The 7 Types of Anxiety Explained in Plain English

  Very similar to panic disorder, Agoraphobia associates your fear to going into situations or places to which you’ve previously suffered a panic attack.

Agoraphobia is the fear of your environment. This could mean public places, where they feel that finding a fast escape might not be possible. From those who suffer from panic disorder, according to the ADAA, 1 in 3 people will develop agoraphobia as a secondary impact from panic attacks.

Similar to a panic attack, sufferers might experience the following symptoms:

• Rapid heartbeat
• Rapid breathing
• Hot and sweaty reactions
• Feeling sick

Those who suffer from agoraphobia tend to stick to their smaller environments in an effort to defend themselves from the next panic attack. This is a growing disorder, stemming from the problems of other disorders.

5. Phobias

Anxiety types come in many shapes and sizes, where you might think a phobia is natural, for many, a phobia can have a dramatic impact on their confidence.

Phobias can range from being afraid of heights to being terrified of old elevators (and much more).

Phobias are normally developed from an irrational fear of something where people feel powerless and not in control. The intensity of your fear matters, being able to gauge how worried and uncomfortable you are in these situations will help you to understand how each phobia affects you.

Having a phobia can disrupt your routine, reduce your productivity and lower your confidence in certain situations. You can place a strain on other things when experiencing a phobia.

Phobias can be treated in many different ways, therapy and visits to your doctors can help you understand your phobia and provide actionable advice on how to overcome this in everyday activities.

6. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

According to the ADAA, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder affects around 7.7 million Americans, aged 18 and onwards, with countless cases around the world.

PTSD occurs when you are exposed to traumatic events and women are twice as likely to suffer from PTSD than men.

PTSD commonly is formed after experiencing traumatic events, those who suffer from PTSD should tend to have flashbacks, nightmares, or intrusive memories. An incredible 67% of people exposed to mass violence have suffered from some sort of PTSD, a higher rate than those exposed to natural disasters and events.

Documented here by the Emory University is some of the symptoms of Post-traumatic stress disorder discussing the three classes of trauma.

7. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

You may have already heard of OCD or Obsessive-Compulsive disorder in the past from films and TV shows about cleaning and organization.

The obsessive-compulsive disorder doesn’t have any preference on its victims. OCD consists of obsessive thoughts and feelings that continue to be in control of your habits. This can manifest in the shape of excessive hand-washing, a fear of situations and act out against loved ones.

Young people around the world have been a victim of OCD, 5.5 million young people suffer from OCD worldwide. This mental anxiety disorder has crippled even the most famous of people, with Megan Fox, Justin Timberlake, Leonardo Dicaprio becoming those with past issues with OCD. New therapies and conferences have helped to progress OCD therapy, a new movie called “OCD Kids Movie” helps to document the story of young people with advice, tips and a plan to help solve their everyday issues.

1 in 40 U.S adults could be a sufferer of OCD and 1 in 100 children will face OCD, these figures are shocking to many, but provide us with an overview to the scale of the problem. Cognitive Behavioral therapy is one of the named solutions to OCD.

Coping with your type of anxiety

Anxiety can be combatted in various ways. Understanding your anxiety type is one of the first steps to help the medical diagnosis.

Anxiety can be different for each of us, the fight or flight response mode tends to trigger a flood of stress hormones like cortisol, which is normally used to increase heart rate, speed, and reflexes but plays a reactional role in

The brain plays a larger role in the process of anxiety. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, the brain is a key performer in the production of fear and anxiety, in summary, the amygdala part of the brain stores the emotional memories whilst the hippocampus provides a way for the brain to encode threatening events into memories.
This brain helps to trigger new events from its existing bank of situational memories. Recovery methods and medicines that activate neurotransmitters have started become a popular topic in the medical community in an effort to improve the brain’s reaction to anxiety and fear

Taking control can start with a simple visit to the doctor’s or hospital to get medical treatment for your anxiety. Others tend to try and solve anxiety at home, with recommendations from experts, reading blogs and other such media.

There are lots of media sources that will help, but medically it is beneficial to get a diagnosis and plan of action to support your road to recovery from anxiety. Supporting materials like apps, resources, magazines, books, remedies, nutrition, techniques, practices and more can all provide a depth of insight into your anxiety issues.

These steps will help to take control:

• Understand your anxiety type
• Consult a doctor/GP about your anxiety
• Gather medical advice and begin plan of action
• Bring together all the recommended resources
• Begin to tackle your anxiety day by day

Don’t worry you are not alone. Hundreds of thousands of people right now might be suffering from anxiety, just like you or a family member. Even celebrities and famous individuals have been prone to anxiety.

From the ones who have spoken out about anxiety, all have experienced similar reactions and damaging experiences, from Beyonce to Emma Stone.

Men like Chris Evans have spoken out about anxiety. Yes, even Captain America gets anxiety. One of Chris’s quotes around anxiety helps to demist this potential damage that anxiety plays on a daily basis:

“I think in most of our lives the root of suffering is listening to that brain noise and actually identifying with it as if it’s who you are. That’s just the noise your brain makes. And more often than not, it probably doesn’t have much to say that’s going to help you. I’ve felt my best are the moments that I’ve been able to pull that plug and say, ‘Chris … shhh … shhh.’ And it’s not quitting, it’s not giving up, it’s not washing your hands of the thought, it’s rising above it. All the time I’ve spent suffering as a result of brain noise, hours of my life wasted. So that’s what I’d say: ‘Shhh.’”

Even the most successful have suffered. Anxiety does not discriminate.

Providing yourself time to recover and the resources to alleviate your anxiety will help you achieve your desired outcome of reducing stress related situations and anxiety for future interactions, situations, and challenges.