An anxiety disorder is a mental health condition that can interfere with daily life. Signs and symptoms often include nervousness, panic, fear, sweating, and a rapid heartbeat.

According to a 2022 review, about 34% of the U.S. population struggles with an anxiety disorder. The most common is social anxiety (13% lifetime prevalence) followed by generalized anxiety disorder (6.2% lifetime prevalence). ¹

If you struggle with an anxiety disorder, you’ll want to speak to your healthcare provider. They’ll put you down a treatment path of either medication, psychotherapy, or both.

Anxiety Defined

If you struggle with an anxiety disorder, you may react to specific situations and stimuli with fear and dread. This can result in physical symptoms, including sweating and a rapid heartbeat.

Experiencing some anxiety is normal. You might feel anxious or nervous when facing a work problem, attending an interview, taking a test, or making an important decision. Not to mention, anxiety can be beneficial. Our brains incorporate anxiety as a natural process to alert us of dangerous situations. ²

However, these normal tendencies of fear don’t define an anxiety disorder. This condition occurs when:

• Fear and dread inhibit your ability to function.
• You frequently overreact when your emotions are triggered.
• You have no control over your responses to triggers.

As such, anxiety can make daily life difficult. Luckily, there are a variety of treatment options available for anxiety disorders.

How Common are Anxiety Disorders?

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health condition. It’s estimated that anxiety disorders affect 40 million Americans. ³ However, they’ll occur in 30% of U.S. adults at some point in their lives. Anxiety disorders typically start in childhood, adolescence, or early adulthood.

Can Children Have an Anxiety Disorder?

Children naturally feel some amount of anxiety, worry, or fear under certain circumstances. For example, your child may grow anxious when a dog starts barking at them. Teenagers are also subject to this anxiety – notably, over things like an upcoming test or first date.

However, your child may experience overwhelming dread or can’t forget all the fears tied to a specific event. You may find your child gets “stuck” in their worries, to the point where it’s inhibiting daily activities. Furthermore, they may be reluctant towards new experiences. ⁴

If your child “gets stuck” on fear, they’re experiencing a level of anxiety beyond normal children. If anxiety or worry disrupts your child’s ability to function, it may be time to seek help.

Signs and Symptoms of Anxiety

Symptoms differ based on the type of anxiety disorder (see below). General symptoms of these conditions include:

Physical Symptoms:

• Dry mouth
• Nausea
• Numbness (or tingling in hands or feet)
• Rapid heartbeat
• Sweaty or cold hands
• Tense muscles

Mental Symptoms:

• Flashbacks or repeated thoughts of a traumatic experience
• Nightmares
• Panic, fear, and uneasiness
• Uncontrollable, obsessive thoughts

Behavioral Symptoms:

• Difficulty sleeping
• Ritualistic activities (i.e. washing your hands repeatedly)
• Unable to be calm or still

Signs of Anxiety in Children

If you’re worried your child struggles with anxiety, keep an eye out for the following:

• Anxiety isn’t relieved after comfort and logical explanations are provided to your child.
• Fears or fixations that prevent your child from enjoying life or completing tasks.
• You don’t understand the fear or worry.

Some children will show signs of anxiety but struggle with a similar mental health condition, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ⁵

Types of Anxiety Disorders

There are several types of anxiety disorders, such as: ⁶

• Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
• Panic disorder
• Phobias
• Separation anxiety

Other mental health conditions are also considered anxiety disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

If you struggle with GAD, you may experience intense and unrealistic worry and tension, even without any apparent cause. Most days, you may worry excessively about a range of topics, such as health, work, school, and relationships. You may find these worries seamlessly shift from one to the other.

GAD can result in the following physical symptoms:

• Difficulty concentrating
• Restlessness
• Trouble with sleep

Panic Disorder

Panic disorders result in severe and sudden panic attacks. Such attacks come with stronger feelings than those found in other types of anxiety disorders. ⁸

These sensations may start unexpectedly or may be due to a trigger. For example, people with PTSD may experience a panic attack when reminded of their traumatic situation. ⁹

Panic attacks feel a lot like a heart attack. However, those prone to heart failure are at risk of experiencing a heart attack due to panic. ¹⁰ In such cases, going to an emergency room is key as soon as you start panicking.

Physical symptoms of a panic attack include:

• Chest pain
• Choking sensations
• Heart palpitations (like your heart is pounding)
• Sweating

Panic attacks are stressful. You may worry about the next time you experience a panic attack. On top of that, you may avoid panic attack triggers.

Phobias

A phobia is a severe fear of a certain object or situation. In some instances, these fears are justifiable. For example, it’s normal to experience a fear of confined spaces (claustrophobia). However, the intensity of fear doesn’t correspond to the situation. ¹¹

If you struggle with a phobia, you may spend a lot of time worrying and avoiding objects or situations that cause fear. Naturally, this can inhibit daily life.

Some of the most common phobias are fears of:

• Blood (hemophobia)
• Flying (aerophobia)
• Heights (acrophobia)
• Injections (trypanophobia)
• Specific animals (i.e. spiders, snakes, etc.)

