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Stress and Anxiety Disorders
Types and Symptoms of
Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety, depression and nervousness are common, particularly in modern times. They are normal reactions to threatening, uncertain or important events and situations. If the symptoms are minor, sporadic, and do not seriously affect normal life, it is not an illness. However, if the symptoms are serious, recurrent, persistent, and disruptive, it can be an anxiety disorder.
The symptoms of anxiety disorders can be categorised into four groups: cognitive, emotional, behavioural, and physical.
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Category
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Symptoms
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Cognitive
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Persistent and excessive worries, fears, threats, dangers, uneasiness, or other anxious thoughts
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Emotional
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Overriding feelings of restless, irritability, anger, distress, panic, nervousness and jumpiness, hypervigilance, confusion, difficulty concentrating, loosing control
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Behavioural
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Strong desire to escape or avoid, repeated and unstoppable behaviours, behavioural problems (such as violence and drug abuse)
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Physical
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Heart pounding, palpitation, shortness of breath, hot or cold flashes, cold and clammy hands, trembling and shaking, sweating, dizziness, insomnia, headaches, chest or back pain, muscle tension, stomach or intestinal upset, frequent urination or diarrhoea, chronic fatigue
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Anxiety disorders may take various forms. The most common anxiety disorders include generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder (PD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
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Type
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Definition/Characteristics
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Symptoms
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GAD
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General feeling of excessive and persistent worry and fear without triggers of specific objects or situations
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Restlessness, fatigue, irritability, muscle tension, sleep disturbance, and difficulty concentrating, chest and back pain, trembling, headache, shortness of breath, palpitation, palpitation, hot flushing, sweating, dizziness, frequent urination, upset stomach, nausea, diarrhoea, anger, loosing temper, self-blame
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PD
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Sudden and unexpected occurrence of intense terror and apprehension
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Palpitation or pounding heart, shortness of breath, chest pain, sweating, trembling, hot or cold flushing, dizziness, cold hands, numbness of hands and feet, stomach and intestinal distress, fear of loosing control, distress
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SAD
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Persistent fear of social interactions, including ‘stage fright’, a general fear in public place, and ‘love-shyness’
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Rapid heartbeat, hot blushing, sweating, trembling, chest pain, throat tightening and voice changing, upset stomach, and frequent urination, oversensitivity, severe nervousness, mind ‘going blank’, sadness, loneliness, self-denial
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Phobias
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Abnormal or excessive and persistent fear of particular objects or situations, including agoraphobia (fear of open spaces or public places) and specific phobia (fear of particular objects or situations)
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Emotional distress, heart pounding, trembling, hot or cold flushing, sweating, stomach and intestinal upsetting, panic attack
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OCD
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Repeated and unstoppable thoughts or behaviours
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Chest and back pain, headache, muscle tension, sleep disturbance, upset stomach, fatigue, distress
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PTCD
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Intense and persistent fear or distress after experiencing one or more traumatic events
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Flashbacks, nightmares, hallucinations, distress, irritability, loss of interest in activities, loss of happiness and enjoyment, over sensitivity, difficulty sleeping, difficulty concentrating, avoiding people, places, situations, talking, thinking and feelings in relation to the traumatic event, and sweating, shaking and heart-pounding in response to reminders of the traumatic event
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(Picture: Edenpics.com (retouched))
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