Anxiety: Definition, Symptoms, Warning Signs, Causes, Medications, Treatment Options, Prevention, and Home Remedies

Types of anxiety disorders

There is not only one type of anxiety. Instead, we have different variants. They include:

• Separation anxiety disorder: As the name implies, it happens when you’re separated from someone or something you deeply care about.
• Specific phobia: It is an irrational fear of something that does not intrinsically harm you.
• Social anxiety disorder: It features intense anxiety when you’re in a social scenario. It features fear of feeling embarrassed in public, for example.
• Panic disorder: It is also known as panic attacks because they are short episodes of intense anxiety and deep fear with physical symptoms such as shortness of breath and chest pain.
• Generalized anxiety disorder: As the name implies, it features constant apprehension and fear, even when the situation does not involve any apparent trigger.
• Substance-induced anxiety disorder: This one is triggered by illegal drugs, misuse of prescription medications, and withdrawal syndromes.

In the past, psychiatrists also included the following entities as anxiety disorders. They are technically not included but share a few similar features:

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder: Features repetitive behaviors (compulsions) performed to relieve a sensation of discomfort triggered by recurrent ideas or thoughts (obsessions).
• Post-traumatic stress disorder: This disorder happens in people with traumatic memories. They recreate the traumatic experience triggered by sounds or similar circumstances and experience intense fear and apprehension.