Social Anxiety Disorder

Previously known as social phobia, a social anxiety disorder is when you feel overwhelming worry and self-consciousness in typical social situations. ¹²

You may be anxious about others’ judgment or that you’ll embarrass yourself in public. As such, it’s common for people with social anxiety to avoid social situations entirely.

However, this can be detrimental to your health in several ways. Humans need to socialize to better themselves in life, such as through work or relationships. On top of that, it can lead to self-isolation which may lead to symptoms of depression.

Luckily, there are ways to overcome social anxiety. The most notable of these is slowly putting yourself in anxiety-inducing situations. The goal is to develop “situational exposure” to gradually ease anxiety. ¹³

Agoraphobia

If you struggle with agoraphobia, you fear being in two or more of these environments: ¹⁴

• Crowds or lines
• Enclosed spaces
• Open spaces
• Paces outside your home
• Public transportation

In extreme cases, people with agoraphobia will not leave the house. This is usually due to a fear of having a panic attack in public. However, such isolation also makes it difficult to receive treatment.

Separation Anxiety Disorder

Most common in children or teenagers, a separation anxiety disorder occurs when you fear being separated from a specific person. This is best observed in children who worry about being away from their parents. In these cases, a child may fear their parent will get hurt and not return as promised.

What Causes Anxiety Disorders?

Researchers still don’t entirely understand where anxiety disorders come from. However, they believe the following play a significant role:

• Chemical Imbalance – Changes in the brain have been noticed in people with anxiety. This may be due to long-lasting or severe stress, potentially due to a traumatic event. ¹⁵

• Environment – Certain living situations may trigger anxiety, especially those where trauma is being developed (i.e. domestic abuse). ¹⁶

• Genetics – If you have a family member with anxiety, you’re more likely to inherit the condition. ¹⁷

Anxiety Disorder Risk Factors

Your chances of developing anxiety increase when you have: ¹⁸

• Family history of anxiety (or other mental health conditions).
• Physical conditions (i.e. thyroid problems).
• Traumatic childhood or adulthood.
• Specific personality traits, such as shyness or behavioral inhibitions.

Anxiety is more common in women than men. ¹⁹ Researchers theorize this has to do with fluctuating hormones. On the other hand, it’s assumed that the more testosterone a man has, the less anxiety he will experience. ²⁰

Can You Prevent an Anxiety Disorder?

There are a few things you can do to reduce the risk of an anxiety disorder. These include: ²¹

• Avoiding drugs and alcohol
• Exercising
• Exploring herbal remedies for anxiety
• Getting regular sleep
• Maintaining a balanced diet
• Reducing caffeine intake

Anxiety Treatment

Anxiety is similar to physical health problems in the sense that you need time and symptom management to treat it. There are three common ways to treat anxiety:

Medication

While medication is not a cure to anxiety, it can help improve symptoms. The most common include:

• Anti-Anxiety Medications – Also referred to as benzodiazepines, these may help to reduce anxiety, panic, and worry. They act fast and can be taken in a sudden moment. However, you can also build a tolerance to them (decreasing the effects over time). ²²

• Antidepressants – By adjusting specific brain chemicals, this medication can help decrease stress and improve mood. They don’t act as quickly as benzodiazepines and may take consecutive use before they start working. ²³

• Beta-Blockers – While normally used to treat high blood pressure, this medication has been found to reduce physical symptoms of anxiety. These include rapid heartbeat, shaking, and trembling. ²⁴

Medication might not prove helpful right away. You and your healthcare provider will need to try different types, dosages, or combinations before finding what’s right for you. Be sure to follow your doctor’s direct advice and don’t over or under use a medication.

Psychotherapy

Sometimes referred to as talk therapy, psychotherapies are a great way to get to the core of your anxiety. The most common include:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – Teaches you to recognize negative thought patterns and behaviors. From there, you can work on changing them. ²⁵

• Exposure Therapy – Forces you to engage in activities or situations that you avoid due to anxiety. Your therapist will provide relaxation exercises and imagery to help reduce symptoms. ²⁶

Lifestyle Changes

Beyond professional treatment, there are changes you can make in your life to help reduce the symptoms of anxiety. These include:

• Prioritizing Sleep – The better sleep you get, the better your mental health will be. Set a sleep schedule and stick to it. Over time, this will have a positive effect on your stress levels. ²⁷

• Staying Active and Going Outside – The more you move your body, the more you’ll produce serotonin and endorphins. As such, numerous studies have shown exercise helps reduce anxiety. ²⁸ On top of this, spending time outdoors (especially in nature) can help make you feel more grounded. ²⁹

• Getting a Balanced and Nutritious Diet – Our eating habits significantly affect our stress levels. If you have anxiety, it’s recommended you avoid processed meats, fried food, refined cereals, candy, pastries, and high-fat dairy products. ³⁰

• Avoiding Alcohol and Other Substances – You may turn to drugs and alcohol as a means of reducing symptoms of anxiety. However, this can lead to a substance abuse disorder and worsen your condition. ³¹

• Practicing Meditation – By providing you with a sense of relaxation, meditation can help regulate emotions. ³² You’ll want to practice breathing techniques with meditation, which can be used later if you experience an anxiety attack.

References

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