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Palla Sridhar

What are the Causes for Different Types of Anxiety Disorders?

Anxiety Disorder is a medical condition where it creates problems to your physical health being or emotional state or professional life. It is also one form of mental illness. The exact causes of anxiety disorder, like many psychological problems, is “unknown” to a large extent.

But the common reasons include chronic pain, IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), anti-anxiety medicine, acute tumors, abuse or trauma at an young age, family history, prolonged history of stress, palpitations, dizziness, shortness of breath, phobia, changes in brain chemicals, environmental factors, typical personality types and genetic relatives etc.

With the recent research by the medical fraternity, it is found that Anxiety Disorder is caused by a multiple of factors, which includes alteration in the brain chemistry and environmental stress.

Meaning of Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety is a loose term that is used for many psychological conditions. For a common layman, it is a feeling of worry, uneasiness, concern, apprehension, fear, disquiet, tension, stress, suspension and many more. The opposite of Anxiety is calmness or serenity.

(Source : http://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/guide/mental-health-anxiety-disorders).

The Psychiatric definition of Anxiety is something like this – a nervous disorder which is indicated by excessive uneasiness and apprehension, typically with uncontrollable behavior or panic attacks. This can be temporary.

In life, many situations arise, where we have this feeling of worry or tension. But once we are out of this situation, the peace retains its state. Anxiety is not related to one particular profession or life-style. An athlete, sales-person, professor, doctor, actor and many others can have this feeling.

What Causes Anxiety Disorders to Develop?

  1. Heart disease
  2. Diabetes
  3. Thyroid problems, such as hyperthyroidism
  4. Respiratory disorders, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma
  5. Drug abuse or withdrawal
  6. Withdrawal from alcohol, anti-anxiety medications (benzodiazepines) or other medications
  7. Chronic pain or irritable bowel syndrome
  8. Rare tumors that produce certain “fight-or-flight” hormones

(Source: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anxiety/symptoms-causes/dxc-20168124)

These list of triggers causes anxiety disorders in many cases :

  1. Trauma.   Children who endured abuse or trauma or witnessed traumatic events are at higher risk of developing an anxiety disorder at some point in life. Adults who experience a traumatic event also can develop anxiety disorders.
  2. Stress due to an illness. Having a health condition or serious illness can cause significant worry about issues such as your treatment and your future.
  3. Stress buildup. A big event or a buildup of smaller stressful life situations may trigger excessive anxiety — for example, a death in the family, work stress or ongoing worry about finances.
  4. Personality. People with certain personality types are more prone to anxiety disorders than others are.
  5. Other mental health disorders. People with other mental health disorders, such as depression, often also have an anxiety disorder.
  6. Having blood relatives with an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders can run in families.
  7. Drugs or alcohol. Drug or alcohol use or abuse or withdrawal can cause or worsen anxiety.

(Sources:

  1. https://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/anxiety/what-causes-anxiety
  2. https://www.adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/ask-and-learn/faqs/what-causes-anxiety-disorders   )

Anxiety Disorder can have a hereditary cause. But it’s not certain, that, if your blood-relation or relative has it, you may get it. As said before, it can be due to a complicated set of factors like genetics, personality changes, work stress, environmental pollution etc.

Characteristics of Anxiety Disorders

Sometimes, people experience anxiety during non-stressful times and have no control of how their body, mind and emotions react to this kind of act. Patients suffering from such cases, generally in the initial stages, visit a physician. Therer are several characteristics in a human which can be seen, to diagnose the person as suffering from anxiety disorders. These are –

  • Too much Worry
  • Alternative Hot and Cold feeling
  • Insomnia (Unable to sleep at regular times)
  • Feeling of vomiting
  • Tension for longer periods
  • Usual sadness, crying and tearfulness
  • Common boredom; lose of interest
  • Poor communication
  • Isolation from the society
  • Irritability, Anger, Hostility for no reason
  • Misunderstanding of relationships
  • Lack of concentration
  • Change in eating and sleeping patterns
  • Depression in children and adolescents
  • Abuse of alcohol
  • Playing children may like to spend time alone
  • Anxiety Disorder can be in many forms.

These include

 (Image Source : google.com)

A typical example of anxiety patient features can be like this –

I’m eighteen and getting ready to go to college in just a few weeks, and I’m going through what seems to be an immense mental breakdown that has progressed rapidly over the past few months. I feel like I can’t think clearly, and I feel like I’ve lost any sense of intelligence I used to have.

I’ve lost the ability to talk or have normal conversations with anyone, even my closest friends and family, simply because I feel like my brain isn’t coming up with what to say. Instead I just feel blank and brain dead. I feel like I have no knowledge inside my head to grasp at.

My parents are well aware of this problem by now seeing as the only thing I can manage to express is that this problem exists.

I was put on prozac today but it will take weeks to actually have an effect, if any. I’m really not sure if prozac will actually be able to help me with this situation. I’m seeing a counselor, and I’ve been told what I’m going through is just a huge spell of anxiety and that it will pass when the anxiety does, but I don’t feel like that’s true.

