anxiety+disorders

= = = Definition: = Psychological disorders characterized by frequent fearful thoughts about what might happen in the future. Gen Psych, Chapter 12, Pg. 385

Anxiety is a normal human emotion that everyone experiences at times. Many people feel anxious, or nervous, when faced with a problem at work, before taking a test, or making an important decision. Anxiety disorders, however, are different. They can cause such distress that it interferes with a person's ability to lead a normal life.An anxiety disorder is a serious mental illness. For people with anxiety disorders, worry and fear are constant and overwhelming, and can be crippling. [|Anxiety Disorders]

= Examples: =

There are several recognized types of anxiety disorders, including:


 * Panic disorder: People with this condition have feelings of terror that strike suddenly and repeatedly with no warning. Other symptoms of a panic attack include sweating, chest pain, palpitations (irregular heartbeats), and a feeling of choking, which may make the person feel like he or she is having a heart attack or "going crazy."
 * Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): People with OCD are plagued by constant thoughts or fears that cause them to perform certain rituals or routines. The disturbing thoughts are called obsessions, and the rituals are called compulsions. An example is a person with an unreasonable fear of germs who constantly washes his or her hands.
 * Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): PTSD is a condition that can develop following a traumatic and/or terrifying event, such as a sexual or physical assault, the unexpected death of a loved one, or a natural disaster. People with PTSD often have lasting and frightening thoughts and memories of the event and tend to be emotionally numb.
 * Social anxiety disorder: Also called social phobia, social anxiety disorder involves overwhelming worry and self-consciousness about everyday social situations. The worry often centers on a fear of being judged by others, or behaving in a way that might cause embarrassment or lead to ridicule.
 * Specific phobias: A specific phobia is an intense fear of a specific object or situation, such as snakes, heights, or flying. The level of fear is usually inappropriate to the situation and may cause the person to avoid common, everyday situations.
 * Generalized anxiety disorder: This disorder involves excessive, unrealistic worry and tension, even if there is little or nothing to provoke the anxiety.

[|Anxiety Disorders]

These are some moving or informative videos that I found on Youtube that I felt could better explain some of the anxiety disorder better than the book : media type="custom" key="23936454" media type="custom" key="23936472" media type="custom" key="23936492"

= Analogies: =

"I tell people it feels like when someone jumps out and surprises you. Scientifically its the same thing. Its a sudden overflow of adrenaline This is why they say anxiety is a chemical imbalance because in a close call car accident situation it makes sense for it to happen. But for this sudden adrenaline flow in a social situation it doesn't." [|Social Anxiety Support] media type="custom" key="23936460" media type="custom" key="23936522"

= Mnemonics: = [insert mnemonics here] (give a mnemonic in place of the bracketed text above, then delete these instructions. Please do not delete instructions unless you are adding something to this section. If you don't know of any mnemonics, leave this section unchanged for someone else to improve on. See Sample Page for a definition and an example of a mnemonic.)

= In the News: = [|12 Signs You May Have an Anxiety Disorder]

This article done by ABC Health. It basically is going though the signs that point to an anxiety disorder. Keep in mind this article isn't giving a diagnoses. It is meant to inform and possibly convince someone that they need to get help and see a doctor. The article is put together quite well. Enjoy!!

= Discussion Area: =

This is the area for in-depth discussion of: include component="comments" page="Anxiety Disorders" limit="10"
 * location of a page elements
 * quality/appropriateness of videos or pictures
 * improving analogies and mnemonics.