By: Todd Basta, LPC Counselor
Signs and Symptoms
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
People with
generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) display excessive anxiety or worry, most
days for at least 6 months, about a number of things such as personal health,
work, social interactions, and everyday routine life circumstances. The fear
and anxiety can cause significant problems in areas of their life, such as
social interactions, school, and work.
Generalized anxiety disorder symptoms include:
- Feeling restless, wound-up, or on-edge
- Being easily fatigued
- Having difficulty concentrating; mind going blank
- Being irritable
- Having muscle tension
- Difficulty controlling feelings of worry
- Having sleep problems, such as difficulty falling or staying asleep, restlessness, or unsatisfying sleep
Panic Disorder
People with
panic disorder have recurrent unexpected panic attacks. Panic attacks are
sudden periods of intense fear that come on quickly and reach their peak within
minutes. Attacks can occur unexpectedly or can be brought on by a trigger, such
as a feared object or situation.
During a panic attack, people may experience:
- Heart palpitations, a pounding heartbeat, or an accelerated heart rate
- Sweating
- Trembling or shaking
- Sensations of shortness of breath, smothering, or choking
- Feelings of impending doom
- Feelings of being out of control
People with
panic disorder often worry about when the next attack will happen and actively
try to prevent future attacks by avoiding places, situations, or behaviors they
associate with panic attacks. Worry about panic attacks, and the effort spent
trying to avoid attacks, cause significant problems in various areas of the
person’s life, including the development of agoraphobia (see below).
Phobia-related disorders
A phobia
is an intense fear of—or aversion to—specific objects or situations. Although
it can be realistic to be anxious in some circumstances, the fear people with
phobias feel is out of proportion to the actual danger caused by the situation
or object.
People with a phobia:
- May have an irrational or excessive worry about encountering the feared object or situation
- Take active steps to avoid the feared object or situation
- Experience immediate intense anxiety upon encountering the feared object or situation
- Endure unavoidable objects and situations with intense anxiety
There are several types of phobias and phobia-related
disorders:
Social anxiety
disorder (previously called social phobia): People with social anxiety disorder have a general
intense fear of, or anxiety toward, social or performance situations. They
worry that actions or behaviors associated with their anxiety will be
negatively evaluated by others, leading them to feel embarrassed. This worry
often causes people with social anxiety to avoid social situations. Social
anxiety disorder can manifest in a range of situations, such as within the
workplace or the school environment.
Separation
anxiety disorder: Separation
anxiety is often thought of as something that only children deal with; however,
adults can also be diagnosed with separation anxiety disorder. People who have
separation anxiety disorder have fears about being parted from people to whom
they are attached. They often worry that some sort of harm or something
untoward will happen to their attachment figures while they are separated. This
fear leads them to avoid being separated from their attachment figures and to
avoid being alone. People with separation anxiety may have nightmares about
being separated from attachment figures or experience physical symptoms when
separation occurs or is anticipated.
How to care for
others:
- Be physically
present and available.
- Look for signs
that someone might be feeling unsafe in a space.
- Learn symptoms
and identify who to call in case of an emergency.
- Ask what their
needs are.
- Educate
yourself about healthy coping styles.
How to care for
yourself:
- Build trust
with peers.
- Have a trusted
companion.
- Imagine a safe
space during stressful moments.
- Monitor signs
of stress or symptoms of PTSD.
- Change the
setup or design of a space if it cues a traumatic memory.
Resources
http://adaa.org/
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/
https://www.nih.gov/
https://onlinepsych.pepperdine.edu/blog/ptsd-trauma-physical-spaces/