What is an anxiety disorder?
To fully understand what anxiety disorders are, it is important to first distinguish between stress and anxiety. Once this is done, it becomes clear that it is perfectly normal to experience anxiety on certain occasions, such as during a major life change, the day before an exam, before a job interview or during a sports competition, for example. Anxiety is then linked to specific events and generally disappears as soon as life returns to normal. However, anxiety becomes a problem, and may be a sign of an anxiety disorder, when it is excessive and persistent. This is the case, for example, if :
- It does not stop when a worrisome situation returns to normal
- It causes an important level of distress
- It has no connection to any specific life event, in other words, it occurs without any identifiable cause
- It continually preoccupies the person
- It has a significant impact on life at work, in society or in other areas of daily life
Anxiety is not one-dimensional; everyone experiences it differently. It can be helpful to understand the different types of anxiety disorders in order to take the appropriate steps to get better. Here are the most common ones.
Generalized anxiety
People with generalized anxiety (GAD) worry excessively and uncontrollably about everyday events and activities. They often experience unpleasant physical symptoms, including fatigue and muscle pain, and may also have difficulty sleeping and concentrating.
Panic disorder (with or without agoraphobia)
People living with a panic disorders experience unexpected and repeated panic attacks. A panic attack is a sudden surge of intense fear or discomfort, which peaks and subsides within a few minutes. A panic attack includes at least four of the following physical or psychological symptoms:
- Rapid breathing or racing heart
- Chest pain or discomfort
- Sweating
- Shaking or trembling
- Shortness of breath or feeling of suffocation
- Chills or hot flashes
- Nausea or stomachache
- Dizziness or vertigo
- Feeling of unreality or detachment from self (derealization)
- Sensations of numbness or tingling
- Fear of losing control
- Fear of dying
Panic attacks are quite common and having one doesn’t mean you have a panic disorder. They only become a disorder if you regularly worry about having another one, or if you’re afraid that something serious will happen as a result of a panic attack (such as going mad, losing control, or dying), or that it will induce major changes in behaviour to avoid another attack, such as avoiding exercise or certain places.
Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is the fear of being outside the home, in a public place. It sometimes accompanies panic disorder in that the person with agoraphobia fears public places, often because they are afraid of not being able to get out easily or of having a panic attack there.
Specific phobia
Phobia are intense, persistent fears about specific places, situations, or things. Phobias can prevent you from going places you’d like to go or doing things you like to do. There are a number of different phobias that can be categorized:
- Situational: concerns a specific situation, such as a phobia of airplanes, bridges, elevators, driving a car, etc.
- Blood-injection-accident: includes any invasive medical procedure. This type of phobia is frequently associated with discomfort, which in some cases can be followed by fainting.
- Linked to natural environment: phobia of thunderstorms, heights, storms, darkness, water, etc.
- Animal-related: phobia of insects, dogs, snakes, rodents, spiders, etc.
People with a specific phobia have a persistent fear or anxiety of more than 6 months linked to the situation or object in question. They also have the following characteristics:
- The situation or proximity of the object always triggers immediate fear or anxiety.
- They actively avoid the situation or object.
- Fear or anxiety out of proportion to actual danger (considering socio-cultural norms).
- Fear, anxiety and/or avoidance cause significant distress that interferes with social or professional functioning.
Social anxiety
Social anxiety is a fear associated with certain social activities or performance situations where the person may feel observed, embarrassed, humiliated, rejected, or concerned about the judgment of others. This fear becomes a disorder when it intensifies to the point of preventing the person from leading a normal life. The person may then no longer want to attend classes, avoid public places (e.g., shopping malls, gyms), stop talking in class, and so on.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) involves unwanted and disturbing thoughts, images or urges (obsessions) that take hold in the person’s mind and cause great anxiety or discomfort, to the point of wanting to reduce this feeling by adopting repetitive behaviours or mental acts (compulsions).
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a reactive disorder that can occur following a traumatic event. An event is said to be “traumatic” when a person is confronted with death, the fear of dying, or when their physical integrity or that of another may have been threatened. The event must also provoke intense fear, helplessness, or horror.
A person who develops post-traumatic stress disorder:
- Continually relives the traumatic scene in thought or nightmare (reliving symptoms).
- Seeks to avoid, voluntarily or involuntarily, anything that might remotely remind them of the trauma (symptoms of avoidance and emotional numbing).
- Is frequently alert (symptoms of hypervigilance) despite the absence of imminent danger.
Reminder
No single factor can cause a mental health disorder, and the manifestation of certain symptoms does not automatically lead to a diagnosis. Only doctors, psychologists, and certain professionals authorised by their professional associations are able to make a diagnosis based on a complex professional analysis that consider multiple factors (genetic, biological, environmental, and experiential).
Testimonials
- The story of Marc-André living with panic disorder
- The story of Élise living with social anxiety
- The story of Laurie living with generalised anxiety disorder
- The story of Emily living with obsessive-compulsive disorder
Here is also a series of four reports that will allow you to explore several facets of anxiety through personal accounts.
For more information and support
- Quebec Government webpage on anxiety disorders
- Anxiety Canada website
Tools
- App that helps you calm down during a panic attack: Rootd
- Self-management support tool: Aller mieux à ma façon
- Program : BounceBack from Canadian Mental Health Association
Warning
Depending on their intensity and duration, some signs and symptoms cannot be addressed solely through the use of self-management tools. In the event of significant psychological distress, it is strongly recommended that you seek professional help quickly, especially if you or those around you observe the following signs:
- Excessive anger or sudden mood swings
- Nervousness or agitation
- Inconsolable sadness or lack of emotion
- A loss of interest in activities you enjoy
- Difficulty sleeping or a tendency to sleep much more than usual
- Significant weight loss or gain in a short period of time
- No longer taking your medication
- Lack of hygiene
- A tendency to withdraw and isolate
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