Anxiety disorders include a range of symptoms and types. Anxiety refers to the anticipation of future concerns or fears and can be associated with muscle tension and avoidance behaviors. Fear is our response to an immediate threat and is tied to our fight or flight reaction. Anxiety disorders cause sufferers to avoid situations that may trigger their symptoms. Personal relationships, job performance, school work, and other areas of our lives may be impacted by the anxiety disorder.

There are numerous types of anxiety disorder, including:

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder – Typified by persistent generalized anxiety that can interfere with daily activities. There could be constant worrying. It commonly manifests with muscle tension, insomnia, restlessness, and fatigue. The anxiety can be tied to worrying about daily responsibilities.
• Panic Disorder – This disorder is typified by panic attacks that overwhelm the sufferer with psychological and physical distress. Symptoms can include sweating, trembling, pounding feeling in the heart, chest pain, dizziness, hot flashes, fear of dying, and detachment. The symptoms can be severe enough that the sufferer believes they’re suffering a heart attack.
• Specific Phobias – These anxiety disorders are tied to irrational fears of specific things. This can include fear of enclosed spaces, fear of heights, or spiders as common examples.
• Social Anxiety Disorder – This disorder centers on the perception the sufferer has of how they’re viewed by others. Their anxiety focuses on fears of being looked down upon, humiliated, embarrassed, or rejected in social situations. Those living with a social anxiety disorder will go to great lengths to avoid social situations and may experience severe anxiety while in group settings.