Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety Disorders: Introduction

Anxiety disorders are more than ordinary anxiety as a symptom. The category of anxiety disorders include special phobias, social phobia, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, PTSD, and generalized anxiety disorder. They are very common affecting around 19 million Americans.

Symptoms, diagnosis and treatments depend on the specific type of anxiety disorder. However, many anxiety disorders tend to be overdiagnosed by physicians, when the symptoms are actually not severe enough to warrant a full diagnosis of any anxiety disorder, and the cause is simply anxiety or general stress. Anxiety disorders may also be associated with depression, drug abuse, alcoholism, or other types of anxiety disorders.

Symptoms of Anxiety Disorders

• Excessive anxiety
• Excessive fear
• more symptoms...»

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical testing related to Anxiety Disorders:

• Child Behavior: Home Testing
  • ADHD -- Home Testing
  • Concentration -- Home Testing
• Mental Health (Adults): Home Testing
  • Adult ADHD -- Home Testing
• Mental Health: Home Testing:
  • Home Emotional Stress Tests
• Brain & Neurological Disorders: Related Home Testing:
  • Drug Screening Kits
• more tests...»

Anxiety Disorders: Complications

Read more about complications of Anxiety Disorders.

Medical Textbooks Online about Anxiety Disorders

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Wrongly Diagnosed with Anxiety Disorders?

• Misdiagnosis of Anxiety Disorders
• Hidden causes of Anxiety Disorders (possibly wrongly diagnosed)

Anxiety Disorders: Self Assessment Tools

• Stress -- Self Assessment Tools
• Depression -- Self Assessment Tools
• Weight Management -- Self Assessment Tools
• Mental Health -- Self Assessment Tools
• more tools...»

Anxiety Disorders: Medical Mistakes

• Concentration -- Health Mistakes
• ADHD -- Health Mistakes
• ADHD (Adults) -- Health Mistakes
• Depression -- Health Mistakes
• Bipolar -- Health Mistakes
• Sleep Disorders -- Health Mistakes
• more mistakes...»

Anxiety Disorders: Undiagnosed Conditions

Commonly undiagnosed diseases in related medical categories:

• Brain & Neurological Disorders: Undiagnosed:
  • Adult ADHD -- Undiagnosed - Often remains undiagnosed through to adulthood.
  • ADHD -- Undiagnosed
  • Alzheimer Disease -- Undiagnosed
  • Migraine -- Undiagnosed
  • Concentration Disorders -- Undiagnosed
  • Stroke -- Undiagnosed
  • Bipolar Disorder -- Undiagnosed
  • Schizophrenia -- Undiagnosed
  • Epilepsy -- Undiagnosed
• more undiagnosed conditions...»

Misdiagnosis and Anxiety Disorders

Parental fears about toddler behavior often unfounded: There are many behaviors in infants and toddlers that may give rise to a fear that the child has some form of mental health condition. In particular, there is a loss of fear of...read more »

High rate of misdiagnosis of psychiatric disorders: The book "Preventing Misdiagnosis of Women" reports on studies that estimate that 41% to 83% of people who are treated for psychiatric disorders, actually...read more »

Rare seizure-less epilepsy misdiagnosed as various conditions: A complex partial seizure disorder, such as temporal lobe epilepsy can be misdiagnosed as various conditions. Some of the possible...read more »

Common asymptomatic heart disorder can cause anxiety-like conditions: Anxiety symptoms may be due to heart disorder - There is a reasonably common heart...read more »

Rare neurological disorder misdiagnosed as anxiety condition: Posterolateral sclerosis is an uncommon neurological disorder that can be misdiagnosed as an anxiety disorder. Symptoms such as peripheral numbness,...read more »

Rare copper disease insidious and misdiagnosed: Wilson's disease (a form of copper overload) is a rare disorder that has a slow and insidious onset that can often fail to be diagnosed. Copper builds up in the liver and in the brain,...read more »

