What Is an Anxiety Disorder?

While experiencing feelings of anxiety from time to time is normal, these emotions, when they become extreme and start interfering with everyday activities can be symptoms of an anxiety disorder.

The Anxiety and Depression Association of America defines anxiety disorders as specific psychiatric disorders that involve extreme fear or worry, including generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder, selective mutism, separation anxiety disorder, and phobias.

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders in the United States.Anxiety symptoms vary across individuals, but include both psychological and physical reactions to anticipation of a threat. It is estimated that only about 40% of those suffering from an anxiety disorder receive treatment, even though the disorders are highly treatable.

Laura Porter / Verywell

Types of Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disordersare psychiatric disorders that involve a dysregulation of the body’s stress response. They differ from one another in terms of what exactly provokes the fear, anxiety, avoidance, and associated cognitive symptoms, and what type of impact they have.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

People withgeneralized anxiety disorder(GAD) experience excessive anxiety and worry most days for at least six consecutive months.Anxious thinking can be focused on a number of circumstances, including work, relationships, and personal health.

In people with GAD, these thoughts and associated anxiety symptoms are often so persistent andoverwhelmingthat they cause serious disruptions to everyday life and social interactions.

Other symptoms of GAD include those commonly associated with anxiety: restlessness, irritability, fatigue, and trouble sleeping.

Panic Disorder

People who havepanic disorderexperience repeated, unexpected panic attacks. The National Institute of Mental Health characterizes panic attacks as an abrupt surge of intense fear or discomfort that often involves a fear of disaster or of losing control even when there is no real danger.Panic attacks may result in heart racing, sweating, dizziness, and the feeling of having a heart attack.

Experiencing panic attacks can lead to a fear of panic attacks, which in turn can lead to social withdrawal and isolation. People with panic disorder may avoid places where they’ve previously experienced panic attacks.

What Are the Symptoms of Panic Attacks?

Social Anxiety Disorder

Separation Anxiety Disorder

People with this disorder may constantly worry about what will happen to their loved one or themselves when they are separated. Both children and adults can experience separation anxiety. When this fear of separation lasts for six or more months in adults and impairs relationships with others, it becomes a problem. Nightmares involving worst-case scenarios and physical symptoms of stress and anxiety can occur in people with this disorder.

Specific Phobias

Everyone is afraid of certain objects and situations, but when that fear turns into feelings of intense anxiety or dread that lasts six or more months, and interferes with your life, it may indicate a phobia.

Specific phobia is an intense, irrational fear of something that poses little or no actual danger. While the specific source of fear can differ from person to person, phobias are a type of anxiety disorder that can severely impair someone’s ability to function in everyday situations.

Phobias can be of spiders (arachnophobia), thedark (nyctophobia), clowns (coulrophobia), large objects (megalophobia), repetitive patterns of holes (trypophobia), and many others.

What Is a Phobia?

Agoraphobia

People with agoraphobia have a disabling fear of any places or situations where escape seems challenging if they panic or feel embarrassed. This fear goes beyond what may be rational and influences behavior. It involves avoidance of situations such as being alone outside of the home, traveling in a car, bus, or airplane, or being in a crowded area.

What Is Selective Mutism?Selective mutism is a somewhat rare disorder commonly associated with anxiety. It results in a failure to speak in specific social situations despite having normal language skills. This disorder usually presents before the age of 5. Other associated behaviors may include extreme shyness, fear of social embarrassment, compulsive traits, withdrawal, clinging behavior, and temper tantrums.

What Is Selective Mutism?

Selective mutism is a somewhat rare disorder commonly associated with anxiety. It results in a failure to speak in specific social situations despite having normal language skills. This disorder usually presents before the age of 5. Other associated behaviors may include extreme shyness, fear of social embarrassment, compulsive traits, withdrawal, clinging behavior, and temper tantrums.

How Do I Know If I Have an Anxiety Disorder?

Everybody experiences anxiety, but only some will develop an anxiety disorder that requires diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up.

