Anxiety+Disorders

=**Anxiety Disorders** =

Anxiety is defined as a normal reaction to stress (Anxiety Disorders).

"A feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome." (Anxiety Disorders)

Average anxiety disorders include the following:


 * Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder(OCD)-** "an anxiety disorder and is characterized by recurrent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and/or repetitive behaviors (compulsions)." Examples of this disorder could include hand washing, erasing, organization, counting, checking, or cleaning. People with this disorder do this everyday things __**REPEATEDLY**__ hence the word obsessive. Performing these "rituals" is only temporary, but when not performed it can cause anxiety (Obsessive).


 * Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)**- This disorder is "characterized by chronic anxiety, exaggerated worry and tension, even when there is little or nothing to provoke it." Symptoms include fatigue, headaches, muscle tension, muscle aches, difficulty swallowing, trembling, twitching, irritability, sweating, and hot flashes (Generalized).


 * Panic Disorder**- People with this disorder experience feeling of terror that strikes suddenly and repeatedly without warning. Symptoms of this disease include panic attacks, sweating, chest pain, irregular heartbeats, and the feeling of choking. Many people can feel like they are either having a heart attack or "going crazy" because of this disorder (Panic).


 * Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)**- "an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened." Events that may cause PTSD include violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, or military combat. People with this disorder may experience sleeping problems, feel detached or numb, or can be easily startled (Post).


 * Social Anxiety Disorder**- an anxiety disorder characterized by overwhelming anxiety and excessive self-consciousness in everyday social situations. It can be limited to one type of phobia or may be so broad that a person can not talk to other people. They experience the symptoms such as having a persistent, intense, and chronic fear of being watched or judged by others. This phobia can interfere with work or school (Social).

People can develop anxiety disorder from other disorders that they are diagnosed with such as phobias. There are many different types of phobias that one can obtain. One can have phobias of the simplest things such as:
 * ======__**Animals**__ ======
 * ======__**Situations**__ ======
 * ======__**Natural Environment**__ ======
 * ======__**Blood Injection Injuries**__ ======
 * ======__**Numbers (Numerophobia)**__ ======
 * ======__**Insects, Bugs, or arachnids**__ ======
 * ======__**Birds (Ornithophobia)**__ ======
 * ======__**Horses (Equinophobia)**__ ======
 * ======__**Wind (Ancraophobia)**__ ======
 * ======__**Your Mother-in-Law (Syngenesophobia)**__ ======
 * ======__**Mirrors (Catoptrophobia) **__ ======
 * ======__**The color purple (Porphyrophobia)**__ ======

But sometimes...

It can be much more...

=SEVERE =

Anxiety can be caused by other disorders. In most cases, a person diagnosed with anxiety doesn't only have an anxiety disorder. Many people with anxiety can also be diagnosed with:

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Stendhal Syndrome**- a psychosomatic illness that can occur when an individual is exposed to a large amount of beautiful art in a short space of time. They experience rapid heart beats, hallucinations, confusion, and dizziness when exposed to art (26). **Stockholm Syndrome**- when a victim of a kidnapping becomes sympathetic and loyal to their abductor. This condition also appears in wife beatings, child abuse, and rape cases (26).

**Lima Syndrome**- The opposite of Stockholm. In this case the abductor becomes sympathetic of their victim (26). **Triskaldekaphobia**- Someone who is scared of the number 13 (26).

**Alien Hand Syndrome**- A neurological disorder where one hand performs actions involuntarily by the owner. It has a mind of it's own (26).

**Cotard or Cotard's Syndrome aka The Living Dead**- this is a mental disorder where the person believes he/she is dead and walking the earth. They believe that they have no heart beat, no blood, and has lost his/her internal organs. It can include delusions of immortality (26). **Alice in Wonderland Syndrome**- Familiar to drug users, this disease is a condition where a patient's sense of time and space is distorted. For example, a normal sized car may look like a miniature model and your average sized dog looks to be the size of a mouse (26). Symptoms of Anxiety Disorders (Anxiety and Panic): Anxiety effects you physically, mentally, and behavoirally. Physical effects: rapid heart beat, stomach discomfort, trembling, nausea, muscle tightening, sweating, shortness of breath, etc (Hyman). Mental effects: uneasiness, worry, intrusive thoughts, confusion, poor concentration, sense of helplessness, etc (Hyman). Behavoiral effects: avoid particular objects, places, or situations and, as in OCD, perform unnecessary rituals (Hyman). Anxiety can also be linked to Phobias, Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, Bulimia, Hoarding, and Borderline Personality. **Works Cited** “Anxiety and Panic Disorders Guide.” //WebMD//. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. <http://www.webmd.com/‌anxiety-panic/‌guide/‌mental-health-anxiety-disorders>. “Anxiety Disorders.” //National Insutute of Mental Health//. N.p., 16 Mar. 2011. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. <http://www.nimh.nih.gov/‌health/‌topics/‌anxiety-disorders/‌index.shtml>. “Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).” //National Institute of Mental Health//. N.p., 12 Apr. 2011. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. <http://www.nimh.nih.gov/‌health/‌topics/‌generalized-anxiety-disorder-gad/‌index.shtml>. Hyman, Bruce M, and Cherry Pedrick. //Anxiety Disorders//. N.p.: Twenty-First Century, 2006. //Google//. Web. 17 Apr. 2011. <http://books.google.com/‌books?id=Vvp6nhjrQYMC&dq=anxiety+disorders&source=gbs_navlinks_s>. “Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, OCD.” //National Institute of Mental Health//. N.p., 12 Apr. 2011. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. <http://www.nimh.nih.gov/‌health/‌topics/‌obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd/‌index.shtml>. “Panic Disorder.” //National Institute of Mental Health//. N.p., 12 Apr. 2011. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. <http://www.nimh.nih.gov/‌health/‌topics/‌panic-disorder/‌index.shtml>. “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).” //National Institure of Mental Health//. N.p., 12 Apr. 2011. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. “Social Phobia (Social Anxiety Disorder).” //National Institute of Mental Health//. N.p., 12 Apr. 2011. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. <http://www.nimh.nih.gov/‌health/‌topics/‌social-phobia-social-anxiety-disorder/‌index.shtml>. “26 Strange, Unbelievably Bizarre and Weird Mental Disorders.” //Blogissues//. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2011. <http://www.blogissues.com/‌2007/‌12/‌04/‌26-strange-unbelievably-bizarre-and-weird-mental-disorders/>.
 * Feelings of panic, fear, and uneasiness
 * Uncontrollable, obsessive thoughts
 * Repeated thoughts or flashbacks of traumatic experiences
 * Nightmares
 * Ritualistic behaviors, such as repeated hand washing
 * Problems sleeping
 * Cold or sweaty hands and/or feet
 * Shortness of breath
 * Palpitations
 * An inability to be still and calm
 * Dry mouth
 * Numbness or tingling in the hands or feet
 * Nausea
 * Muscle tension
 * Dizziness