Anxiety Disorder Symptoms
So you think you might have an anxiety disorder? But which one? How can you figure it out? Well, the easiest way is to go by your main symptoms. Let's see if we can sort them out.
Panic Attacks
One of the key differences between anxiety disorders is the presence or absence of panic attacks. If you have panic attacks, then the most likely disorders that you may have are either post traumatic stress disorder or a phobia. Some clinicians also consider panic attacks themselves as a separate category.
What are panic attacks?
Many people don't even realize when they are having a panic attack because they are so intensely physical. A panic attack is a strong physical and emotional episode in which the sufferer feels a series of symptoms. The most typical physical symptoms are chest pains, racing heart, difficulty breathing, nausea and hot/cold flashes. Often the sufferer will believe they are having a heart attack and rush to the hospital only to find that there is nothing physically wrong with them.
Emotional symptoms are mainly an intense fear that they are about to die and, often, the belief that they are losing their minds.
Have you had a life threatening situation in your recent past?
Panic attacks are one of the main symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD. PTSD is an anxiety disorder caused by the stress of a life threatening situation. War veterans will typically suffer PTSD when they return from combat and try to readjust to civilian life. The death of or separation from a loved one can also cause PTSD.
If you are having panic attacks and have had a traumatic incident in your recent past, PTSD is likely the cause of your episodes.
Are you scared of spiders, dogs, the dark or something else?
If you freak out at the thought of a specific creepy crawler or hated creature, then the likely cause may be a phobia. Phobias are anxiety disorders that center on the fear of a specific thing, like a bug or snakes. If this is what you have then you have a phobia.
Symptoms are not always accompanied by panic attacks, however. Consider the following:
Do you get intensely nervous at the thought of interacting with people?
If you have great difficulty interacting with coworkers or peers, you may have social anxiety disorder. The inability to interact effectively with other people is one of the main symptoms. If you have few friends and have great difficulty just holding down a conversation or going about everyday interactions with people, you may be what you have.
Do you have difficulty letting a loved one out of your sight?
The fear of letting someone go is one of the main symptoms involved in adult separation anxiety disorder. If you find that you must spend every moment with a husband, son or parent because when you don't you are thrown into an intense state of anxiety, then this is the disorder you suffer from.
Finally, are you just generally anxious and nervous all the time with no apparent cause?
The central symptom of generalized anxiety disorder is a persistent and irrational fear that just doesn't go away. If you find that you cannot shake your sense of worry at any time, you are likely to have this disorder.
Finally, just to confuse matters further, many sufferers have more than one type of anxiety disorder. So it is not uncommon for someone with social anxiety disorder to also suffer from, say, separation anxiety disorder. Also, studies have shown that those with anxiety disorders are also very likely to have depression or other mental disorders. So it is important to figure out the nature of your anxiety disorder and treat any other related problems as well.
Tom Tait is focused on helping those with panic attacks. Here is more information on Anxiety Disorder Symptom. There is even more information about Panic Attacks on the website Panic Attacks.
By Tom Tait
Panic Attacks
One of the key differences between anxiety disorders is the presence or absence of panic attacks. If you have panic attacks, then the most likely disorders that you may have are either post traumatic stress disorder or a phobia. Some clinicians also consider panic attacks themselves as a separate category.
What are panic attacks?
Many people don't even realize when they are having a panic attack because they are so intensely physical. A panic attack is a strong physical and emotional episode in which the sufferer feels a series of symptoms. The most typical physical symptoms are chest pains, racing heart, difficulty breathing, nausea and hot/cold flashes. Often the sufferer will believe they are having a heart attack and rush to the hospital only to find that there is nothing physically wrong with them.
Emotional symptoms are mainly an intense fear that they are about to die and, often, the belief that they are losing their minds.
Have you had a life threatening situation in your recent past?
Panic attacks are one of the main symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD. PTSD is an anxiety disorder caused by the stress of a life threatening situation. War veterans will typically suffer PTSD when they return from combat and try to readjust to civilian life. The death of or separation from a loved one can also cause PTSD.
If you are having panic attacks and have had a traumatic incident in your recent past, PTSD is likely the cause of your episodes.
Are you scared of spiders, dogs, the dark or something else?
If you freak out at the thought of a specific creepy crawler or hated creature, then the likely cause may be a phobia. Phobias are anxiety disorders that center on the fear of a specific thing, like a bug or snakes. If this is what you have then you have a phobia.
Symptoms are not always accompanied by panic attacks, however. Consider the following:
Do you get intensely nervous at the thought of interacting with people?
If you have great difficulty interacting with coworkers or peers, you may have social anxiety disorder. The inability to interact effectively with other people is one of the main symptoms. If you have few friends and have great difficulty just holding down a conversation or going about everyday interactions with people, you may be what you have.
Do you have difficulty letting a loved one out of your sight?
The fear of letting someone go is one of the main symptoms involved in adult separation anxiety disorder. If you find that you must spend every moment with a husband, son or parent because when you don't you are thrown into an intense state of anxiety, then this is the disorder you suffer from.
Finally, are you just generally anxious and nervous all the time with no apparent cause?
The central symptom of generalized anxiety disorder is a persistent and irrational fear that just doesn't go away. If you find that you cannot shake your sense of worry at any time, you are likely to have this disorder.
Finally, just to confuse matters further, many sufferers have more than one type of anxiety disorder. So it is not uncommon for someone with social anxiety disorder to also suffer from, say, separation anxiety disorder. Also, studies have shown that those with anxiety disorders are also very likely to have depression or other mental disorders. So it is important to figure out the nature of your anxiety disorder and treat any other related problems as well.
Tom Tait is focused on helping those with panic attacks. Here is more information on Anxiety Disorder Symptom. There is even more information about Panic Attacks on the website Panic Attacks.
By Tom Tait
