ANXIETY By LaChune Price, P.A.
What is Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders?
Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress and can be beneficial in some situations. It can alert us to dangers and help us prepare and pay attention. Anxiety disorders differ from normal feelings of nervousness or anxiousness and involve excessive fear or anxiety. According to the American Psychiatric Association, “anxiety disorders are the most common of mental disorders and affect nearly 30% of adults at some point in their lives.” Anxiety disorders are treatable, and several effective treatments are available as well as holistic approaches.
How Common Are Anxiety Disorders?
According to the American Psychiatric Association, “In any given year the estimated percent of U.S. adults with various anxiety disorders are: Specific Phobia: 8% - 12%, Social Anxiety Disorder: 7%, Panic Disorder: 2% - 3, Agoraphobia: 1-2.9% in Adolescents and Adults, Generalized Anxiety Disorder: 2%, Separation Anxiety Disorder: 0.9% - 1.9%.” Women are more likely than men to experience anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders can cause people to try to avoid situations that trigger or worsen their symptoms. Job performance, schoolwork and personal relationships can be affected. In general, for a person to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, the fear or anxiety must: Be out of proportion to the situation or age- inappropriate and hinder ability to function normally.
Types of Anxiety Disorders
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (involves persistent and excessive worry that interferes with daily activities), panic disorder Panic Disorder (the core symptom of panic disorder is recurrent panic attacks, and overwhelming combination of physical and psychological distress which involves a combination of symptoms to occur), Phobias, Specific Phobia (a specific phobia is excessive and persistent fear of a specific object, situation or activity that is generally not harmful), Agoraphobia (is the fear of being in situations where escape may be difficult or embarrassing, or help might not be available in the event of panic symptoms. The fear is out of proportion to the actual situation and lasts generally six months or more and causes problems in functioning), Social Anxiety Disorder (previously called social phobia) (a person with social anxiety has significant anxiety and discomfort about being embarrassed, humiliated, rejected or looked down on in social interactions) and Separation Anxiety Disorder (a person with separation anxiety disorder is excessively fearful or anxious about separation from those with whom he or she is attached). (continued on next page)
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