(5) 5.4a Anxiety Disorders

  • Anxiety Disorders

    • Distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety

  • Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

    • Continually tense, apprehensive, and an aroused autonomic nervous system

  • Panic Disorder

    • Mixture of physiological and fear-based anxiety

  • Panic Attack

    • Minutes-long episode characterized by sweating, a fast heart rate, or dizziness

  • Specific Phobias

    • Intensely and irrationally afraid of a specific object or situation

      • Agoraphobia

        • fear of avoiding crowds and wide open spaces

      • Arachnophobia

        • fear of spiders and other arachnids, such as scorpions and ticks

      • Acrophobia

        • Extreme or irrational fear of heights

      • Social Anxiety Disorder

        • fear of social situations, leading to avoidance of such

  • Ataque de Nervios

    • Sudden episodes of intense anxiety, crying, trembling, and fainting (Latin America)

  • Taijin Kyofusho

    • Fear of offending others through physical appearance or social awkwardness (Japan)

  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

    • A person is troubled by repetitive thoughts or actions

  • Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

    • A person has lingering memories, nightmares, and other symptoms for weeks after a severely threatening, uncontrollable event