Let’s talk about anxiety! This article will answer some of the most frequent questions including how common anxiety disorders are, the different types, symptoms, where they come from, and how to treat them.
How Common are Anxiety Disorders?
In a word: very!
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), anxiety disorders affect 19.1% of the adult population in the United States [1]. To put that into perspective, 49.33 million adults in the U.S. suffer from an anxiety disorder. That’s the entire population of California, New Jersey, and North Dakota combined [2] with about 76,000 left over!
Can children and teens get anxiety?
Absolutely and it’s more common than you may think. In the 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health, they found 7.1% of children (ages 3-17) were suffering from anxiety disorders. That’s an estimated 4,354,865 kids in the U.S.! [3]
The takeaway is that if you feel anxious and need help, that’s okay! You are not alone. You are not broken. You are not weak.
Are There Different Kinds of Anxiety?
Yep! Depending on which resource you reference, there are typically anywhere from 5 to 10 different anxiety disorders listed, but some are often specific versions of broader disorders that are particularly common. The seven broad categories are…
Generalized Anxiety is exactly what it sounds like: worry, tension, and fear about things going wrong or problems that don’t exist. Imagine worrying about everything in your life at a 7+ out of 10, all the time.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is anxiety surrounding intrusive, recurring thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions) that demand frequent attention to deal with them. You might see compulsions referred to as “rituals”. These rituals are a temporary reprieve from obsessive thoughts, but the key word is “temporary”.
Panic Disorder is like generalized anxiety turned up to an 11 and includes unexpected, repeated episodes of intense fear. Physical symptoms are a common ride-along including, but unfortunately not limited to, chest pain, heart palpitations, trouble breathing, dizziness, and stomach pain. That’s about how it would feel being alone in the woods with a hungry wolf staring you down. But there is no wolf and the most scary thing nearby is free ice cream.
Phobias are like having panic disorder, but targeted towards a specific person, animal, place, or situation. In order to be considered a phobia, the fear has to last at least 6 months and cannot include reasonable age-based fears (e.g. a 3-year-old being scared of the dark). Someone experiencing a phobia will go out of their way to avoid whatever triggers them, and they experience extreme distress when they can’t avoid it. The good news is, just about every phobia gets its own neat name, so that’s something, right?
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a chronic anxiety response to a traumatic event that either resulted in terrible harm or threatened to do so. Examples are military combat, natural/human-caused disasters, violent personal assault, and vehicle accidents.
Social Anxiety Disorder is a subset of phobias, but the phobic trigger is much harder to avoid than most phobias, so it gets a special mention. People with SAD experience overwhelming anxiety in daily interactions with other people, though they may feel comfortable with family and close friends. The fear might be limited to a specific social situation (e.g. public speaking) or more generalized with symptoms kicking in whenever they’re around people.
Separation Anxiety typically affects kids and teens more than adults, but that doesn’t preclude adults from having it. Separation anxiety looks like a fear of being separated from a caregiver (i.e. parent, close family member), either worrying about something happening to them or worrying about something happening to you in their absence. While this is normal in young children, it becomes a problem when it starts to interfere in life. Stressors like loss can be a trigger for this kind of anxiety.
What are the Signs & Symptoms of Anxiety?
Each type of anxiety has slightly different characteristics, but they all have one thing in common: extreme, persistent fear or worry in non-threatening situations. This typically shows up as emotional and/or physical symptoms.
Emotional Symptoms
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Feelings of apprehension or dread
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Feeling tense or jumpy
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Restlessness or irritability
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Anticipating the worst and being watchful for signs of danger
Physical Symptoms
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Pounding or racing heart
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Shortness of breath
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Sweating, tremors and twitches
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Headaches, fatigue and insomnia
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Upset stomach, frequent urination or diarrhea
Who is at Risk for Anxiety Disorders?
Like many mental health concerns, it’s hard to pin down the root cause of anxiety disorders. Current science suggests that there are two main causes: genetics and environment.
Genetics
People who have family members, especially parents, with one or more anxiety disorders have a higher likelihood to develop one themselves. According to a review done by Gottschalk & Domschke[4], there is a 30% chance of inheriting a predisposition to anxiety disorders from parents that have them. Just inheriting the trait doesn’t cause anxiety, but it makes a person much more likely to develop it.
Environment
What happens in our lives plays a critical role in how we develop and anxiety is no different. Some of the key indicators that anxiety might become an issue are traumatic events during childhood and recent highly stressful experiences. Dealing with loss & grief, being abused, and witnessing traumatic events all provide indicators to watch for anxiety disorders. Environmental trauma often results in PTSD, specifically, but can also lead to generalized anxiety or phobias.
What are the Treatment Options for Anxiety Disorders?
Each “flavor” of anxiety disorder is unique enough to merit specific treatment, but there are some options that overlap the categories.
Therapy, sometimes referred to as psychotherapy, can include a wide body of techniques including, but not limited to, talk therapy and cognitive/behavioral therapy (CBT).
Medication can help if the medicine targets the correct mechanisms in the brain. Specific antianxiety options have been developed over time, but sometimes an antidepressant can help as well. The specific prescription is always determined by a trained professional who is licensed to prescribe psychiatric medications.
Holistic, Nontraditional options might include deep breathing techniques, mindfulness, stress management, and exercise.
The treatment options selected should reflect the person’s individual needs.
Wrapping it Up
Anxiety disorders are incredibly common in the United States, affecting over 49 million adults and over 4 million kids yearly. Different types of anxiety can lead to specific symptoms, but often include both emotional (e.g. fear, worry) and physical (e.g. racing heart, upset stomach) symptoms. Both genetics and environment play a large role in determining who is at risk for developing any kind of anxiety disorder, with traumatic events of particular note. The good news is, there are many treatment options available including therapy, medication, and non-traditional options (e.g. yoga) that have been proven effective.
Feeling anxious? Don’t suffer alone.
Get in touch to schedule an appointment with our highly trained therapists.
References
[1] https://www.nami.org/About-Mental-Illness/Mental-Health-Conditions/Anxiety-Disorders
[2] https://worldpopulationreview.com/states
[3] https://www.childhealthdata.org/browse/survey/results?q=4965&r=1