Quick Guide to the Anxiety Disorders

Quick Guide to the Anxiety Disorders

Quick Guide to the Anxiety Disorders

One or more of the following conditions may be diagnosed in patients who present with prominent anxiety symptoms; a single patient may have more than one anxiety disorder. As usual, link indicates where a more detailed discussion begins.

Primary Anxiety Disorders

Panic disorder . These patients experience repeated panic attacks—brief episodes of intense dread accompanied by a variety of physical and other symptoms, together with worry about having additional attacks and other related mental and behavioral changes.

Agoraphobia . Patients with this condition fear situations or places such as entering a store, where they might have trouble obtaining help if they became anxious.

Specific phobia . In this condition, patients fear specific objects or situations. Examples include animals; storms; heights; blood; airplanes; being closed in; or any situation that may lead to vomiting, choking, or developing an illness.

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Social anxiety disorder . These patients imagine themselves embarrassed when they speak, write, or eat in public or use a public urinal.

Selective mutism . A child elects not to talk, except when alone or with select intimates.

Generalized anxiety disorder . Although they experience no episodes of acute panic, these patients feel tense or anxious much of the time and worry about many different issues.

Separation anxiety disorder . The patient becomes anxious when separated from a parent or other attachment figure.

Anxiety disorder due to another medical condition . Panic attacks and generalized anxiety symptoms can be caused by numerous medical conditions.

Substance/medication-induced anxiety disorder . Use of a substance or medication has caused panic attacks or other anxiety symptoms.

Other specified, or unspecified, anxiety disorder . Use these categories for disorders with prominent anxiety symptoms that don’t fit neatly into any of the groups above.

Other Causes of Anxiety and Related Symptoms

Obsessive–compulsive disorder . These patients are bothered by repeated thoughts or behaviors that can appear senseless, even to them.

Posttraumatic stress disorder . A severely traumatic event, such as combat or a natural disaster, is relived over and over.

Acute stress disorder . This condition is much like posttraumatic stress disorder, except that it begins during or immediately after the stressful event and lasts a month or less.

Avoidant personality disorder . These timid people are so easily wounded by criticism that they hesitate to become involved with others.

With anxious distress specifier for major depressive disorder . Some patients with major depressive disorder have much accompanying tension and anxiety.

Somatic symptom disorder  and  illness anxiety disorder . Panic and other anxiety symptoms are often part of somatic symptom disorder and illness anxiety disorder.