There are several different types of anxiety, including, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Social Anxiety, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Each type may have some specific symptoms but also may present itself differently in each person. For example, while some people may experience fear in crowds, other people may have a hard time talking to another person. In addition, symptoms can be mild or severe, or anywhere in between. Anxiety, in other words, does not look the same in each person.
In all types of anxiety, people experience persistent and intense fear or worry, even when such fear or worry is not warranted by the situation and when other people would not have such reactions. People with anxiety often know their fear is unsubstantiated or irrational, but feel helpless to control it. Chronic feelings of worry are usually found in Generalized Anxiety Disorder while sudden feelings of intense anxiety are considered to be panic attacks.
There are also both emotional and physical symptoms of anxiety. Although they may be different in each person, and appear in varying intensities, there are a number of symptoms commonly experienced by people with all types of anxiety. Normally, anxiety attacks last less than one half hour, with a peak in symptoms occurring within ten minutes of the onset of the attack.
In addition to the feelings of worry and apprehension that go along with anxiety, people may struggle with the following emotional problems:
- Trouble concentrating
- Irritability
- Restlessness
- Feeling as if you are going crazy (most often during a panic attack)
- Depression or mood swings
There are a number of different physical symptoms that occur along with anxiety. Some of these are caused by the stress on the body from worry, others are caused by the intense emotions. Often, people will believe these symptoms are caused by a physical illness and make an appointment with the doctor. Sometimes, anxiety is first diagnosed because of the physical symptoms rather than the emotional symptoms.
