Chronic Anxiety Disorder 101 – What Is Chronic Anxiety Disorder?
In the United States alone, the psychiatric and medical sector deals with millions upon millions of people who are suffering from chronic anxiety disorders. With this disorder, you may feel extreme uneasiness, the inability to sleep, inability to interact well with other people, or the inability to effectively manage stress. In many instances, anxiety disorders are also coupled with other types of mental and physical disorders. Here are some of the types of anxiety disorders to watch out for.
* Obsessive compulsive behavior – one of the most common types of anxiety disorders is the OCD. This is characterized by the need to repetitively perform a certain action or to say a certain word or phrase. In this type of chronic anxiety disorder, the patient creates irrational cause and effect relationships between the action on which the obsession is centered, and the wanted outcome. For instance, a person may repeatedly wipe his glasses whenever under stress, under the illogical assumption that doing so will ‘clear things up.’
* Post-traumatic stress disorder – a special type of chronic anxiety disorder, in post-traumatic stress disorder, the patient’s anxiety is triggered by an unusually powerful and emotionally charged event that can lead to prolonged stress and other mental disorders such as depression. Instances where post-traumatic stress disorder occurs is with victims of crimes such as rape, attempted murder, robbery, and other violent acts. In the past, this disorder is often diagnosed among soldiers who are returning from the trauma of the battlefield.
* Separation anxiety – this form of anxiety affects both adults and children. It is the excessive feelings of guilt, anxiety, and sadness that come with leaving a particular place, or parting with a particular person. Although normal in some stages of development, such as in young children and babies who are forced to part with their parents, it also afflicts adults. In adults, the symptoms and effects of separation anxiety are much more pronounced, and can lead to depression, depending on the severity of the case, as measured by the importance of the place or person to be separated from.
* Panic disorder – in some cases, anxiety manifests itself in panic attacks that cause actual physical effects, such as trembling, profuse sweating, heart palpitations, and increased levels of adrenalin. While these are the common signs of panic disorders, by definition it also includes the stress that occurs when the patient continuously thinks about the potential outbreaks, or the effects it could have with his friends and colleagues – ironically leading to greater chances of developing another anxiety attack.
Once you find yourself exhibiting these types of anxiety disorders, one of the most important things to make sure of is that you get treatment as soon as possible. Because chronic anxiety disorder has the potential to be plague a victim for life, treatment must be undertaken quickly. Also, this disorder can often lead to a loss of productivity, isolation from society and even friends and family, and generally lessen the overall happiness of the victim.
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