People with an anxiety disorder often have co-occurring mental health problems, such as depression, and this can increase serious risks like suicide. Often severe anxiety disorder symptoms and panic attacks are a warning sign and increase the risk of suicide. For example, an average individual may feel some anxiety before going to a dentist appointment but a person with anxiety disorder may feel anxiety every time they leave their home.
An anxiety disorder is a common mental illness defined by feelings of uneasiness, worry and fear. While anxiety occurs for everyone sometimes, a person with an anxiety disorder feels an inappropriate amount of anxiety more often than is reasonable.
The definition of an anxiety disorder also includes an impairment of day-to-day functioning. A person with an anxiety disorder often experiences a significantly reduced quality of life and anxiety disorders are associated with possibly fatal heart conditions.
Specific symptoms vary by type of anxiety disorder, but typically, anxiety disorders are defined by:
Several types of anxiety disorders are identified in the latest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR).
Social phobia is the most common anxiety disorder and typically manifests before the age of 20. Specific, or simple phobias – such as a fear of snakes – are also very common with more than one-in-ten people experiencing a specific phobia in their lifetime.
Anxiety disorder treatment is typically in the form of psychotherapy and is sometimes combined with medication. Anxiety disorders often occur with other disorders such a substance use disorder, so anxiety disorder treatment often includes the treatment for those disorders as well. Education about mental illness, anxiety disorders in particular, and lifestyle changes are often crucial to the success of anxiety disorder treatment.
