Anxiety
While we all experience heightened anxiety from time to time, anxiety disorders cause significant and persistent distress, and symptoms (or avoidance of triggers that elicit symptoms) interfere with daily functioning.
Agoraphobia
People with agoraphobia experience severe anxiety regarding places where they feel immediate escape might be difficult (shopping malls, public transportation, large open spaces, enclosed places, etc.). Their overwhelming fears typically lead to avoidance of such places, and this avoidance interferes with important aspects of their lives. Agoraphobia is especially common in those who have panic disorder.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is characterized by persistent and excessive worry about a variety of different things. People with GAD experience anxiety more days than not, often complain of physical symptoms and find it difficult to control their worries. They typically have more anxiety than is warranted about actual events and may anticipate worst case scenarios even when there is little to no reason for concern.
Panic Disorder
People with panic disorder experience spontaneous, seemingly out-of-the-blue panic attacks and fear recurring attacks. A panic attack is the abrupt onset of intense fear or discomfort that typically reaches a peak level of intensity in 10 minutes or less and then begins to subside.
Commonly experienced symptoms include:
Palpitations, pounding heart or accelerated heart rate
Sweating
Trembling or shaking
Sensations of shortness of breath or smothering
Feelings of choking
Chest pain or discomfort
Nausea or abdominal distress
Feeling dizzy, unsteady, light-headed or faint
Chills or heat sensations
Paresthesia (numbness or tingling sensations)
Derealization (feelings of unreality) or depersonalization (being detached from oneself)
Fear of losing control or “going crazy”
Fear of dying
Selective Mutism
Selective mutism (SM) is a childhood anxiety disorder characterized by a child or adolescent’s inability to speak in one or more social settings (school, public places, with adults, etc.) despite being able to speak comfortably in other settings (with family, etc.). Children with SM are unable to speak in situations where talking is expected or necessary so much so that their lack of communication interferes with their academic and/or social functioning. SM is much more than shyness and is not willful refusal to speak.
Separation Anxiety Disorder
While it is common for young children (under the age of three years old) to experience some level of separation anxiety, separation anxiety disorder pertains to developmentally inappropriate and excessive fear concerning the separation from an individual to whom one is attached. This distress upon separation or in anticipation of separation may lead to excessive worry about harm or danger, refusal to leave the home or go certain places, difficulty sleeping away from the home, nightmares and/or complaints of physical symptoms. These symptoms cause significant impairment in important areas of functioning (academic, social, etc.).
Social Anxiety Disorder
The hallmark of social anxiety disorder, also referred to as social phobia, is significant fear of being judged, negatively evaluated or rejected in a social or performance situation. People with social anxiety disorder often worry about becoming visibly anxious or being viewed as stupid, awkward or boring. Many people with social anxiety disorder experience significant physical symptoms (rapid heart rate, nausea, sweating).
Specific Phobia
Specific phobias are strong irrational fear reactions to particular triggers. People with specific phobias often experience extreme anxiety just thinking about their fears and tend to go out of their way to avoid certain places, situations or objects even though they know there is no real threat or danger. Common phobias pertain to animals, insects, heights, thunder, driving, flying, germs, illness, vomiting, needles, dental or medical procedures and elevators.