Anxiety is one of the most common responses in today's society due to the current pace of life and pressures, both external and self-imposed. It is a normal and adaptive response of our body. However, when the duration of this is very prolonged in time, it is very frequent or presents levels very high intensity, affects our health and causes a deterioration in the different areas of our life. That is why it is one of the reasons why psychological help is most used. Anxiety has different presentations, in fact, there are up to 10 types of anxiety with different symptoms. Do you want to know what types of anxiety there are? Keep reading this Psychology-Online article: 10 types of anxiety: symptoms and differences.
Index
- Symptoms of anxiety
- Types of anxiety
- Generalized anxiety disorder
- Social anxiety disorder (social phobia)
- Separation anxiety disorder
- Agoraphobia
- Panic disorder
- Selective mutism
- Specific phobias
- Substance / Drug-Induced Anxiety Disorder
- Anxiety disorder due to another medical condition
- Other specified and unspecified anxiety disorders
Symptoms of anxiety.
Although anxiety does not always manifest itself in the same way and there are many types of anxiety with different symptoms, they all have and share a common symptomatology. This symptomatology is characteristic of anxiety in general and can be grouped into different types of symptoms. The general symptoms of anxiety are:
- Cognitive and emotional symptoms: worry, negative and intrusive thoughts, irritability, feeling of threat and fear, uncertainty and insecurity, difficulties with attention and concentration, etc.
- Physical or physiological symptoms: sweating, palpitations, tremors, breathing difficulties, tachycardia, dry mouth, nausea, dizziness, gastric pain, etc.
- Motor or behavioral symptoms: escape or avoidance behaviors, motor restlessness (repeatedly scratching and / or touching), crying, freezing, impulsive behaviors such as excessive eating, drinking or smoking, etc.
Types of anxiety.
According to the classification of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, DSM-5, there are 10 types of anxiety or anxiety disorders. These are the following:
- Generalized anxiety disorder.
- Social anxiety disorder (social phobia).
- Separation anxiety disorder
- Agoraphobia.
- Panic disorder
- Selective mutism.
- Specific phobias.
- Substance / Medication-Induced Anxiety Disorder.
- Anxiety disorder due to another medical condition.
- Other specified and unspecified anxiety disorders.
Next, we proceed to explain the 10 causes of anxiety, that is, each of the types of anxiety and symptoms.
1. Generalized anxiety disorder.
Generalized anxiety disorder it is the most common and widespread anxiety disorder in the population. It is characterized by the presence of persistent and excessive anxiety and worryNot only in stressful situations, but also in harmless scenarios in which the anxiety response is disproportionate or does not correspond to objective reality. In generalized anxiety disorder, excessive and systematic concern for the problems is very common. day-to-day problems, intolerance of uncertainty, and negative anticipation of events. People who suffer from it are not able to control these concerns.
Symptoms of generalized anxiety
- Restlessness
- Fatigability
- Concentration problems
- Muscle tension
- Irritability
- Sleeping problems
2. Social anxiety disorder (social phobia)
The second of the types of anxiety is social anxiety disorder, social phobia or social anxiety. In this anxiety and worry are centered in social situations, in which the person experiences excessive and persistent fear of social interactions. The greatest fear in this disorder is acting in a certain way or showing anxiety symptoms that are negatively evaluated and valued by the rest of the people, symptoms such as flushing, sweating, shaking, stumbling with words or being unable to hold look. That is why they appear feelings of shame, fear of being rejected, humiliated or judged. People who suffer from this type of anxiety avoid social situations, which causes a serious deterioration in the social area of the person and social isolation, difficulties at work or finding work, as well as they may drink alcohol in excess with the aim of uninhibited.
In the following article you will find tips to overcome social phobia.
