Anxiety disorders are those that share characteristics of excessive fear and anxiety, as well as associated behavioral alterations. Fear being an emotional response to an imminent threat, real or imagined, and anxiety being an anticipatory response to a future threat. So, sometimes, both traits can overlap or differ.
When these become excessive or persist beyond appropriate developmental periods, anxiety disorders appear. We found, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 10 different ways of classifying mental disorders. types of anxiety disorders depending on the relationship with certain stimuli or the cause that provokes these responses. If you are interested, keep reading! In this Psychology-Online article we explain it to you.
Generalized anxiety disorder
Generalized anxiety disorder is defined as excessive anxiety in reference to a wide range of possibilities and situations. This type of anxiety presents somatic symptoms and a very marked cognitive component that takes shape in the uncontrollable tendency to worry. Hence worry is the central symptom of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
The TAG features most notable are:
- Intensity, duration or frequency of anxiety and worry, which are disproportionate in relation to the event or situation that the person is experiencing.
- Concerns jump from one topic to another covering different areas.
- Difficulty controlling worries and preventing them from interfering with attention and functioning.
To learn more about this typology, consult our title.
Separation anxiety disorder
The (TAS) is characterized by excessive fear of separation from home or attachment figures. So that the person who suffers from it fears and avoids any circumstance that could lead to separation from the attachment figure, whether in real situations or in the anticipation of a specific situation.
The TAS features are:
- Excessive fear of separation that affects a large number of daily situations.
- This fear is derived from a normal evolutionary fear based on attachment theories.
- It takes root in the child’s attachment system and involves the figures with which the child is linked.
Although it is usually diagnosed in childhood, it can also be diagnosed in adulthood.
Selective mutism
Selective mutism is defined as constant failure to speak in social situations specific ones in which there is an expectation to speak despite being able to do so in other situations, interfering with academic or work achievements or even social communication.
Excluded from this diagnosis is the lack of knowledge about specific topics or the discomfort of speaking in a language that is not one’s own or the language necessary in the social situation, without there being a communication disorder present.
Learn about this type of anxiety in detail in our post.
Specific phobias
The (FE) are those that are defined in the presence of an intense fear of a specific stimulus and to which the individual responds by enduring high levels of discomfort, escaping or avoiding the situation or stimulus that causes it.
Both frequency and intensity affect the patient’s normal functioning in their environment, not allowing them to carry out usual activities, achieve their desired goals or maintain good health habits.
Among the types of anxiety regarding specific phobias we find 4 classifications mostly:
- Animal phobias.
- Phobias of natural environments.
- Blood phobias, injections and damage.
- Situation phobias.
- Other specific phobias such as vomiting, etc.
Panic disorder
Panic disorder occurs when there is a repetition in the appearances of the . So the person feels fear that symptoms will returnand this fear generates a negative impact on their functioning that translates into an increase in insecurity, less competence, less autonomy and worsening of their social, cognitive and family activities.
The most prevalent symptoms registered panic attacks are:
- Palpitations.
- Incrise of cardiac frecuency.
- Dizziness.
We must also keep in mind that in this disorder there may or may not be a triggering stimulus.
Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is a disorder that has gone through various modifications in its conceptualization throughout history. It is currently defined as a disorder characterized by irrational fear or the aseity to be in situations or places where it is believed that one will not be able to escape if one feels discomfort or anguish.
Unlike other phobias or anxiety disorders, in agoraphobia, the fear is of suffering from anxiety or anguish or discomfort.
This intense fear or anxiety, must occur in more than two situations diverse:
- Travel by public transportation.
- Be in open spaces.
- Being in closed places.
- Staying in a line or being in a crowd.
- Being alone outside the home.
If you think you suffer from this type of anxiety, you can clear your doubts with our .
Social phobia
The is defined as the persistent and intense fear produced by fear of negative scrutiny by all or part of those in front of whom he acts or with whom he relates in one or more social situations.
The Characteristics of people who suffer from social phobia are:
- Show a high sensitivity when being observed, evaluated or disapproved during their actions before others or in their relationship with others
- Establish clear and strict rules regarding what is to be understood as appropriate behavior.
- Have a .
- Suffer anticipatory anxiety.
- Disproportionate intensification of attention towards social stimuli and information from sensory biofeedback.
Substance/medication-induced anxiety disorder
Substance-induced anxiety disorder is established as a diagnosis when, on the one hand, panic attacks or anxiety predominate in the clinical picture and, on the other hand, when anxiety symptoms are excessive compared to those usually associated with to withdrawal or intoxication syndrome.
Among the types of anxiety, substance- or medication-induced anxiety is also diagnosed when anxiety symptoms are severe enough to warrant independent clinical attention. These symptoms must have developed during or shortly after intoxication or withdrawal from a substanceor after exposure to a medication.
In this case it will be specified if the symptoms have arisen:
- With onset during intoxication.
- With onset during withdrawal.
- With onset after the consumption of medications.
Anxiety disorder due to another medical condition
In order to diagnose anxiety disorder due to another medical condition, it is necessary that panic attacks or anxiety be predominant in the clinical picture. Additionally, there must be evidence that the disorder is direct pathophysiological consequence of another medical conditionwhether based on medical history, physical examination or laboratory analysis.
Other unspecified anxiety disorder
The DSM-V applies this type of anxiety to presentations in which symptoms characteristic of an anxiety disorder predominate that cause clinically significant distress or impairment in some of the patient’s areas, but that do not meet all criteria for any of the disorders in the diagnostic category of anxiety disorders.
For these types of anxiety, some presentations are specified:
- Limited symptomatic attacks.
- Generalized anxiety that does not occur on a greater number of days in which it is not present.
- Khyâl cap (Attack of the wind).
- Nervous attacks.
We hope you found this post about the types of anxiety and its symptoms interesting. If you want to know more about this topic, take a look at our article.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to Types of anxiety and their symptomswe recommend that you enter our category.
References
- American Psychiatric Association, American Psychiatric Association. DSM-5 Task Force (2018). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5. Panamericana Medical Editorial.