Understanding the Range of Anxiety Disorders

You look around and just about every seems happy and well-adjusted to life. But don’t fool yourself. Everyone experiences anxiety in one form or another at different times and for different reasons. It’s just a part of life and part of the human experience. But if you experience anxiety that is excessive, such as sudden feelings of intense worry, or even fear and panic attacks, you owe it to yourself to see a licensed professional for a diagnosis. A therapist or medical doctor can prescribe the best treatment for anxiety disorders that you may be experiencing.

Everyone is Different

Everyone is different. There is no one size-fits-all approach to treating anxiety. The symptoms experienced and the treatment plan will differ for different people. A person may be diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. This is where the person experiences excessive anxiety almost on a daily basis. The feelings of anxiety are out of control of the person and causes difficulty with daily functions. The person may experience difficulty sleeping, trouble concentrating, have feelings of restlessness, and lots of worries. Other forms of anxiety include social anxiety, phobias, panic attacks, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, known as OCD.

5 Signs You May Have an Anxiety Disorder

Here are five signs that you may have an anxiety disorder.

  1. Excessive worry. Experts consider excess worry as anxious thoughts on more than five days a week for over an extended period, usually more than six months. The worry can be about small things to serious issues. The extended period is a factor because there could be a short-term situation in your life that is causing the worry.
  2. Trouble sleeping. Are feelings of restlessness or worries preventing you from falling asleep? Do you wake in the night and can’t get back to sleep due to the restlessness or worries? Is the lack of sleep affecting your job performance during the day?
  3. Avoiding certain situations. Do you avoid certain situations because they make you uncomfortable? Are you modifying your schedule or going out of your way to avoid certain people and situations?
  4. Negative thinking. Do you have more negative thoughts and emotions than positive thoughts and emotions? Does negativity seem to flow into your mind where once you were relatively a positive person. Do you expect a negative outcome from your efforts and job performance?
  5. Problems focusing. Do you have trouble concentrating at the task at hand? Is it difficult to concentrate on even simple tasks?

If experience these symptoms a therapist or medical doctor can prescribe the best treatment for anxiety disorders that you may be experiencing.