Symptoms

While each specific disorder comes with its own anxiety symptoms, there are tell-tale signs that anxiety is becoming unmanageable or is beginning to disrupt daily functioning.

Symptoms common to all anxiety disorders include:

If you notice these symptoms and they last six months or longer, you may have an anxiety disorder.

If you or a loved one are struggling with anxiety, contact theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helplineat 1-800-662-4357for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.

Diagnosis

Getting a diagnosis can be the first step to getting treatment. While there is no definitive test for anxiety, if symptoms are present and persistent, your healthcare provider may conduct a physical assessment and may run diagnostic tests to rule out potential medical causes.

If no physical illness is found to be causing your symptoms, you will be referred to a psychiatrist or another mental health professional to be evaluated for an anxiety disorder. They will use the standard reference manual for diagnosing recognized mental illnesses in the United States, theDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5thEdition(DSM-5), to determine if you have an anxiety disorder. The diagnostic criteria for each anxiety disorder are different.

You may be asked questions like whether you worry more days than not and if you’ve noticed any physical symptoms such as restlessness, feeling tired easily, trouble concentrating, irritability, muscle tension, or trouble sleeping.

Risk Factors

Caffeine or other stimulants and some medications can also trigger or aggravate symptoms of anxiety disorders.

Anxiety vs. Depression: Having One or Both Disorders

How Can I Get Help if I Have Severe Anxiety?

Severe anxiety requires treatment. Your mental health professional may decide that one or two of the following options or a combination of all three is ideal for treating and managing your anxiety disorder.

Psychotherapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, is a short-term form of psychotherapy that has been proven to be an effective form of treatment for anxiety disorders.

If avoidance of feared situations is a relevant factor in phobic disorders, exposure techniques should be included in the treatment schedule, in which patients are confronted with their feared situations. It has been shown that only a few sessions (e.g., one to 12) may be necessary for effective treatment of specific phobias.

Medication

Pharmacological therapies are commonly prescribed to alleviate the symptoms of anxiety disorders, including anti-anxiety medications. The most common one used for anxiety disorders is benzodiazepine, which are effective in relieving anxiety and take effect quickly, but people can build up a resistance to it.

Buspirone is a non-benzodiazepine medicationspecifically used to treat chronic anxiety, although it does not help everyone.

Antidepressants like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors are also prescribed to treat anxiety disorders. People with anxiety disorders can also be treated with other medications such as pregabalin, tricyclic antidepressants, moclobemide, and more.

Be mindful of the following when taking medications to manage anxiety disorder symptoms:

Antidepressants have been associated with increased risk of suicidality (suicidal thinking and behavior) in children and adolescents.

Self-Care

Self-care is an essential part of mental health care. The World Health Organization defines self-care “as the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and to cope with illness – with or without the support of a health or care worker.”

Some self-care tips for people with anxiety disorders include:

A Word From Verywell

Life is filled with different stressors, and we all experience some form of anxiety every day. When anxiety levels are high for a long period of time, however, you may have an anxiety disorder. These disorders can be persistent and disabling, but fortunately, there are several effective treatment options.

12 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.The American Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Understanding Anxiety.Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Facts & Statistics.National Institute of Mental Health.Anxiety Disorders.National Institute of Mental Health.Social Anxiety Disorder: More Than Just Shyness.National Institute of Mental Health.Agoraphobia.The Cleveland Clinic.Anxiety Disorders.Placidi GP, Boldrini M, Patronelli A, et al.Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in thyroid diseased patients.Neuropsychobiology. 1998;38(4):222-225. doi: 10.1159/000026545Buckley U, Shivkumar K.Stress-induced cardiac arrhythmias: The heart-brain interaction.Trends Cardiovasc Med. 2016 Jan;26(1):78-80. doi: 10.1016/j.tcm.2015.05.001Bandelow B, Michaelis S, Wedekind D.Treatment of anxiety disorders.Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2017 Jun;19(2):93-107. doi: 10.31887/DCNS.2017.19.2/bbandelowThng CEW, Lim-Ashworth NSJ, Poh BZQ, Lim CG.Recent developments in the intervention of specific phobia among adults: A rapid review.F1000Res. 2020;9. doi:10.12688/f1000research.20082.1MedlinePlus.Generalized anxiety disorder - self-care.World Health Organization.Self-care for health and well-being.

