Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders involve a cycle of dealing with anticipated danger by avoiding situations and feelings that might spark fear, as well as escaping situations in which we already feel anxious. Because it is possible for a human to be afraid of almost anything, it’s possible to develop a pattern of fear-based avoidance of almost anything. Anxiety and fear itself aren’t actually the problem, rather the solution becomes the problem. For a more in depth discussion of the difference between anxiety and fear, as well as what makes an anxiety disorder, check out this blog.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
This is the label we use when someone has a generally difficult relationship with uncertainty. Rather than fearing a specific possible outcome, this label describes when people worry about all sorts of things. The act of worrying often leads to this really painful cycle where people tend to assume the worst and brace for impact. As a result, this can lead to difficulty concentrating, irritability, muscle tension, difficulty sleeping, and exhaustion. While worry is something we do to try to stave off of the fear of being unprepared for a crummy outcome, as a habit, it actually becomes its own problem.
Panic Disorder
When the source of a person’s fear is their own body sensations, we sometimes call this anxiety sensitivity. When these body sensations peak within minutes, we call this panic. While many other anxiety disorders often are used to describe similar experiences, panic disorder is the label we give when anxiety sensitivity leads someone to repeatedly avoid situations that might activate these body sensations, be on guard for panic symptoms, or worry persistently about the consequences of these sensations. People who have a disordered relationship with the physiological symptoms of anxiety often believe that these sensations can lead to death, going crazy, or otherwise fear losing control in a major way.
lllness Anxiety Disorder
Illness anxiety disorder refers to when a person attempts to cope with their fear of having or acquiring a specific illness cause problems in their life. Sometimes people engage in a pattern of avoidance of things like doctor’s appointments, which can amp up the anxiety more and more over time, as well as lead to the neglect of important health care. For other folx, they cope by engaging in repetitive behaviors to check and attempt to head off the possibility of being or becoming sick. For example, it’s quite common for people who are anxious about their health to cope by getting multiple, expensive opinions from doctors, checking their body compulsively for signs of disease, or engaging in excessive online research.
Specific Phobias
Unlike generalized anxiety disorder, specific phobia is well… specific. It refers to when’s fear center on a very specific source and that their attempts to cope with that very specific source either amp up the fear long-term or cause problems. Some common examples that I treat are listed below:
Emetophobia
When people struggle with the possibility of vomiting or witnessing someone else vomiting to the extent that it causes significant distress or problems in their life, we call it emetophobia. For example, people with the fear of vomiting will often closely monitor their food and discard anything that appears discolored, they frequently avoid eating new foods or engage in a lot of reassurance-seeking with their loved ones. Sometimes they avoid activities that might make them feel nauseous, like drinking alcohol or carnival rides. Other times they avoid situations or specific that their mind has attributed danger to, like the clothing they wore or the sheets on the bed that were used the last time they vomited.
Agoraphobia
While it gets its own special name in the diagnostic and statistical manual (DSM)—see the blog for a critique on the inconsistencies of the DSM—agoraphobia, just like emetophia, also refers to fear of a specific situation: difficulty escaping in the event of experiencing incapacitating or embarrassing symptoms. People afraid of being stuck or trapped often cope by avoiding things like flying on planes, using public transportation, going to movie theaters, attending crowded events, or sometimes even leaving their homes.
Other Anxiety Disorders
Years ago, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) used to actually be grouped with the anxiety disorders in the DSM. One reason it was moved was because anxiety isn’t always the primary emotion associated with the reason people avoid. That said, there is a whole lot of overlap between OCD and the anxiety-related disorders. For more information about OCD, check out this page. Fortunately, because exposure therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) are all considered transdiagnostic, any kind of anxiety disorder is largely treatable. If you are unsure whether what you or your child are struggling with is within my wheelhouse, contact me to set up a free 15-minute consultation.
Social Anxiety Disorder
When people avoid one or more social situations or endure them with extreme distress, we call this a social anxiety disorder. These kinds of highly feared situations can involve talking with others or making phone calls, eating or drinking in front of others, using public bathrooms, public-speaking, or performing in front of others. People often fear that their trepidation will be found out by others, so things like blushing, trembling or stuttering are extremely scary for them. A lot of people describe it as a fear of being humiliated or feeling embarrassed in front of others.