Anxiety Disorders

It is a little known fact that 18% of American adults suffer from anxiety disorders. Almost everyone can say that they have been stressed at least once in their lives, but being stressed is completely different than having an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders can be defined as chemical imbalances and lack of serotonin in the brain. As this is the first post in the anxiety disorder portion of this blog, I will not go into great detail about each type of anxiety disorder, but I will give a brief definition of each disorder.
Before I do that, however, I would like to give a little personal background and explain how I am connected to this topic. My name is Mackenzie, and I have had extreme anxiety issues my whole life. These issues started worsening when I was about 10 years old. I called my anxiety "disastraphobia" because in any situation I was in I thought of every disaster that could possibly happen, however unrealistic they may have been. I found this anxiety to be taking over my life, and I tried to ignore it for a long time. Because anxiety disorders are so serious, it was a moot point to try and ignore the issue, and my anxiety kept getting worse. Around age 12 I started talking to my mom about my anxiety seriously, and at 13 I expressed my desire to see a therapist. Seeing a therapist did not happen right away like I had hoped that it would. While waiting for my mom to make the calls and find the right psychiatrist, my anxiety continued to get worse. I had had problems sleeping my entire life, but they had gotten worse, and I was, and still am, an insomniac. I think this is because my anxiety seems more intense at night. Recently, at age 14, I began to see a psychiatrist. I was diagnosed during my first session with panic disorder and agoraphobia. Lately we have been discussing types of treatment, from psychotherapy to medication. I am extremely grateful for this, because now I can finally get all of this under control.
Well, back to the types of anxiety disorders:
Specific phobia: an intense and irrational fear of a specific thing that poses little or no real danger (affects 8.3% of Americans)
Obsessive-compulsive disorder: causes repeated, disturbing thoughts, called obsessions, and causes one to repeat the same ritual, compulsions, over and over again in order to stop these thoughts (affects 2.4% of Americans)
Post-traumatic stress disorder: caused when one experiences a traumatic event and causes one to constantly relive that event (affects 3.6% of Americans)
Panic disorder: causes panic attacks which are caused by constant feelings of terror that occur for no reason (affects 1.6% of Americans)
Social phobia: causes one to become extremely anxious and self-conscious in any social situation (affects 2.0% of Americans)
Generalized anxiety disorder: causes one to be filled with tension and worry, though nothing has happened to provoke it (affects 3.4% of Americans)
Agoraphobia: the fear of places in which help is unavailable or escape is difficult; also causes panic attacks (affects 4.9% of Americans)
Works Cited:
“Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.” Medline Plus. 24 Feb. 2011. 24 Feb. 2011. <http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/posttraumaticstressdisorder.html>.
“Panic Disorder.” Medline Plus. 12 Dec. 2010. 24 Feb. 2011. <http://www.nlh.nih.gov/medlineplus/panicdidorder.html>.
“Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.” Medline Plus. 13 Jan. 2011. 24 Feb. 2011. <http://www.nlh.nih.dov/medlineplus/obsessivecompulsivedisorder.html>.
“Mental Disorders Defined (sidebar).” Facts on File News Services. 4 Feb. 2000. 24 Feb. 2011. <http://www.2facts.com/article/ib500210>.
“Common Mental Disorders.” Facts on File News Services. 4 Feb. 2000. 24 Feb. 2011. <http://www.2facts.com/article/ib500220>.
“When Fear Overwhelms: Panic Disorder.” Medline Plus. 22 Sept. 2010. 24 Feb. 2011. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/when-fear-overwhelms-panic-disorder/index.shtml
“Anxiety Disorders.” Medline Plus. 2 Nov. 2010. 24 Feb. 2011. <http://www/nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/anxiety-disorders/complete-index.shtml>