What Are Anxiety Disorders?

Everyone experiences fear. And that’s a good thing! Fear helps us navigate our daily lives safely by alerting us to minor and major dangers in our environment and ensuring that we react accordingly. Whether it’s buckling up in a car, holding onto a railing, recoiling from an approaching bicycle or a bee, or staying indoors during a thunderstorm. The fact that we feel fear usually ensures that we remain unharmed. However, when there’s no real external threat, and fears become stronger, more frequent, long-lasting, and uncontrollable, it’s referred to as an anxiety disorder.

In psychology, anxiety disorders are categorized as those without a specific trigger, such as panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, and those with a specific trigger, which can be identified by the suffix – phobia(s): agoraphobia, social phobias, and specific phobias.

Overview of Anxiety Disorders

Panic Disorder

Individuals with panic disorder suffer from recurring panic attacks with pronounced physical and psychological symptoms. These attacks are not tied to specific situations or circumstances, making them unpredictable. Affected individuals often live in fear of the next panic attack, creating a vicious cycle of fear of fear. Additionally, they may worry about having a life-threatening illness or losing their sanity.

What Are the Symptoms of Panic Attacks?

If at least four of the following symptoms occur together and no physical illnesses are present, it may indicate a panic attack:

• Heart palpitations / racing heart
• Numbness or tingling
• Nausea
• Hot flashes / chills
• Chest pain or discomfort
• Feelings of unreality
• Shortness of breath
• Feeling of choking / dry mouth
• Dizziness or light-headedness
• Feeling detached from one’s body
• Wobbly legs
• Sweating
• Trembling
• Stomach problems
• Fear of losing control / going crazy
• Fear of dying

Often, affected individuals begin to avoid situations and places where they experienced a panic attack or certain activities associated with it. This avoidance behavior can significantly restrict daily life and may lead to another anxiety disorder: panic disorder with agoraphobia.

Agoraphobia

Agoraphobia (also known as “fear of open spaces”) is an anxiety disorder where fears and panic are triggered by specific situations and places, such as stores, cinemas, elevators, crowds, public spaces, or public transportation. Anxiety-inducing environments can cause panic symptoms and are therefore strongly avoided. The primary fear is difficulty escaping or receiving help in an emergency. In extreme cases, individuals may become unable to leave their homes.

Social Phobia

People with social phobia have a strong fear of being judged negatively by others, embarrassing themselves, or being perceived as strange. They feel ashamed of their behavior and visible anxiety reactions (sweating, trembling, blushing). As a result, they fear social situations and interactions where they are the center of attention. These situations are avoided as much as possible or endured only with extreme anxiety, sometimes leading to panic attacks. Even after the event, individuals often ruminate for a long time, fearing they stood out negatively or were judged. This significantly restricts social life, making it difficult to form relationships or friendships and limiting professional potential.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Individuals with GAD suffer from persistent and diffuse fears, worries, and physical tension. Their fears often relate to everyday and financial events or problems, as well as concerns that they or their loved ones might become seriously ill or have an accident. These worries are perceived as barely or not at all controllable and highly distressing. In addition to panic symptoms, other symptoms such as restlessness, gastrointestinal issues, concentration difficulties, irritability, sleep disturbances, and cardiovascular problems may also occur.

Specific (Isolated) Phobias

In a specific (isolated) phobia, individuals have an intense fear of specific objects or situations. Social, daily, and professional aspects of life are significantly affected.

Common fears include animals (e.g., spiders, dogs), natural forces (e.g., thunderstorms, bodies of water), injuries (e.g., needles, blood), or situations (e.g., fear of flying, fear of heights, tunnels).

Affected individuals avoid feared objects or situations or endure them only with significant anxiety. They are aware that the object or situation poses no actual threat and that their intense fear response is disproportionate.