Caring For A Person Experiencing An Anxiety Disorder

What is an anxiety disorder? Anxiety disorders are a group of conditions marked by extreme or pathological anxiety or fear. In Australia anxiety disorders are the most common of the psychiatric disorders, with one in four people experiencing an anxiety disorder at some time in their life. Anxiety disorders have the potential to interfere with a persons work, family and social life. They tend to be persistent and can be disabling. Anxiety is a normal response to a threatening situation and can motivate us in a positive way, such as in sport or study. However, anxiety becomes a problem when it interferes with normal functions, is unrelated to an actual threat, causes physical symptoms and becomes intolerable to the person. Anxiety disorders often occur together with depression, other medical conditions and substance abuse. There are many different types of anxiety disorders which all have different symptoms. Characteristics of these disorders include: u Generalised anxiety disorder: feelings of constant apprehension and a general tendency to be worried about many areas of life (for example, health, work, and finances). u Specific phobias: an intense fear of a specific object or situation that leads to avoidance of the fear-inducing trigger, interfering with normal living. u Social phobia: the intense fear of being scrutinised, evaluated negatively or being the centre of attention and consequent avoidance of situations where this may occur. u Obsessive compulsive disorder: repeated obsessions (thoughts) and compulsions (actions) that are time consuming and which seriously interfere with daily living. Typical compulsions involve rituals such as hand washing or checking behaviours.