Anxiety Disorder Overview

Anxiety is a feeling of apprehension or fear in response to a threat or danger. Anxiety helps people cope with stressful situations at work, school, home, or socially. It is a normal reaction to stress and feeling anxious in response to a stressful event doesn't mean that a person has an anxiety disorder.

People with anxiety disorders experience excessive or irrational anxiety. Their feelings of anxiety occur often, last for 6 months or longer, and can interfere with their daily lives. Without treatment, an anxiety disorder may last for years and worsen over time. Effective treatments help most people manage their anxiety disorders and regain control of their lives.

People of all ages and races have anxiety disorders. According to the National Institute of Mental Health:

Approximately 40 million American adults age 18 and older have an anxiety disorder.
Almost 75% of people with an anxiety disorder develop the condition by age 21.
Most people with anxiety disorders also have another type of anxiety disorder, a depressive disorder, or substance abuse. .

Types of anxiety disorders

There are several types of anxiety disorders, each differing in symptoms and causes but all sharing excessive, irrational feelings of apprehension or fear. The types of anxiety disorders include:

Generalized anxiety disorder

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) causes people to worry excessively and persistently for little or no reason for 6 months or longer. GAD typically starts between childhood and middle age, but it can develop at any age. The condition is more common in women than men.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) causes people to have upsetting thoughts or images (obsessions) that cause them to feel driven to perform repetitive rituals (compulsions). Their obsession may be a fear of contamination or intruders. Their associated compulsion may be repetitive cleaning or checking that doors are locked. OCD usually starts between the ages of 20 and 30, but the symptoms often start developing in childhood. The condition affects women and men equally.

Panic disorder

A panic disorder causes people to have sudden episodes of intense fear accompanied by physical symptoms (such as a rapid heartbeat or shortness of breath). These episodes are referred to as panic attacks. A person who has repeated panic attacks for at least a month is diagnosed as having a panic disorder. Panic disorders typically start before age 25 and occur twice as often in women as in men.

Post-traumatic stress disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) causes people who have experienced a terrifying or threatening event to develop anxiety symptoms afterwards. The condition can also develop in witnesses or loved ones of people who experienced the trauma. A person's symptoms must last for at least a month to be diagnosed as PTSD. The symptoms typically start three months after the event and last for six months, but the symptoms may last for years. Post-traumatic stress disorder affects people of all ages, and occurs more often in women than men.

Social phobia

Social phobia (social anxiety disorder) is the intense fear of being evaluated by others in social situations (such as eating in public or public speaking). Social phobia typically starts in childhood or adolescence, and affects men and women equally.

Specific phobias

A specific phobia causes people to have an intense fear of something that poses little or no actual threat (such as a fear of closed-in places or heights). Specific phobia symptoms usually develop in childhood or adolescence and occur twice as often in women as in men.

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