Classifications of anxiety
Tags: Mental Disorder, Classification, Mental Health, Anxiety, Awareness

I think we all know that anxiety is widespread. However, all we know is there’s something called anxiety, and some people have anxiety attacks.

Anxiety is basically when you have stress that builds up, and it can make you tear apart. It is your nervousness and stress combining to give a dangerous combination. For example, it is your first day of college or university; this can give you an anxiety attack.

Nonetheless, you do have ways to not only prevent anxiety but also help yourself cope with it. A great way to prevent anxiety is by spreading awareness and raising information about it which is what I am doing today.

Some of the classifications:

What is GAD?

Generalised Anxiety Disorder: Generalized Anxiety Disorder or as may or may not know it by, GAD, is an anxiety disorder that is characterised by chronic anxiety with a little sprinkle of exaggerated tension and worrying that takes place.

Symptoms of GAD(Generalized Anxiety Disorder):

Some symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder could be fatigue(tiredness or lack of energy), some insomnia that comes your way, unusual sweating, trembling and much much more(this isn’t even half of it).

Prevention of GAD(Generalized Anxiety Disorder):

You can do many things to prevent this disorder. Some being — Sleeping properly, having a balanced diet and exercise, basically keeping yourself healthy.

What is OCD?

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: You might not have known or done any guesswork, but Obsessive Compulsive Disorder also comes under an anxiety disorder. It is a series of unwanted thoughts that keep hitting your head.

Symptoms of OCD:

For example, say you don’t like cleaning, but even one small thing put in the wrong way can drive you up the world. It could also cause you to be very repetitive such as washing your hands again and again.

Treatment of OCD:

There are two main ways in which OCD or Obsessive Compulsive Disorders can be treated: 1. Psychotherapy: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT is one of the ways. It is a treatment that helps you to gradually expose yourself to a feared object or obsession that you may have and the other one is, of course, medication.

What is Panic Disorder?

Panic Disorder: Again, panic disorder is also very repetitive. However, when talking about panic disorder, it is only repetitive as the name suggests, when it comes to fear.

Symptoms of Panic Disorders:

You have continuous episodes of fearing of something. You may suddenly feel fear out of nowhere. Some of the risk factors may involve it being genetical. So if some of your family members have it, then you might get it too.

Treatment of Panic Disorders:

Panic disorders could be treated by going to a counsellor and taking the necessary medications. It is commonly known for teenagers to develop this with all the stress they have nowadays. To participate in something new or cause a change to the world can be very stressful. Hence, causing us to have fear.

An important fact about Panic Disorders:

It seems that women have more panic disorders than men ever did. However, it is important to raise awareness of both genders. In the world, it can affect about 2.5% of people.

What is PTSD?

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD): This disorder can develop after a very traumatic disorder. For example, if a dog really bites you badly when you were small, you are likely to develop hatred for the dog now. For some, it may be even more severe such as sexual assault or if someone has been threatened for their life.

Symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder:

It may interrupt your ability to go about your daily tasks. This may also change your mood and have a big impact on your life. Some flashbacks of the traumatic event may come back to you.

Prevention of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder:

There is no way to really prevent this from happening to expect from spreading awareness and helping people if they are going through it. You can only try to prepare yourself thoroughly for the best and worst things that could take place in your life, but in reality, it hits different when it actually happens.

What is Social Phobia?

Social Phobia: Social phobias are when you take excessive amounts of self-consciousness in everyday life situations. You might get scared of socially interacting with different people.

Some examples could even be you going to work. Yes, that could be a great example as you have to interact with people quite often. Sometimes, it can be scary for a lot of people.

Helping yourself with Social Phobia:

To help yourself or help people that have this, take it day by day. Try talking to new people more so individually rather than in groups. Try to show off your talents. Talk about topics that make you happy. If nothing works, you can still be happy on your own. However, try to occupy yourself enough that you aren’t becoming lonely.

Has lockdown made things worse?

Of course, it has made things… worse! It never made anything better regarding people’s anxiety. You sit and home and hatch eggs which makes it even more difficult for people not to feel lonely, and they do not know what to do.

Gender discrimination that occurs:

In fact, boys are said to have a higher rate of mental disorders from 10% to 16%. Yet, people must be shouting from here and there saying guys do not have any emotions and don’t know how to express it.

Men or boys do not know how to express emotions because we as people have made it like that for them. We need to stop going against them and listen to them as well as to girls.

During the process of understanding your loved one’s mental disorders, end the gender discrimination that goes on in your head. It’s not worth it.

How can we help one another to cope with this?

Don’t make them feel different just because they have a mental disorder. Continue supporting them and make sure they don’t lose themselves in this process.

Having a mental disorder isn’t a joke. It is mentally exhausting to go through it, so create awareness. The more you create awareness, the more people will be able to help one another.

Fewer stigmas will be created. Mental health is important and should be treated as such. Anxiety is just one of many disorders that is very common, yet we don’t know the classifications and all.

Not just anxiety, there are many more unheard disorders that we barely have any information about. The most uncommon ones are Stendhal syndrome, Apotemnophilia and many more.

How can awareness help people?

Did you know that 19% of the adult population, 46% of teenagers and 13% of children every single year struggle with their mental health? Neither did I. Jean Holthaus is the manager of the Telehealth Clinic who provides outpatient therapy services since 1995.

So what does this mean? How is she so important? She is significant because of the awareness she is creating. The help she is providing to people. This kind of awareness only creates actions that help our world. These actions are very much needed.