Anxiety Disorders: Types and Treatments

Anxiety is your body’s natural response to stress; it’s feelings of fear and apprehension regarding the future. Be it the first day of school, going to a job interview, or giving a speech — fear and uncertainty can often snowball and may cause most people to feel fearful and nervous. However, if your feelings of anxiety are extreme, last for longer than six months, and are interfering with your life, you may have an anxiety disorder.

Broadly, there are seven types of anxiety disorders and usually occur in conjunction with other mental concerns:

· Panic Disorder: feeling a sudden sense of panic periodically and unexpectedly.

· Phobia: uncontrollable fear of specific objects, circumstances, or events.

· Social Anxiety Disorder: uncontrollable fear of external judgement in social situations

· Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: periodic irrational thoughts that lead you to the performance specific, repeated behaviours such as cleaning obsessively or chewing a certain way.

· Separation Anxiety Disorder: a deep set fear of being away from familiar places or people

· Illness Anxiety Disorder: anxiety with regards to one’s health (also known as hypochondria)

· Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): anxiety caused by the experience of a deeply traumatic incident.

However, all anxiety disorders share some common symptoms:

• Panic, fear, and uneasiness
• Sleep problems
• Not being able to stay calm and still
• Cold, sweaty, numb or tingling limbs
• Shortness of breath
• Heart palpitations
• Dry mouth
• Nausea
• Tense muscles
• Dizziness

Luckily, there are several treatment options available. The two most common types of therapy for anxiety are Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Exposure Therapy.