Help with anxiety

People with panic disorder are afraid of losing control of themselves. The symptoms that may occur with panic are heart palpitations, sweating, trembling, nausea or dizziness. They lead to thoughts such as thinking about fainting, dying or going crazy. Panic attacks often come unexpectedly and anticipation, fear of the fear, develops. Some people, fearing panic attacks, start avoiding situations in which they fear the attacks might occur. Familiar situations are lines at the checkout, crowded rooms, the escalator, a seat in the middle of the theater. All situations in which one fears not being able to leave if panic occurs. When one starts avoiding these situations, we speak of agoraphobia (literally: agoraphobia).

A person with a social phobia experiences anxiety in a social situation, in which one is especially afraid of being judged critically or negatively by others. This includes, for example, the fear of exhibiting certain behaviors (blushing, stuttering, trembling), of blundering or of not being liked. As a result, people with social phobia tend to flee or avoid such situations. People with fear of failure usually prefer not to focus attention on themselves because of a lack of self-confidence. Fear of failure or extreme shyness can often be traced to social phobia. The avoidance behavior can go so far that it interferes with daily functioning. Then we speak of a social phobia.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder, or compulsive disorder, is the urge to constantly repeat certain actions and thoughts. Obsessions (compulsions) often involve negative thoughts. In content, compulsive thoughts often involve contamination with disease or dirt, making mistakes with disastrous consequences, one's own aggressive behavior, unwanted sexual thoughts and blasphemy. These thoughts, impulses or representations are ignored, suppressed or neutralized with other thoughts or actions (compulsions). Well-known examples of compulsions are control compulsions, cleaning (fear of blemish) and ordering or maintaining symmetry.

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAS) is accompanied by physical symptoms of tension such as restlessness and a hunted, nervous feeling. Central to this is the constant worrying about a variety of daily issues. For example, someone with generalized anxiety disorder worries about finances when there are no money problems at all. In fact, anything can be cause for worry: illness, accident, death, work, shopping, vacation, and you name it. That's why GAS is also called a worry disorder.

A hypochondriac has a very strong and great fear of getting or having a disease. This fear is not real, but the fear of illness is difficult to eliminate. Despite reassurance from a doctor and extensive medical examinations, a person with hypochondria remains anxious and fearful. Hypochondria, like other anxiety disorders, can lead to avoidance behavior, or conversely, to excessive checking of the body and constantly seeking reassurance from others.

A single phobia is a focused fear of certain things, animals or situations. The fear may be accompanied by intense physical symptoms and feelings of panic. The person in question usually knows full well that their fear is not real, but the fear wins out over common sense. Common phobias include fear of heights, fear of flying, claustrophobia, fear of the dentist, spiders and mice. A single phobia is almost always accompanied by avoidance behavior, or the situation is endured with great fear.