person with generalized anxiety disorder usually preoccupied with prolonged anxiety without any reasonable cause. This type of people usually worries unnecessarily about small and little things. When they are investigated by medical doctor no identifiable causes are found. They become so much worry and anxious over little things that it starts interfering with their normal routine life. Generalized anxiety disorder usually lasts more than six months and often affects women. People suffering from this disorders usually complains of palpitation, racing heart beat, dizziness ,faintness, sweating insomnia, headache etc.
Phobias
Unlike Generalized Anxiety Disorders, person suffering from Phobias experiences extreme and often irrational fear of certain situation or object. A person with phobias usually tries to avoid the situation or objects which he has fear and always try to escape. When they are exposed to such situation, their heart beat increases, starts sweating, palpitates, feels dizzy and complains of headache and shortness of breath.. One such phobia is called social phobia. In social phobia,. a person is afraid of crowded places, feels very uncomfortable and tries to escape.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD):
It is a type of anxiety disorder where a person has recurrent obsessions or thoughts that creates an awareness of alarm or threat. Let me give you some examples. A person repeatedly washes hi hand thinking he has germs in his hand. Another example is a person confirms many times whether his doors are locked or not before living home. In these examples repeated washing of hands and repeated checking of doors are compulsions where as his thoughts of having germs in hands and unlocked doors are obsession or thoughts. Person with Obsessive Compulsive Disorders (OCD) knows that his thoughts and compulsion are irrational. But in order to relieve himself from anxiety he performs such actions.
Panic Disorder:
Panic disorder is also known as Agoraphobia and is characterized by recurrent panic attacks which are often unexpected. Patients with panic disorders usually presents themselves with chest pain, increase heart rate, shortness of breath, shaking , fear of losing control and sometimes “feeling of going to die”. People with panic disorder are aware that their panic is usually unfounded and illogical.. Sometimes panic attacks become so severe that a person lose control and hurt himself.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Post traumatic stress disorder is a type of anxiety disorder which may be experienced by a person after severe traumatic event. Examples includes after death of a closed and loved ones or escaping life threatening car accidents .In PTSD, a person re- experiences the same situation and become ,stressed, scared and anxious. If a person with PTSD comes into contact with stimuli (any object, person, or situation) that he or she associates with the traumatic event, he or she may literally re-experience the event by crying uncontrollably, panicking, or losing control. Subtler symptoms include insomnia and avoidant behavior. PTSD may manifest itself immediately after the traumatic event or even years after.
It is crucial to identify the type of anxiety disorders and its causes before starting any treatment. The methods and techniques used to treat various anxiety disorders are different so it is really important to know about the particular disorder.. The treatment of anxiety disorders should be started only after thorough diagnosis.