3. Separation anxiety disorder
The separation anxiety disorder It consists of excessive fear or anxiety at the idea or experience of separation from a person with whom there is an emotionally significant bond, also called attachment. Separation anxiety, despite being more common in childhood, can also appear in adulthood. People with this type of anxiety experience very intense and constant anxiety at the idea of loss of the attachment figure, or also that due to an adverse cause there is a separation with it. That is why these people resist being at home alone or going out and going to other environments without this attachment figure. A series of physical symptoms such as nausea, headaches or stomachaches at the idea of separation or separation are also frequent.
4. Agoraphobia.
The agoraphobia is characterized by intense fear experimentation in situations such as the use of public transport, closed places, open spaces, large crowds or being out and about alone or alone. The person avoids these situations before the idea that symptoms and anxious reactions could appear (such as dizziness, fainting, vomiting, etc.) and could not escape without other people noticing these symptoms, which are embarrassing for the person with this type of anxiety. That is why people with agoraphobia avoid these situations, seek to be accompanied or experience them with excessive anxiety if they have to face them. If you feel identified with these symptoms, you can perform the agoraphobia test and go to a specialist.
5. Panic disorder
This type of anxiety implies the presence of recurring panic attacks and unexpected. Panic attacks are sudden onset of very intense fear or discomfort that reach their maximum intensity in a few minutes, approximately 10. These crises are accompanied by symptoms such as palpitations, dizziness, nausea, suffocation and / or fear of losing control or dying. In this type of anxiety the person has suffered more than one panic attack and they tend to have them frequently and experience worry or concern at the idea that another may occur. Avoidance behaviors are also developed in order to avoid these attacks.For example, avoid going to places where suffered a panic attack or safety behaviors such as seeking to be near the exit in case you had to flee or carry anxiolytics.
6. Selective mutism.
The selective mutism It is a type of anxiety whose appearance occurs in childhood. Consists of the constant inability to speak under certain circumstances or social situations, despite doing it in others. It can also appear before certain people, usually not belonging to the minor's social circle. In those situations in which he is able to communicate, he does so normally and without impairment in communication skills.
Generally, people who present this type of anxiety are not able to speak in contexts in which there is expectation to speak, such as school, generating academic deterioration, in addition to social. Children with selective mutism often use non-verbal means to communicate, using gestures, noises, or writing.
7. Specific phobias.
A phobia is the irrational fear and anxiety and intense in the face of a specific situation or object, presenting disproportionate and exaggerated responses before the dreaded stimulus. The person suffering from a phobia may present avoidance behaviors of the phobic stimulus, reaching You are to interfere in the person's daily life, or escape behaviors when exposed to the stimulus. It is common for people to have more than one specific phobia. Phobias are classified into:
- Animal phobias.
- Phobias of the natural environment (heights, water, etc.).
- Blood-injection-wound phobias (like needles),
- Situational phobias (elevator, car, etc.) or others.
In the following article you will find Types of rare phobias and their meaning.
8. Substance / Drug-Induced Anxiety Disorder.
In this disorder, the anxiety symptoms are associated with the use of drugs or medications. This type of anxiety appears during intoxication or withdrawal from a substance or, on the other hand, by the consumption of medication or modification of its dose.
9. Anxiety disorder due to another medical condition.
In this type of anxiety, the origin is in the presence of an organic diseaseIn other words, anxiety is the result of a medical condition. For example, hyperthyroidism causes anxious symptoms.
10. Other specified and unspecified anxiety disorders.
Includes those anxiety disorders or types of anxiety that, despite presenting significant symptoms, fail to meet criteria for any of the disorders or types of anxiety explained in this article. Another specific anxiety disorder refers to a situation in which all the criteria for any of the anxiety disorders are not met, even with all the information. However, when it is not possible to conclude what type of anxiety disorder is due to lack of information, it is a non-specific anxiety disorder.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to 10 types of anxiety: symptoms and differences, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.
Bibliography
- American Psychiatric Association. (2014). DSM-5. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Madrid: Editorial Médica Panamericana, S.A.
- Feliú, M. T. (2014). Anxiety Disorders in DSM-5. Liaison Notebooks on Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychiatry, (110), 62-69.
