Anxiety

Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety is a normal part of life, but when the fear becomes irrational and starts to interfere with daily life than you may be suffering from some form of anxiety disorder. These disorders are broken down into five categories.

  1. General Anxiety Disorder - People with GAD suffer excessive worry about every aspect of life. They have unrealistic fears and exaggerated reactions. They dwell on past traumas. They may think something bad is going to happen to them or their families, even when there is no apparent reason for thinking this way.
  2. Phobic Disorder - The common emotions in this disorder are terror, dread, or panic when confronted with the feared object, situation, or activity. Some persons have so much fear that it interferes with their job, school, family life, and social activity. Social phobias such as extreme shyness, and performance anxiety are also now treated very successfully as are the other phobic disorders.
  3. Panic Disorder - This disorder consists of repeated, "out of the blue" attacks that oftentimes happen for no good reason. Persons have overwhelming bouts of rear, and a tremendous felling of "I GOTTGAETOUTTAHERE!" accompanied by at least four of the following symptoms;

    4. a. Pounding heart
    b. Chest pain
    c. Sweating, trembling, or shaking
    d. Shortness of breath (hyperventilation)
    e. Choking, nausea, dizziness, or light-headedness
    f. Fear of losing control, "going crazy", or dying

  4. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - Obsession are irrational thoughts. Common obsessions include a preoccupation with dirt or germs, repeated doubts (did I lock the house?), thoughts about violence, or becoming infected by shaking hands with another person, and a need to have things in a particular order. The 1998 movie "As Good As It Gets", with Jack Nicholson, portrayed an OCD patient.
  5. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - This disorder is most often associated with war veterans but may include anyone who has experienced a severe physical or mental trauma. They suffer nightmares, sharpened startle reaction, inability to sleep, depression, and flashbacks of the traumatic event. Events that can trigger PTSD include violent personal attacks (rape, mugging), natural disasters (tornado, wildfire), military combat or manmade tragedies (severe car crash, plane crash), abuse in childhood, and witnessing another's personal injury.

Resources

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Office of Communications
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 8184, MSC 9663
Bethesda, MD 20892-9663
(301) 443-4513
Toll Free (866) 615-NIMH (6464)
TTY (301) 443-8431
Email: nimhinfo@nih.gov
URL: http://www.nimh.nih.gov

American Psychiatric Association (APA)
1000 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1825
Arlington, VA 22209-3901
(703) 907-7300
URL: http://www.psych.org

American Psychological Association (APA)
750 1st Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002-4242
(202) 336-5510
Toll Free (800) 374-2721
URL: http://www.apa.org

Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy (AABT)
305 7th Avenue, 16th floor
New York, NY 10001
(212) 647-1890
URL: http://www.aabt.org

Freedom from Fear
308 Seaview Avenue
Staten Island, NY 10305
(718) 351-1717
URL: http://www.freedomfromfear.com

National Center for PTSD
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
116D VA Medical and Regional Office Center
White River Junction, VT 05009
(802) 296-6300
Email: ncptsd@ncptsd.org
URL: http://www.ncptsd.org

Obsessive Compulsive Foundation (OCF)
676 State Street
New Haven, CT 06511
(203) 401-2070
URL: http://www.ocfoundation.org

Anxiety Disorders Association of America, Inc. (ADAA)
8730 Georgia Avenue, Suite 600
Silver Spring, MD 20910
(240) 485-1001
www.adaa.org

National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
VA Medical Center
215 North Main Street
White River Junction, VT 05009
(802) 296-5132
www.ncptsd.org

National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA)
1730 Park Road, N.W.
Washington, DC 20010
(202) 232-6682
(800) 879-6682 info and referrals for victims of crime and disaster
www.try-nova.org

National Resource Center on Child Maltreatment
P.O. Box 441470
Aurora, CO 80044-1470
(303) 369-8008
Email: NRCCM@gocwi.org
www.nrccm.gocwi.org

U.S. Veterans Administration
Readjustment Counseling Service
1250 Taylor Street, NW
Washington, DC 20011
(202) 273-8967
www.va.gov/rcs/Organization.htm