Anxiety Disorders
| Definition: |
Disorders in which anxiety (persistent feelings of apprehension, tension, or uneasiness) is the predominant disturbance. |
| Also Called: |
Neuroses, Anxiety,Anxiety States, Neurotic |
Anxiety Disorders Categories.
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Agoraphobia - Obsessive, persistent, intense fear of open places. |
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Neurocirculatory Asthenia - A clinical syndrome characterized by palpitation, SHORTNESS OF BREATH, labored breathing, subjective complaints of effort and discomfort, all following slight EXERTION. Other symptoms may be DIZZINESS, tremulousness, SWEATING, and INSOMNIA. Neurocirculatory asthenia is most typically seen as a form of anxiety disorder. |
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Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - An anxiety disorder characterized by recurrent, persistent obsessions or compulsions. Obsessions are the intrusive ideas, thoughts, or images that are experienced as senseless or repugnant. Compulsions are repetitive and seemingly purposeful behavior which the individual generally recognizes as senseless and from which the individual does not derive pleasure although it may provide a release from tension. |
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Panic Disorder - A type of anxiety disorder characterized by unexpected panic attacks that last minutes or, rarely, hours. Panic attacks begin with intense apprehension, fear or terror and, often, a feeling of impending doom. Symptoms experienced during a panic attack include dyspnea or sensations of being smothered; dizziness, loss of balance or faintness; choking sensations; palpitations or accelerated heart rate; shakiness; sweating; nausea or other form of abdominal distress; depersonalization or derealization; paresthesias; hot flashes or chills; chest discomfort or pain; fear of dying and fear of not being in control of oneself or going crazy. Agoraphobia may also develop. Similar to other anxiety disorders, it may be inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. |
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Phobic Disorders - Anxiety disorders in which the essential feature is persistent and irrational fear of a specific object, activity, or situation that the individual feels compelled to avoid. The individual recognizes the fear as excessive or unreasonable. |
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Stress Disorders, Traumatic - Anxiety disorders manifested by the development of characteristic symptoms following a psychologically traumatic event that is outside the normal range of usual human experience. Symptoms include re-experiencing the traumatic event, increased arousal, and numbing of responsiveness to or reduced involvement with the external world. Traumatic stress disorders can be further classified by the time of onset and the duration of these symptoms. |
Anxiety Disorders Definitions and Terms
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