Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health illnesses. It is estimated that one in ten Canadians suffers from an anxiety disorder according to the Canadian Mental Health Association.

Anxiety disorders cause mild to severe impairment in daily activities, work and social functioning and academic functioning. They are likely responsible for at least as much suffering, disability, and health care costs as clinical depression. They often co-exist with other mental health problems such depression, eating disorders and substance use disorders.

Brief Psychoeducation about Anxiety

Anxiety disorders affect an individual’s emotions, behaviours or actions, patterns of thinking and beliefs, and also physically. 

Anxiety is a very normal and natural emotion that we all experience. We all feel anxious from time to time and often feel more anxious when we face an important event (e.g., presentation; upcoming deadline; job interview). Anxiety is also essential for our survival and it is the “Flight or Fight” response, the in-built alarm system that we have, that protects us when we perceive a threat or a danger. We either fight or flee from danger to protect ourselves.

Anxiety can vary in severity from mild uneasiness to panic and it can vary in frequency from occasional distress to constant unease. It is when anxiety becomes frequent, intense, severe and prolonged and causes constant unease and distress that it likely compromises our quality of life, leads to increased psychological distress, and difficulty coping with our daily activities and functioning.

Types of Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders include the following main categories: panic disorder with or without agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder, Social Phobia, Specific Phobia.

Each anxiety disorder is distinct, however, all share the same hallmark features: 

•  Anxiety when faced with particular objects/situations and tendency to overestimate threat/danger and tendency to avoid circumstances triggering anxiety
• Excessive fear
• Apprehensive/ tense feelings
• Difficulty coping with daily activities or responsibilities and feeling distress in regards to the activities
• Difficulty tolerating uncertainty

Panic Disorder (with or without Agoraphobia) occurs when recurrent unexpected panic attacks are present whereby there is sudden intense fear or anxiety or sudden experience of numerous physical symptoms such as heart pounding, chest pain or tightness, sweating, dizziness, shortness of breath, fear of losing control, fear of dying. If situations or places or activities (e.g., being in crowded places, standing in a line) are avoided or cause significant distress due to fear of having a panic attack then panic disorder with agoraphobia is likely present.

Social Phobia is a marked fear of one or more social situations or performance situations due to fear of being judged, being embarrassed or humiliated. Some examples of situations include pubic speaking, initiating or maintaining conversations, meeting new people, eating or writing in front of others. Common physical symptoms are for instance blushing, heart pounding, and sweating.

Specific Phobia occurs when there is excessive fear of a specific object or situation. There are various subtypes of specific phobia such as animal type and insects (e.g., snakes; dogs); natural environment type (e.g., heights; storms), blood injection (e.g., fear of blood), situational type (e.g., elevators; enclosed places; flying), and other type (e.g., chocking; vomiting). The phobic situation is avoided or endured with significant distress and anxiety and causes interference in activities or functioning.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is characterized by recurrent obsessions and/or compulsions that are time consuming or cause significant distress and impairment. Obsessions are recurrent and persistent distressing intrusive thoughts, images or impulses that cause significant anxiety and distress. Some of the most common obsessions include doubting obsessions (e.g., whether the door is locked), contamination obsessions (e.g., fear of contracting germs from door handles), sexual or aggressive impulses, and some of the most common compulsions include checking, washing, and counting. Compulsions are repetitive behaviours (e.g., washing, checking, cleaning, re-doing, counting, ordering, arranging) or mental acts that people engage in to reduce the distress or to prevent something bad from happening. The common theme of obsessions is a fear of harm to self or others.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) develops when a person experiences, witnesses or is confronted with an extreme traumatic event that has threatened their safety or that of others. A traumatic event makes a person feel intensely fearful, helpless or horrified. Common symptoms include intrusive thoughts or memories of the trauma, nightmares, flashbacks, avoiding thoughts or feelings about the trauma, avoiding reminders of the trauma, hypervigilance, anger, mood irritability, difficulty sleeping. Acute stress disorder is considered when the full range of symptoms are present for at least two days and no more than four weeks and if the symptoms persist for longer than four weeks then PTSD is considered. It is however important to note that it is normal to experience some symptoms following a traumatic event.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is characterized by excessive worry and difficulty in controlling worry causing significant distress and/or interference in functioning. Worries include a range of situations such as family, work, money, relationships, school, and health. Common physical symptoms include feeling restless or on edge, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, feeling irritable, muscle tension and difficulty falling or staying asleep.

Because of the stigma attached to mental illness, most people who suffer from an anxiety disorder tend to suffer in silence, do not seek professional help or delay treatment. Anxiety also tends to exacerbate if left untreated. It is important to note that evidence-based psychological treatments such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) have been found to be very effective and first line of treatment for Anxiety Disorders.

The Panic Center

www.paniccenter.net

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

www.camh.net

NIMH Anxiety Disorders Education Program

www.nimh.nih.gov/anxiety

Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT)

www.canmat.org

Anxiety Disorders Association of Canada

http://www.anxietycanada.ca/

The Canadian Mental Health Association

www.cmha.ca