Rare cancer hidden cause of panic symptoms: The rare cancer pheochromocytoma, an adrenal tumor, can initially have symptoms similar to panic disorder....read more »

Thyroid disorder misdiagnosed as anxiety disorder: The book "A Dose of Sanity" reports on a case where as woman was diagnosed with panic disorder, and had been taking a variety of anti-anxiety...read more »

Undiagnosed stroke leads to misdiagnosed aphasia: BBC News UK reported on a man who had been institutionalized and treated for mental illness because he suffered from sudden inability to...read more »

Dementia may be a drug interaction: A common scenario in aged care is for a patient to show mental decline to dementia. Whereas this can, of course, occur due to various medical conditions,...read more »

ADHD under-diagnosed in adults: Although the over-diagnoses of ADHD in children is a well-known controversy, the reverse side related to adults. Some adults can remain undiagnosed, and indeed the condition has usually been overlooked...read more »

Bipolar disorder misdiagosed as various conditions by primary physicians: Bipolar disorder (manic-depressive disorder) often fails to be...read more »

Eating disorders under-diagnosed in men: The typical patient with an eating disorder is female. The result is that men with eating disorders often fail to be diagnosed or...read more »

Depression undiagnosed in teenagers: Serious bouts of depression can be undiagnosed in teenagers. The "normal" moodiness of teenagers can cause severe medical...read more »

Undiagnosed anxiety disorders related to depression: Patients with depression (see symptoms of depression) may also have undiagnosed anxiety disorders (see...read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety Disorders: Research Doctors & Specialists

Research related physicians and medical specialists:

• Mental Health Specialists:
  • Psychiatry (Mental Health)
  • Addiction Psychiatry
  • Geriatric Psychiatry (Seniors Mental Health)
  • Pediatric / Adolescent Psychiatry (Child/Teen Mental Health)
  • Pediatric Developmental Behavioral Health (Child Behavior Specialist)
  • Psychosomatic Medicine
  • Forensic Psychiatry
• more specialists...»

Research all specialists including ratings, affiliations, and sanctions.

Hospitals & Clinics: Anxiety Disorders

Research quality ratings and patient safety measures for medical facilities in specialties related to Anxiety Disorders:

• Mental Health -- Hospital Quality Ratings
• more hospital ratings...»

Hospital & Clinic quality ratings » »

Choosing the Best Hospital: More general information, not necessarily in relation to Anxiety Disorders, on hospital performance and surgical care quality:

• 50 Best Hospitals Report
• Women's Health Best Hospitals
• Patient Safety
• Hospital Quality and Clinical Excellence Study (2009)

Anxiety Disorders: Rare Types

Rare types of diseases and disorders in related medical categories:

• Brain & Neurological Disorders: Rare Types:
  • Adult ADHD -- Rare Types
  • ADHD -- Rare Types
  • Alzheimer Disease -- Rare Types
  • Migraine -- Rare Types
  • Concentration Disorders -- Rare Types
  • Stroke -- Rare Types
  • Bipolar Disorder -- Rare Types
  • Schizophrenia -- Rare Types
  • Epilepsy -- Rare Types
• more rare diseases...»

Causes of Anxiety Disorders

Read more about causes of Anxiety Disorders.

More information about causes of Anxiety Disorders:

• Anxiety Disorders as a symptom
• Medical news summaries relating to Causes of Anxiety Disorders

Treatments for Anxiety Disorders

• Psychotherapy
  • Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)
  • Behavioral therapy
  • Exposure and response prevention - for OCD
• Antidepressants
• more treatments...»

See full list of 26 treatments for Anxiety Disorders

Latest Treatments for Anxiety Disorders

• CBT
• more treatments...»

