Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders are a type of mental illness. Someone who has an anxiety disorder has severe anxiety that interferes with his or her life. Anxiety is an uncomfortable feeling of fear, uneasiness, or concern that something bad is about to happen.

Anxiety disorders include:

• Generalized anxiety disorder. This involves several months of ongoing physical symptoms that occur along with anxiety.
• Panic disorders. These involve repeated episodes of sudden fear and feelings of danger or impending doom, along with physical symptoms.
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder. This involves frequent, repeated thoughts leading to repeated or persistent behavior (such as excessive hand-washing).
• Post-traumatic stress disorder. This involves reliving a traumatic event (such as a war experience or rape) and feelings of numbness and disinterest in daily activities.

These disorders can be treated with medicines and/or counseling.