Anxiety And Panic Disorders

There are 4 main types of classified disorders for anxiety and panic disorders. Some people experience shyness or low self esteem (low opinion of themselves). Others experience certain feelings and reactions and behave in ways in which they would prefer not to behave.

The 1st known ‘disorder’ is known as General Anxiety Disorder. This is described as being a worrying on a consistent basis about things that are mostly unrealistic. Along with this worry some people experience symptoms of anxiety which include physical feelings such as body aches and mental experiences such as being edgy, fidgety and unfocused.

The 2nd classified disorder is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. OCD (short for obsessive compulsive disorder) is said to be when someone obsessively does something in order to relieve their anxiety they have made up in their mind. This anxiety and panic disorder can involve compulsions such as over cleaning or obsessive washing of the hands.

The 3rd classified anxiety and panic disorder is Phobias. Many people fear certain situations where they experience intense panic which can involve intense feelings in the body lots of thoughts racing quickly through the mind.

Phobias can be experienced as a sudden, irrational, and overwhelming fear. This can either be in relation to a certain situation, an animal of some sort, or even a thing. However, what they are afraid of is generally not a direct threat to them or their life at that moment.

Commonly identified phobias are fears of animals such as spiders, dogs or snakes, or fears of being in an enclosed space or high up off the ground. Many people with phobias do whatever they can avoid the source of the phobia that makes them feel uncomfortable.

Some people experience phobias mildly while others can have a very intense experience going on inside. Phobias can sometimes limit people lives in situations where they have agoraphobia. These people may want to go out shopping but when they do, they may feel an onset of an anxiety and panic disorder and avoid the situation.

The 4th classified anxiety and panic disorder is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This is where someone relives a past traumatic experience of sort in their mind some of the time or lots of the time. Some people think of these as nightmares or flashbacks. People who experience this may do things to distract themselves from these thoughts so they do not experience the situation again in their minds.

With this anxiety and panic disorder being about past traumatic experience, sometimes people may take up counter productive behaviors such as overeating, drug abuse or alcohol abuse.