Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

People with generalized anxiety disorder suffer with unrealistic or excessive anxiety. For example, they may feel panicky about financial matters even though they have a good bank balance and have paid their debts. Patients with this disorder often feel "shaky," reporting that they feel "on edge" and that they sometimes "go blank" because of the tension they feel.

Phobias

This type of anxiety disorder afflicts over 12 percent of all Americans during their lifetimes. People who suffer from this illness feel terror, dread or panic when confronted with a feared object, situation, or activity. Many have such an overwhelming desire to avoid the source of fear that it interferes with their jobs, family life, and social relationships. Agoraphobia, the fear of being alone or in a public place that has no escape hatch (such as a public bus or crowded store), can be the most disabling because victims may become housebound.

Panic Disorder

Victims of panic disorders suffer intense, overwhelming terror for no apparent reason. The fear is accompanied by symptoms such as sweating, heart palpitations, hot or cold flashes, trembling, choking or smothering sensations and shortness of breath. Often, people suffering a panic attack for the first time rush to the hospital, convinced they are having a heart attack.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is characterized by anxious thoughts (obsessions) or rituals (compulsions) you feel you can't control. People with OCD often are plagued by persistent, unwelcome thoughts or images, or by the urgent need to engage in certain rituals. For example, a person with OCD might be obsessed with germs or dirt, and wash his or her hands over and over. An individual may check things repeatedly or be preoccupied by thoughts of violence and fear. Obsessive counting is also a common characteristic of OCD.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Often associated with war veterans, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can occur in anyone who has experienced a severe and unusual physical or mental trauma. People who have witnessed a mid-air collision or survived a life-threatening crime may develop this illness. People who suffer from PTSD re-experience the event that traumatized them through nightmares, flashbacks, excessive alertness, general anxiety and depression.

Top of Page