Fear is a normal and healthy response to a dangerous situation. However, sometimes people in relatively safe situations experience fear responses that are out of proportion to the environment around them. When a person’s fear response is directed towards a future threat and is out of proportion to the size or intensity of the threat, that person may be experiencing an anxiety disorder.

Understanding Anxiety Disorders

Learn about different types of anxiety disorders

There are a number of different types of anxiety disorders, the most common of which are described below:

A specific phobia occurs when a person experiences strong fear responses to a specific stimulus, such as snakes, elevators, flying, enclosed spaces, spiders, heights, and many other stimuli.

Social anxiety disorder is a persistent fear of social situations. People who experience social anxiety disorder desire relationships with others but are often afraid of being viewed negatively, of speaking in front of others, or of being in unfamiliar environments. While many people do not enjoy these circumstances, people with social anxiety disorder avoid these situations, and others like them, in a way that significantly interferes with their everyday lives.

Panic disorder involves intense experiences of strong fear responses. This disorder involves experiencing panic attacks, which are short, intense bouts of extreme physiological activation. During a panic attack, a person may feel as though he or she is having a heart attack. Symptoms of a panic attack can include racing heart, sweating, shaking, butterflies in the stomach, difficulty breathing, fear of losing control, and sensations of rapid body temperature changes. Panic attacks often seemingly happen at random.

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a feeling of anxiety throughout the day that is not tied to any particular situation. People with GAD experience anxiety symptoms, such as restlessness, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, irritability, muscle tension, and sleep disturbance, and these symptoms significantly interfere with their ability to manage their day-to-day lives. Thankfully, people struggling with anxiety can seek treatment and regain control of their lives.

Statistics

Anxiety Statistics

Anxiety disorders are some of the most commonly diagnosed disorders. Approximately 20 percent of people in the U.S. are diagnosed with an anxiety disorder in a given year, and nearly 30 percent of people will suffer from some kind of anxiety disorder during their lives. Women are almost two-thirds more likely than men to be diagnosed with anxiety disorders. Unfortunately, only slightly more than one-third of people diagnosed with anxiety disorders are receiving treatment.

Causes & Risks

Causes and Risk Factors for Anxiety

There are many different reasons someone may develop an anxiety disorder, including both genetic and environmental factors.

Genetic: Current anxiety research suggests a strong genetic link in anxiety disorders. People with relatives who have anxiety disorders are themselves much more likely to develop an anxiety disorder. Although growing up in a high-anxiety environment can increase the chance of a person developing an anxiety disorder, studies of twins suggest there is also a genetic influence. One study found that if one identical twin had an anxiety disorder, the other identical twin had a 41% chance of having an anxiety disorder as well. Among non-identical (fraternal) twins, only 4% had an anxiety disorder alongside their siblings.

Environmental: Growing up in a high-anxiety environment can increase a person’s likelihood of developing an anxiety disorder. Experiences such as trauma or abuse, life-threatening situations, death of a parent, smoking, and drug use can all contribute to the development of an anxiety disorder. Certain medications can also have side effects that resemble anxiety disorders.

Risk Factors:

Having biological relatives with anxiety disorders
Exposure to life-threatening situations, traumatic events, or chronic stress
Maltreatment, abandonment, neglect, or parental absence during childhood
Low socioeconomic status
Lack of social support network
Drug use
Being female
Personality type

Signs & Symptoms

Signs and Symptoms of Anxiety

The signs and symptoms of anxiety disorders vary depending on which disorder a person is suffering from. The following are symptoms that may infer that a person is suffering from an anxiety disorder:

Behavioral symptoms: