|
Anxiety Disorders
Here are anxiety disorders as listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV-TR), the guide all mental health professionals use to make diagnoses. The DSM-IV-TR is also used by insurance companies in determining reimbursement for treatment. Click on each term for more information.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Panic Disorder with or without Agoraphobia
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Social Anxiety Disorder
Specific Phobia
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
GAD is characterized by excessive worry, usually over realistic life activities or responsibilities. Typical worries include concerns about money, relationships, academic performance, physical health, and overall capacity (i.e., life achievement). In most instances of GAD, individuals also experience muscle tightening (and associated stiffness in the joints), headaches, and dizziness. In addition to these physical symptoms, it is not uncommon for GAD sufferers to suffer depression, primarily due to a lack of control over their worries. Another common manifestation of GAD is insomnia, or extreme restlessness during sleep.
BACK TO TOP
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
OCD is a complex condition characterized by intrusive unwanted thoughts (obsessions) that may or may not be accompanied by repetitive actions (compulsions). In most cases, individuals with OCD recognize that their obsessions are not rational, and that the rituals do not in actuality prevent anything from happening. However, most sufferers report feeling an overwhelming urge to engage in the activities despite what they tell themselves. Recent research has shown that OCD is condition marked by 'subtypes.' That is, people experience OCD in a variety of ways. These subtypes are as follows: Primary obsessional, contamination fearful, checking and responsibility, and primarily magical ideation.
- Primary obsessional: Individuals who struggle with this subtype have intrusive, often frightening, images and ideas that are difficult to dispel. Further, these thoughts do not generally go away by any external rituals.
- Contamination fearful: This subtype is well known, and frequently is stereotypical of OCD. People with this aspect of OCD wash extensively to prevent illness or other negative events from happening to themselves or to others. In some severe cases, contamination fears involve washing with detergents and other cleansers that are stronger than typical hand soap.
- Checking and responsibility: This is the other stereotypical subtype of OCD, and it often involves checking to ensure that activities have been done correctly or at all. The common complaint about checking the stove illustrates this well, although there are many other things that individuals with 'checking' need to check. The responsibility aspect is because these people are concerned with being the cause of a catastrophe, even if they know the likelihood is low.
- Primary Magical Ideation: This is where common superstitions (or the individuals’ own superstitions) drive everyday actions. An example might be based upon the childhood adage of “Step on a crack, break your mother's back.” Someone with primary magical ideation might so strongly embrace this concept that they will go to great lengths to avoid stepping on cracks, or walk where there are no cracks.
It is possible for individuals to have more than one subtype, and in fact this is more often the rule rather than the exception. In addition to these subtypes, several conditions have been considered part of a 'spectrum' of OCD conditions. The two conditions that most closely resemble OCD are Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), which is where the individual believes a part of their body is malformed and unattractive, and Hypochondriasis (HC), where the person believes they are sick with an illness even after no diagnosis is found by their medical doctors.
BACK TO TOP
Panic Disorder with or without Agoraphobia
- Panic Disorder without Agoraphobia: Panic disorder is characterized by panic attacks. A panic attack is a sudden rush of physical symptoms such as increased heartrate, sweating, dizziness, shortness of breath, numbness in the arms and legs, and blurry vision. These symptoms, in conjunction with thoughts of dying or loss of mental control (i.e., “I am going crazy”) would constitute a panic attack. If someone experiences these symptoms approximately once a week or on average of four times in a month, then a diagnosis of panic disorder is likely. Panic attacks may be 'cued' (a specific situation leads to an attack) or 'uncued' (the attack starts for no apparent reason). In general, individuals with panic express concerns with symptoms along three primary dimensions:
- Fear of bodily sensations
- Fear of publicly observable symptoms (i.e., having a panic attack in a public place)
- Fear of loss of mental control
- Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia (PDA): PDA is the same as panic disorder with the important addition of avoidance of situations that have been associated with panic attacks in the past. This manner of controlling the panic attacks often leads to significant decreases in mobility, with some extreme cases being completely homebound. More commonly, however, PDA sufferers avoid buses, subways, or enclosed places.
BACK TO TOP
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
PTSD develops after exposure to an extreme stressor. Crime victims, war veterans, auto accident survivors, and survivors of disasters and terrorist attacks may develop PTSD. It is important to note that many individuals who suffer trauma do not develop PTSD. Research has instead shown that many PTSD sufferers develop the condition due to a complex sequence of events following the trauma that includes severity of trauma, available social support, and the individuals’ naturally occurring ways of coping with distress. PTSD cannot be diagnosed if the symptoms are less than a month after the trauma. If the person suffers severe anxiety and distress immediately following a trauma, they may have acute stress disorder or adjustment disorder. If the symptoms do not appear until after a month has passed, or persists for more than a month, then it is likely PTSD. Common symptoms of PTSD include nightmares, exaggerated startle ('jumpiness'), flashbacks or re-experiencing of the trauma, and persistent anxiety. This persistent anxiety is often described by sufferers as panic. Frequently, PTSD symptoms are provoked by incidental harmless reminders of the trauma that occur everyday. These include:
Any one of these, if presented and associated with the trauma, may be sufficient to trigger a flashback, anxiety, or lead to a nightmare later that evening.
BACK TO TOP
Social Anxiety Disorder
SAD (also commonly referred to as Social Phobia) is characterized by avoidance of social situations where there is concern over possible embarrassment. Formerly believed to be a rare condition, research within the past ten years has shown not only that this is a common problem, but also that it can be extremely disabling for some sufferers. The stereotypical situation associated with SAD is public speaking. However, many people fear public speaking out of concerns they will embarrass themselves. It would be considered SAD if one's ability to complete academic studies or advance in a career were hampered by concerns over speaking publicly (i.e., making a presentation at a small meeting). Other common situations avoided in SAD are eating and drinking publicly, writing in front of others, and using public restrooms.
BACK TO TOP
Specific Phobia
There are a wide range of things in the everyday environment that are feared. While many individuals fear something, specific phobias interfere with some aspect of life. Common fears include heights, animals, insects, and places (such as enclosed places without concern over experiencing a panic attack). These phobias go by names used in everyday language such as acrophobia (heights), arachnophobia (spiders), enclosed places (claustrophobia), or hydrophobia (water), although the technical term for all of them is specific phobia. Even some unusual phobias have special names such as triskadeckaphobia (fear of the number 13). When exposed unexpectedly to these feared objects or ideas, the specific phobia sufferer experiences anxiety in a similar way to a panic attack.
BACK TO TOP
|
White Plains, NY 10604 
