Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety Disorders: Most people experience feelings of anxiety before an important event such as a big exam, business presentation, or first date. Anxiety disorders, however, are illnesses that cause people to feel frightened, distressed, and uneasy for no apparent reason. Left untreated, these disorders can dramatically reduce productivity and significantly diminish an individual’s quality of life.  Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental illnesses in America; over 21% of adults (42.5 million) are affected by these debilitating illnesses each year. 

Generalized Anxiety Disorder; Chronic, exaggerated worry about everyday routine life events and activities, lasting at least six months; almost always anticipating the worst even though there is little reason to expect it. Accompanied by physical symptoms, such as fatigue, trembling, muscle tension, headache, or nausea.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder; Repeated, intrusive, and unwanted thoughts or rituals that seem impossible to control.

Panic Disorder; Characterized by panic attacks, sudden feelings of terror that strike repeatedly and without warning. Physical symptoms include chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, abdominal discomfort, feelings of unreality, and fear of dying.

Phobia; Extreme, disabling, and irrational fear of something that really poses little or no actual danger; the fear leads to avoidance of objects or situations and can cause people to limit their lives.

Social Anxiety Disorder; Fear of social situations in which the person is exposed to unfamiliar people or to possible scrutiny by others. The individual fears that he or she will act in a way (or show anxiety symptoms) that will be embarrassing and humiliating. Often times this leads to avoidance of social situations and/or severe distress when participation in social situations cannot be avoided.

Treatments can be extremely effective and often combine medication and psychotherapy. If you are concerned that you or your loved one is struggling with any of the aforementioned issues we would be happy to provide you with an assessment.