Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety Disorders

• Anxiety is a normal human emotion that can become excessive, persistent, and impact daily functioning, leading to anxiety disorders.
• Anxiety disorders are a group of specific mental disorders characterized by significant and uncontrollable anxiety.

Symptoms of Anxiety Disorders

• Feelings of panic, doom, and restlessness
• Fear, which is an emotional response to an immediate threat
• Anxiety can cause avoidance behavior, muscle tension, and physical manifestations such as:
  • Tachycardia or palpitations
  • Sensation of choking or being unable to breathe
  • Sweating, trembling, and abdominal pain
• Anxiety can be present chronically, manifesting as feeling on edge, easily fatigued, irritable, with difficulty concentrating and controlling worries

Diagnostic Criteria for Anxiety Disorders

• Symptoms need to have been present for six months
• Symptoms are out of proportion to the perceived threat
• Symptoms cannot be the direct result of another medical or psychiatric condition or substance/medication use
• Symptoms should have an impact on daily functioning in different scenarios (socially or in work)

Types of Anxiety Disorders

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

• Defined by excessive anxiety or worry about multiple things on most days for more than six months
• At least three of the following symptoms:
  • Restlessness, fatigue, ability reduced concentration
  • Irritability, muscle tension, and poor sleep
• Combined with inability to manage worry and impairment in daily functioning
• Estimated to affect around 9% of adults at some point in their lives

Specific Phobias

• Characterized by fear or anxiety when exposed to a specific object or situation
• Reaction is persistent, and people with true phobias will go out of their way to avoid exposure
• Some of the most common phobias include fear of heights, spiders, snakes, and flying

Panic Disorder

• Form of anxiety where people experience recurrent panic attacks
• Triggers can occur in specific scenarios or without warning
• Panic attacks must be recurrent and happening for over a period of one month to diagnose panic disorder
• Impact beyond the attacks themselves, such as worrying about additional attacks or the implications leading to a change in behavior

Agoraphobia and Social Phobia (Social Anxiety Disorder)

• Agoraphobia: anxiety when in situations or places perceived as unsafe, and feeling trapped
• Social Phobia (Social Anxiety Disorder): fear or anxiety in social or performance situations, fearing humiliation, rejection, or embarrassment
• Both disorders can lead to avoidance behavior and impact daily functioning

Other Anxiety Disorders

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): result of trauma, characterized by anxiety symptoms, recurrent thoughts, distressing nightmares, and dissociative reactions
• Separation Anxiety Disorder: excessive anxiety when separated from the home environment or a person with a strong attachment
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): unwanted and disturbing intrusive thoughts, combined with compulsions to relieve distress
• Selective Mutism: person has the ability to speak but becomes anxious to the point of being unable to speak in certain situations

Causes and Treatment of Anxiety Disorders

• Combination of genetics and environmental influences lead to anxiety disorders
• Genetics: hereditary factors make up around 30% of the development
• Environmental factors: childhood adversities, past trauma, socio-demographic factors, and more
• Treatment: combination of psychotherapy (cognitive-behavioral therapy, exposure therapy) and medication (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors, and more)

Anxiety Disorders

• Anxiety is a normal human emotion that can become excessive, persistent, and impact daily functioning, leading to anxiety disorders.

Symptoms of Anxiety Disorders

• Feelings of panic, doom, and restlessness
• Fear, which is an emotional response to an immediate threat
• Anxiety can cause:
  • Avoidance behavior
  • Muscle tension
  • Physical manifestations such as:
    • Tachycardia or palpitations
    • Sensation of choking or being unable to breathe
    • Sweating, trembling, and abdominal pain
• Anxiety can be present chronically, manifesting as:
  • Feeling on edge
  • Easily fatigued
  • Irritable
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Controlling worries

Diagnostic Criteria for Anxiety Disorders

• Symptoms need to have been present for six months
• Symptoms are out of proportion to the perceived threat
• Symptoms cannot be the direct result of another medical or psychiatric condition or substance/medication use
• Symptoms should have an impact on daily functioning in different scenarios (socially or in work)

Types of Anxiety Disorders

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

• Defined by excessive anxiety or worry about multiple things on most days for more than six months
• At least three of the following symptoms:
  • Restlessness, fatigue, ability reduced concentration
  • Irritability, muscle tension, and poor sleep
• Combined with inability to manage worry and impairment in daily functioning
• Estimated to affect around 9% of adults at some point in their lives

Specific Phobias

• Characterized by fear or anxiety when exposed to a specific object or situation
• Reaction is persistent, and people with true phobias will go out of their way to avoid exposure
• Examples of common phobias:
  • Fear of heights
  • Fear of spiders
  • Fear of snakes
  • Fear of flying

Panic Disorder

• Form of anxiety where people experience recurrent panic attacks
• Triggers can occur in specific scenarios or without warning
• Panic attacks must be recurrent and happening for over a period of one month to diagnose panic disorder
• Impact beyond the attacks themselves, such as:
  • Worrying about additional attacks
  • Implications leading to a change in behavior

Agoraphobia and Social Phobia (Social Anxiety Disorder)

• Agoraphobia: anxiety when in situations or places perceived as unsafe, and feeling trapped
• Social Phobia (Social Anxiety Disorder): fear or anxiety in social or performance situations, fearing:
  • Humiliation
  • Rejection
  • Embarrassment
• Both disorders can lead to avoidance behavior and impact daily functioning

Other Anxiety Disorders

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): result of trauma, characterized by:
  • Anxiety symptoms
  • Recurrent thoughts
  • Distressing nightmares
  • Dissociative reactions
• Separation Anxiety Disorder: excessive anxiety when separated from the home environment or a person with a strong attachment
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): unwanted and disturbing intrusive thoughts, combined with compulsions to relieve distress
• Selective Mutism: person has the ability to speak but becomes anxious to the point of being unable to speak in certain situations

Causes and Treatment of Anxiety Disorders

• Combination of genetics and environmental influences lead to anxiety disorders
• Genetics: hereditary factors make up around 30% of the development
• Environmental factors:
  • Childhood adversities
  • Past trauma
  • Socio-demographic factors
  • More
• Treatment: combination of:
  • Psychotherapy (cognitive-behavioral therapy, exposure therapy)
  • Medication (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors, and more)