How to Recognize the Many Different Forms of Anxiety

The Doctor Weighs In
7 min readOct 13, 2019

By: Wallace B. Mendelson, M.D

Anxiety is not only common but also multifaceted in its appearance. Different anxiety disorders, such as specific phobias or social anxiety, have unique features.

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Anxiety disorders are very common. Approximately one in five adults has experienced one in the past year. Further, these disorders come in many different forms. It is important to consider these differences because they influence the types of treatment available.

We are each individual, so the way anxiety is manifested is unique to that person. In order to understand it, though, doctors group the symptoms together in a manner that makes it possible to be studied.

General Anxiety Disorder

The features that many people have in common have come to be known as Generalized Anxiety Disorder, or GAD. The general qualities of GAD, as expressed in a widely used psychiatric manual (the ‘DSM V’), include:

  • Excessive anxiety or worry on a majority of days for at least six months.
  • A person finds this difficult to control.
  • The presence of at least three of the following symptoms (one, in children):
  • Restlessness
  • Fatigue
  • Muscle tension
  • Irritability
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Sleep difficulty or other symptoms lead to significant distress or decreased functioning at home or work
  • The anxiety is not related to medicine the person may be taking, a medical condition, or some other disorder (for instance, thinking about past trauma in post-traumatic stress disorder).

GAD and depression

GAD can occur alone, but also often appears in combination with depression. A person diagnosed with GAD often goes on to develop major depression within one year. When the two occur together, the impact on a person’s life and health is often much greater.

Some scientists point to commonalities between the two conditions, including some similarities in genetics and overlapping biological features. They are both often treated with the…

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