12 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.The American Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Understanding Anxiety.Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Facts & Statistics.National Institute of Mental Health.Anxiety Disorders.National Institute of Mental Health.Social Anxiety Disorder: More Than Just Shyness.National Institute of Mental Health.Agoraphobia.The Cleveland Clinic.Anxiety Disorders.Placidi GP, Boldrini M, Patronelli A, et al.Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in thyroid diseased patients.Neuropsychobiology. 1998;38(4):222-225. doi: 10.1159/000026545Buckley U, Shivkumar K.Stress-induced cardiac arrhythmias: The heart-brain interaction.Trends Cardiovasc Med. 2016 Jan;26(1):78-80. doi: 10.1016/j.tcm.2015.05.001Bandelow B, Michaelis S, Wedekind D.Treatment of anxiety disorders.Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2017 Jun;19(2):93-107. doi: 10.31887/DCNS.2017.19.2/bbandelowThng CEW, Lim-Ashworth NSJ, Poh BZQ, Lim CG.Recent developments in the intervention of specific phobia among adults: A rapid review.F1000Res. 2020;9. doi:10.12688/f1000research.20082.1MedlinePlus.Generalized anxiety disorder - self-care.World Health Organization.Self-care for health and well-being.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

The American Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Understanding Anxiety.Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Facts & Statistics.National Institute of Mental Health.Anxiety Disorders.National Institute of Mental Health.Social Anxiety Disorder: More Than Just Shyness.National Institute of Mental Health.Agoraphobia.The Cleveland Clinic.Anxiety Disorders.Placidi GP, Boldrini M, Patronelli A, et al.Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in thyroid diseased patients.Neuropsychobiology. 1998;38(4):222-225. doi: 10.1159/000026545Buckley U, Shivkumar K.Stress-induced cardiac arrhythmias: The heart-brain interaction.Trends Cardiovasc Med. 2016 Jan;26(1):78-80. doi: 10.1016/j.tcm.2015.05.001Bandelow B, Michaelis S, Wedekind D.Treatment of anxiety disorders.Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2017 Jun;19(2):93-107. doi: 10.31887/DCNS.2017.19.2/bbandelowThng CEW, Lim-Ashworth NSJ, Poh BZQ, Lim CG.Recent developments in the intervention of specific phobia among adults: A rapid review.F1000Res. 2020;9. doi:10.12688/f1000research.20082.1MedlinePlus.Generalized anxiety disorder - self-care.World Health Organization.Self-care for health and well-being.

The American Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Understanding Anxiety.

Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Facts & Statistics.

National Institute of Mental Health.Anxiety Disorders.

National Institute of Mental Health.Social Anxiety Disorder: More Than Just Shyness.

National Institute of Mental Health.Agoraphobia.

The Cleveland Clinic.Anxiety Disorders.

Placidi GP, Boldrini M, Patronelli A, et al.Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in thyroid diseased patients.Neuropsychobiology. 1998;38(4):222-225. doi: 10.1159/000026545

Buckley U, Shivkumar K.Stress-induced cardiac arrhythmias: The heart-brain interaction.Trends Cardiovasc Med. 2016 Jan;26(1):78-80. doi: 10.1016/j.tcm.2015.05.001

Bandelow B, Michaelis S, Wedekind D.Treatment of anxiety disorders.Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2017 Jun;19(2):93-107. doi: 10.31887/DCNS.2017.19.2/bbandelow

Thng CEW, Lim-Ashworth NSJ, Poh BZQ, Lim CG.Recent developments in the intervention of specific phobia among adults: A rapid review.F1000Res. 2020;9. doi:10.12688/f1000research.20082.1

MedlinePlus.Generalized anxiety disorder - self-care.

World Health Organization.Self-care for health and well-being.

Meet Our Medical Expert Board

Share Feedback

Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit

What is your feedback?