Anxiety Disorders

WHAT IS AN ANXIETY DISORDER?

Anxiety is a response to danger or threat. It is a natural state that can, in moderate degree and frequency, be a productive driving force. For millions of people, however, anxieties and fears are overwhelming and persistent, often drastically interfering with daily life. These people may be suffering from anxiety disorders, a widespread group of psychological disorders that can be terrifying and crippling. Fortunately, anxiety disorders are treatable and the vast majority of people with an anxiety disorder can be helped with the right professional care. The conditions classified as anxiety disorders include (but are not limited to):

• Panic Disorder - Out-of-the blue bouts of racing heart, shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea, trembling, sensation of choking, dizziness, hot/cold flashes, numbness/tingling, and intense fear of losing control and/or of dying.

• Agoraphobia - The fear of leaving a safe place and/or being in places from which escape would be difficult.

• Specific Phobia - Panic associated with specific situations such as closed-in places, heights, escalators, tunnels, highway driving, water, flying, dogs, blood, needles and more, even when there is rational knowledge that the situation is not dangerous. 

• Social Anxiety Disorder - Incapacitating fear associated with social situations. 

• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - The condition of having unwanted, repetitive thoughts which keep re-occurring despite attempts to push them out of the mind and/or habitual and repetitive actions such as cleaning, counting, arranging, etc. usually as a means of banishing the unwanted thoughts.

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder - The inability to control excessive worrying.

• Post-traumatic Stress Disorder - Dreams, flashbacks, and extreme anxiety associated with reminders of a traumatic event.

Click any of the links in the list above to read more from the National Institute of Mental Health. 

We are also offering free treatment for individuals who feel anxious or depressed. Please click the link for more information.