Over 40 million people in the United States suffer from anxiety. Anxiety disorders are one the leading mental illnesses in the US, but only about 37% of people seek out treatment.
Types of Anxiety
There are six major types of anxiety disorders that affect the population.
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Panic Disorder
- Phobias
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Social Anxiety Disorder
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Generalized Anxiety Disorder affects about 6.8 million people. WebMD characterizes GAD as excessive, exaggerated anxiety and worry about everyday life events with no obvious reasons for worry.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder affects about 2.2 million people. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) defines OCD as a chronic and long-lasting disorder in which a person has uncontrollable and recurring thoughts and behaviors that he/she feels the need to repeat over and over.
Panic Disorder
Panic disorder affects about 6 million people. Panic disorder is when an individual has sudden and repeated attacks of fear that can last up to several minutes.
Phobias
Phobias affect about 19 million people. Specific Phobia is a lasting and unreasonable fear caused by the presence or thought of a specific type object or situation that usually poses little or no actual danger.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder affects about 7.7 million people. PTSD is often triggered when an individual experiences or witnesses a horrific event. The events that most cause PTSD are: combat, childhood physical abuse, sexual abuse, violence, being threatened with a weapon, and accidents.
Social Anxiety Disorder
Affects about 15 million people. Social Anxiety Disorder, also called social phobia, is intense anxiety or fear of being judged, negatively evaluated, or rejected in a social or performance situation.
Factors For Anxiety
While there are many types of anxiety each with different degrees of intensity, there are three factors that remain the same throughout. Those factors are: environmental factors, brain chemistry, and genetics.
Environmental factors: stress from home life, school, work, relationships, and finances.
Brain Chemistry: Stressful, traumatic experiences and genetic factors can change an individuals brain structure and it’s function causing it to react strongly to certain triggers that previously wouldn’t have caused anxiety.
Genetics: Those who have family members that suffer from anxiety disorders are more likely to also have an anxiety disorder.
Fun Facts
Many of our beloved celebrities also suffer from anxiety disorders.
- Actor Johnny Depp, actresses Emma Stone and Scarlett Johansson all suffer from panic disorder.
- Singers and songwriters Lady Gaga and Selena Gomez both suffer from depression and anxiety.
- Soccer legend David Beckham and actress Jessica Alba both suffer from OCD.
- Singer and actress Barbara Streisand avoided singing on stage for nearly 30 years because of severe stage fright.
