Anxiety takes many different forms. There are six main types of anxiety, and a few more smaller ones. The main six types of anxiety have four main forms of anxiety, and two disorders where anxiety is present.

Forms of anxiety:

Panic Disorder, Social Anxiety disorder, Generalized Anxiety disorder, and Specific Phobias

Other Anxiety disorders:

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Forms of Anxiety

Panic Disorder

Defined as “a psychiatric disorder in which debilitating anxiety and fear arise frequently and without reasonable cause,” Panic Disorder is most commonly seen in unexplainable panic attacks. Panic attacks are sudden strong feelings of anxiety. This disorder is most commonly seen in adults starting at age 20, and is more in women than in men. It is experienced by about 2-3% of Americans each year. It is highly responsive to treatment. Panic attacks commonly have both mental and physical symptoms, such as intense gripping fear, chest tightness, trouble breathing, or dizziness, to name a few.

Social Anxiety Disorder

Also known as social phobia, this is the intense fear of being judged, excluded, or neglected in social situations. People with social anxiety may have worries about appearing anxious. It often goes along with strong physical symptoms. It is the second most diagnosed anxiety disorder, second to specific phobias. It is heavily present in a person’s life, and often consumes their daily activities, and is an impediment on most simple tasks, like talking on the phone, or doing a job interview.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Generalized anxiety disorder is also known as GAD, and is often characterized with excessive worrying. GAD causes difficulty in controlling worrying and overthinking. It is twice as likely to affect women over men, and the highest risk is between childhood and middle age. Anything can cause anxiety, and sometimes anxiety appears to be caused by nothing at all. Getting through the day can be difficult, and people with GAD often feel like they need to be in control of their life.

Specific Phobias

Specific phobias are an extreme and unreasonable fear of a certain thing or situation. Being merely “scared” of something, or getting uneasy on planes or on roller coasters is not a specific phobia. People with specific phobias try very hard to avoid certain situations, and it often disrupts basic daily activities. Most phobias arise suddenly in early adulthood or adolescence, but a few develop in childhood. While people may realize that their fear is irrational, they may develop severe anxiety just thinking about it.

Other Anxiety Disorders

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Commonly just referred to as “OCD,” obsessive compulsive disorder is a disorder involving anxiety characterized by obsessive thoughts or urges and/or compulsive and repetitive behaviors. OCD in not bad habits or negative thoughts. It is where your thoughts and actions feel like they are beyond your control. Often, thoughts feel invasive and will not be ignored. OCD affects just over 1% of the population, and is seriously disruptive to daily activities. Both obsessive thoughts and behaviors are uncontrollable, and are often very hindering. People with OCD may know that their habits do not make sense, but cannot help it either way.

Post-Traumatic Stress disorder

Post-Traumatic Stress disorder, or PTSD is a mental condition that occurs in people who have experienced trauma. This is a disorder triggered by extreme fear or stressful situations, that are out of the ordinary, like witnessing something terrible. This does not occur in everyone who has experienced something traumatic, but it can in extreme situations. PTSD does not necessarily have to be caused by trauma. It can be caused by a sudden negative event, like the death of a loved one. PTSD is diagnosed by physicians using these criteria for at least a month:

At least one re-experiencing symptom
- Such as flashbacks or nightmares
At least one avoidance symptom
- Like distancing yourself from people or places involved in the event
At least two arousal and reactivity symptoms
- Like feeling tense, easily scared, or having trouble sleeping
At least two cognition and mood symptoms
- Such as loss of interest in activities that are normally enjoyable, or trouble remembering the event

Types of Anxiety