- There are three main types of anxiety disorders.
(1) Generalized Distorted Anxiety (2) Distorted Fear
(1) Generalized Distorted Anxiety:
- Generalized distorted anxiety is known as GAD.
- This is known as free-floating anxiety.
- The person is unaware of the reasons for the emergence of this anxiety.
- The prevalence of this disorder is higher in the US.
- That is 4.01%.
- Which is found in approximately 6.8 million young people.
- India also has a higher incidence of this disorder which is more prevalent in women than men.
- Its features in DSM-V are as follows.
- Worrying for more than six consecutive months regarding any subject or event.
- The person has no control over what to worry about.
- They present any three of the following symptoms.
- Symptoms include fatigue, difficulty concentrating, physical discomfort, hypersensitivity; muscle aches, and sleep disturbances.
- Most people experience physical symptoms such as sweating, nausea, diarrhea, body tremors, difficulty breathing, increased heart rate, frequent colds, and fainting.
- As well as mental symptoms, lack of concentration, experience of unrest in the mind, lack of control over thoughts, hesitation in speech, fear of death, etc. are seen.
- This person cannot fulfill his personal, social, business responsibilities properly due to uncontrolled anxiety.
(2) Distorted Fear:
- Fear is an impulse.
- His realization is universal.
- Everyone is afraid of someone
- Fear of death, fear of natural disasters, fear of failure are the main ones.
- It is common to feel fear in a frightening situation.
- But to feel fear in a situation that does not produce fear is a perverted fear.
- According to DSM-V there are three types of distorted fears.
(1) Special distorted fear (2) Social fear (3) Open space fear
(1) Specific distorted fears:
- A person who feels irrational or overly fearful of any stimulus or situation is known as a specific fear.
- The symptom of this disorder is seen in childhood.
- In the U.S., the disorder is found in 8.7%, or 19 million people.
- Features:
- Fear of a particular thing, situation or person
- Feeling more irrational fear than real
- Increased physical distress when experiencing fear.
- Symptoms of a traumatic event include painful trauma such as crying, numbness, trembling, etc., trying to avoid the frightening situation further.
- Having difficulty in making decisions or in interpersonal relationships.
- Experiencing specific fears for more than six months is a symptom.
- Types:
(a) Animal species: Fear of animals like spiders, lizards, dogs.
(b) Types of natural environment: including animals, high altitude, darkness, hurricanes (danger of tsunami, flood, etc.).
(c) Blood, injection-injury related type: including blood, blood test, related work, injection of weapons like watching an operational scene on TV etc.
(d) Types of situations: including sitting in a vehicle, use of elevator, use of automatic stairs etc.
(e) Other types: Fear of suffocation or vomiting, fear of incurable disease Fear of bursting balloons in children.
(2) Social fears:
- Social fear is called the distortion of social anxiety.
- After 1960, social fears differed from other perversion fears. Social fears were more common in women than men.
- This disorder is more common in adolescence and adulthood.
- About 40% of individuals with this disorder have anxiety disorders.
- People with this disorder experience fear when interacting in the presence of another person.
- At this time some physical symptoms such as sweating, difficulty breathing, difficulty, trembling, increased heart rate, vomiting or nausea are seen.
- This person is seen distressed by the presence of other people.
- So ignore the social situation.
- E.g. When speaking in public or participating in an event, use the public toilet or at a public meal event.
(3) Fear of open space:
- Usually a person suffering from fear of open space avoids going to public place.
- This person is afraid of not being able to get along with other people when a dangerous situation arises or will find it difficult to move to a safe place.
- Such a person avoids going to the streets, social gatherings, shopping centers, theaters, playgrounds, etc.
- Fear of standing in line, using public transport or crossing bridges.
- According to DSM-V, this danger is more prevalent in the following 5 situations.
(1) Use of public transport, (2) access to open space. (3) Closed spaces (4) standing in line or going in a crowd (5) going out of the house alone etc.
(4) Inevitable thought-pressure - Inevitable action.
- Compulsive thought pressure and compelling action pressure are known as OCD.
- According to DSM-V, inevitable thought pressure means repeating unrealistic, irrelevant meaningless thoughts.
- In which sexuality, religious suspicions, terrible diseases, thoughts of getting infected, killing a very close person, injuring oneself or others, family members are constantly thinking about safety, economic matters.
- The person knows that it is inappropriate or irrational to do so, yet repeating such activities is called inevitable action pressure.
- Frequent washing of hands and feet, frequent checking of lights, fans, taps, lock, check statistics, frequent counting, counting of money, frequent cleaning, frequent touching of body parts, scratching, looking in the glass, repeating one action after another. Etc.
- The person knows that they cannot stop themselves even though it is inappropriate or irrational to do so.
- Sometimes the inevitable idea that action pressure occurs simultaneously.
- About 2.5 percent of the population is affected by the disorder.
- This disorder is found to be similar to that of men and women.
- These disorders are more common in people who are emotionally separated from their divorced family, unemployed, and have feelings of guilt.