Symptoms

There are different manifestations of anxiety. The various types and their symptoms are

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder is manifested as excessive anxiety and worry about a variety of concerns for at least six months. Additional symptoms may include restlessness, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, irritability, muscle tension, and/or disturbances with sleep.
• Panic Disorder consists of acute attacks of fear that may include pounding/accelerated heart rate, sweating, trembling, feeling of choking, feeling dizzy, feeling detached from self, and/or fear of losing control. Agoraphobia (fear of being in places where escape might be difficult) could also be present with panic disorder, but is not required for diagnosis.
• Specific Phobia is fear centered around a specific object or situation. Common examples of a specific phobia include fear of flying, heights, and animals. Exposure to the particular phobia triggers an immediate anxiety response, and may be similar to a panic attack.
• Social Phobia (also known as social anxiety disorder) consists of anxiety present in social situations where an individual fears that he or she will act in a way that will be humiliating or embarrassing. Social events are often avoided or endured with great distress.
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder consists of either obsessions or compulsions or a combination. Obsessions are recurrent thoughts that are intrusive, cause distress, and are not simply worries about real-life problems. Compulsions are behaviors or mental acts (e.g. counting) repeated in response to an obsession, and geared toward reducing distress or preventing a dreaded situation.
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is an anxiety response after experiencing a traumatic event that involved possible death or serious injury to an individual or others, and evokes feelings of fear, helplessness, or horror. This event is reexperienced through distressing recollections, dreams, flashbacks, or in response to internal or external cues that resemble an aspect of the event.

(Adapted from Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 4th edition, text-revision.)