Phobias

This type of anxiety disorder afflicts over 12 percent of all Americans during their lifetimes. People who suffer from this illness feel terror, dread or panic when confronted with the feared object, situation or activity. Many have such an overwhelming desire to avoid the source of fear that it interferes with their jobs, family life and social relationships. They may lose their jobs because they can't go to business lunches for fear of eating in front of others. They may quit a job in a highrise office to work on the ground floor because they fear elevators. They may become so fearful of leaving their homes that they live like hermits. The following are common phobias:

Social phobia is the fear of situations in which a person can be watched by others, such as public speaking, or in which the behaviors which arise from the person's feelings might prove embarrassing, such as eating in public. It begins in late childhood or early adolescence.

Simple phobia is the fear of specific objects or situations that cause terror . The condition can begin at any age. Examples are fear of snakes, fear of flying, or fear of closed spaces. Some of these phobias are often normal in early childhood.

Agoraphobia, the fear of being alone or in a public place that has no escape hatch (such as a public bus), is the most disabling because victims can become housebound. The illness can begin any time from late childhood through early adulthood and, left untreated, worsens with time.

Panic Disorder

Panic disorders afflict 1.5 million Americans during any six-month period. Victims suddenly suffer intense, overwhelming terror for no apparent reason. The fear is accompanied by at least four of the following symptoms:

• sweating
• heart palpitations
• hot or cold flashes
• trembling
• feelings of unreality
• choking or smothering sensations
• shortness of breath
• chest discomfort
• faintness
• unsteadiness
• tingling
• fear of losing control, dying or going crazy

Often, people suffering a panic attack for the first time rush to the hospital, convinced they are having a heart attack. Sufferers can't predict when the attacks will occur. Certain situations, however, such as driving a car, can become associated with them if it was in those situations where the first attack occurred. Untreated, panic sufferers can despair and become suicidal.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders

Obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD) afflict 2.4 million Americans. People with OCD suffer with obsessions, which are repeated, intrusive, unwanted thoughts that cause distress and extreme anxiety. They may also suffer with compulsions, which psychiatrists define as rituals--such as hand washing--that the person with the disorder goes through in an attempt toreduce his or her anxiety. People who suffer from obsessive disorders do not automatically have compulsive behaviors. However, most people with compulsions also have obsessions.

Victims of obsessions are plagued with involuntary, persistent thoughts or impulses that are distasteful to them. Examples are thoughts of violence or of becoming infected by shaking hands with others. These thoughts can be fleeting and momentary or they can be lasting ruminations.

The most common obsessions focus on a fear of hurting others or violating socially acceptable behavior standards such as swearing or making sexual advances. They also can focus on religious or philosophical issues, which the patient never resolves.

People with compulsions go through senseless, repeated and involuntary ritualistic behaviors which they believe will prevent or produce a future event. However, the rituals themselves have nothing to do with that event. For example, a person may constantly wash his or her hands or touch a particular object. Often, people with this disorder also suffer from a complementary obsession such as a worry over infection.

Examples of compulsive rituals include:

• Cleaning , which affects women more often than men. If victims come in contact with any dirt, they may spend hours washing and cleaning even to the point that their hands bleed.
• Repeating a behavior , such as repeatedly saying a loved one's name several times whenever that person comes up in conversation.
• Checking , which tends to affect men more than women. For example, victims check and recheck that doors are locked or electric switches, gas ovens and water taps are turned off. Other patients will retrace a route they have driven to check that they did not hit a pedestrian or cause an accident without knowing it.

Obsessive-compulsive disorders often begin during the teens or early adulthood. Generally they are chronic and cause moderate to severe disability in their victims.

continue: PTSD plus Causes and Treatment of Anxiety Disorders