What Are Anxiety Disorders?
Most people experience feelings of
anxiety before an important event, such as a big exam, business presentation, or first date. Anxiety disorders, however, are illnesses that fill people's lives with overwhelming anxiety and fear that are chronic and unremitting, and that can grow progressively worse. Tormented by
panic attacks, obsessive thoughts, flashbacks of traumatic events, nightmares, or countless frightening physical symptoms, some people with anxiety disorders even become housebound.
Anxiety disorders, as a group, are the most common mental illness in America. More than 19 million adults in America are affected by these debilitating illnesses each year. Children and adolescents can also develop anxiety disorders
(see Anxiety in Children).
Different Types of Anxiety Disorders
Each of these anxiety disorders has its own distinct features, but they are all bound together by the common theme of excessive, irrational fear and dread.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Most people experience anxiety at some point in their lives and some nervousness in anticipation of a real situation.
However, if a person cannot shake unwarranted worries, or if the feelings are jarring to the point of avoiding everyday activities, he or she most likely has an anxiety disorder.
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