Read more about the latest treatments for Anxiety Disorders

Videos for Anxiety Disorders

Patient Surveys for Anxiety Disorders

• Patient Profile Survey
  Take Survey  View Results
• Survey about the symptoms of your Anxiety Disorders
  Take Survey  View Results

Prognosis for Anxiety Disorders

More about prognosis of Anxiety Disorders

Reseach about Anxiety Disorders

Visit our research pages for current research about Anxiety Disorders treatments.

Clinical Trials for Anxiety Disorders

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Anxiety Disorders include:

• Treatment for Anxiety in Children - This study has been completed (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Fluvoxamine
• A Research Study of How Teens With and Without an Anxiety Disorder Make Decisions - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Levetiracetam for the Treatment of Alcohol Dependence and Anxiety - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - levetiracetam
• Expectation of Unpleasant Events in Anxiety Disorders - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Social Anxiety Disorder: Their Impact on the Processing of Information and Learning - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• more trials...»

See full list of 360 Clinical Trials for Anxiety Disorders

Statistics for Anxiety Disorders

• Medical statistics for Anxiety Disorders
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Anxiety Disorders
• Death and Mortality statistics for Anxiety Disorders
• Society statistics for Anxiety Disorders

Types of Anxiety Disorders

• Panic disorder
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Social phobia
• Phobias
• more types...»

See full list of 12 Types of Anxiety Disorders

Stories from Users Related to Anxiety Disorders

• Anxiety or...?
• no ideas... except anxiety?
• anxiety and high BP
• Am I having Anxiety??
• everyone thinks it's driving anxiety but..
• Hospital Wait Time & Anxiety Diagnosis
• anxiety
• Anxiety or something else??
• Vision distortion, anxiety, vertigo - causes??
• anxiety
• Just anxiety?
• Hypertension/Anxiety
• Anxiety
• Please help - Anxiety ? or something else?
• Bipolar? Anxiety Disorder? I don't know!
• anxiety and smoking
• Anxiety + Loss of Appetite???
• Anxiety?
• Is there a cure for such a thing as anxiety?
• Any good pills for mental stress & anxiety?

Related forums and medical stories:

• Anxiety Conditions (44)
  • anxiety/panic disorder
  • heart pounding all day and night
  • Hot-Flashes and sweat
  • anxiety
  • Anxiety Panic attacks.
  • More user stories

User Interactive Forums

Read about other experiences, ask a question about Anxiety Disorders, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:

• I can not get a diagnosis. Please help.
• Tell us your medical story.
• Share your misdiagnosis story.
• What is the best treatment for this?
• See all the forums.

Article Excerpts about Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety Disorders: NWHIC (Excerpt)

Everybody knows what it’s like to feel anxious -- the butterflies in your stomach before a first date, the tension you feel when your boss is angry, the way your heart pounds if you’re in danger. Anxiety rouses you to action. It gears you up to face a threatening situation. It makes you study harder for that exam, and keeps you on your toes when you’re making a speech. In general, it helps you cope.

But if you have an anxiety disorder, this normally helpful emotion can do just the opposite -- it can keep you from coping and can disrupt your daily life. Anxiety disorders aren’t just a case of "nerves." They are illnesses, often related to the biological makeup and life experiences of the individual, and they frequently run in families. There are several types of anxiety disorders, each with its own distinct features. They include generalized anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, phobias, and post-traumatic stress disorder. (Source: excerpt from Anxiety Disorders: NWHIC)

Anxiety Disorders: NIMH (Excerpt)

Anxiety disorders are serious medical illnesses that affect approximately 19 million American adults.¹ These disorders fill people's lives with overwhelming anxiety and fear. Unlike the relatively mild, brief anxiety caused by a stressful event such as a business presentation or a first date, anxiety disorders are chronic, relentless, and can grow progressively worse if not treated. (Source: excerpt from Anxiety Disorders: NIMH)

Definitions of Anxiety Disorders:

Apprehension of danger and dread accompanied by restlessness, tension, tachycardia, and dyspnea unattached to a clearly identifiable stimulus. - (Source - Diseases Database)