I just need to know if anyone has ever experienced something similar to this or have any ideas on how I could possibly get over this and live my life like a normal person. Will the prozac be able to help? Thanks for reading this, I know it was just a lot of rambling, I’m just so hopeless and lost right now.

(Source : https://www.mentalhealthforum.net/forum/thread45583.html)

1. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

This type of anxiety disorder has characteristics like endless, exorbitant and impractical worry about things in everyday life. It is also commonly known as chronic anxiety neurosis. A person suffering from GAD may worry irresistibly about their career, money, health several times a day or for months, for a long period.

Causes

  1. Hereditary history of anxiety in the family
  2. Severe stressful conditions in job, daily life, personal health, family pressures etc
  3. Too much use of caffeine, tobacco which can elevate the existing anxiety conditions.
  4. Expose to abuse in childhood
  5. According to Dr. Andrew Gilbert, (http://www.hallowellnyc.com/) a psychiatrist and doctor at the Hallowell Center in New York, the causes for GAD can be due to a combination of stress and environmental factors. These conditions will add-up to the risk in individual whose genes are more prone to this disorder.
  6. Since GAD can mainly occur in adolescence stage, interesting medical studies show that individuals born with particular attitude and/or with particular nerve connections in the brain may bore more vulnerable to develop GAD.

(Source:  http://www.livescience.com/45781-generalized-anxiety-disorder.html)

2. Panic Disorder and Panic attacks

This type of anxiety disorder is different from normal fear and worry. This is a serious condition that occurs without reason or warning.  The possible causes are –

  1. Life transitions such as graduating from college, entering professional place, getting married, having a child etc.
  2. Mitral valve prolapse – a lesser cardiac problem in one’s heart like valves not closing properly.
  3. Hyperthyroidism – a type of thyroid diseases where there is extra secretion of thyroxine like T3, T4 and TSH.
  4. Hypoglycemia – a diabetic condition, where the blood sugar goes well below the normal levels.
  5. Usage of Stimulant like amphetamines, cocaine, caffeine
  6. Stopping certain medical drugs suddenly, without consulting doctor

3. Agoraphobia

A phobia is a severe, too much fear of a situation, activity or event that makes a person avoid it. This type of disorder can be classified as severe anxiety about being outside or being in a situation from which you cannot escape or feeling lot of embarrassment about the existing situation.

The common causes include

  1. Depression
  2. Other related phobias like claustrophobia and social phobia
  3. Having another type of anxiety disorder like GAD, OCD etc
  4. Previous history of physical or sexual abuse in young age
  5. Usage of narcotics like substances
  6. Family history of anxiety disorder
  7. Repeated exposure to anxiety-provoking events
  8. Internal emotional conflicts

(Source: http://www.medicinenet.com/agoraphobia/page2.htm)

4. Social Anxiety Disorder

This type of disorder creates long term shyness in the people, whether being men or women. Generally teenage people around 13 years are more prone to this disorder. About 15 million US adults have this SAD.

Causes

  1. Negative experiences
  2. Bullying
  3. Family conflicts
  4. Sexual abuse
  5. Serotonin imbalance
  6. Overprotective environments

5. Selective Mutism

This type of complex anxiety disorder can generally be seen in children. It causes young teenagers or children to have problems in speaking or communicating effectively in certain social settings. These can be such as school, stage or functions. Children with this type of problem generally speak and communicate where they are comfortable, secure and relaxed.

  1. Existing anxiety disorder
  2. Low self-esteem issues
  3. Inner self/self-esteem problems
  4. speech, language or hearing problems.
  5. Experience of Trauma conditions in the past

6. Separation Anxiety

SAD is a psychological condition in which a patient experiences excessive anxiety regarding separation from beloved ones or home or loved ones for a long time and has a strong emotional attachment with the above people. (e.g parents, guardians, siblings etc)

  1. Change in environment
  2. Stress
  3. Over-protective parent
  4. Parental separation
  5. Family members with mental disorders

(Sources:  http://www.webmd.com/children/guide/separation-anxiety#1

http://www.helpguide.org/articles/anxiety/separation-anxiety-in-children.htm)

7. Obsessive-Compulsive disorder (OCD)

The general signs in patients with OCD are like fear of being contaminated by germs or dirt, fear of losing control and harming oneself, too much sexual or violent thoughts, excessive concentration on religious or moral values, fear of losing things you might need etc.

What are the biological causes of OCD ?

  1. Neurobiological cause
  2. Imbalance in neurotransmitters, including serotonin, dopamine, or glutamine
  3. OCD in the family
  4. Group A streptococcal infections, which causes problems of basal ganglia
  5. Bacterial causes like Lyme diseases, H1N1 etc in children

(Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/178508.php)

8. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

This type of disorder is a mental health condition that’s initiated by a terrifying event – like an accident, earthquake, emotional experience, sexual affair etc.

  1. Mental and Personality attitude issues
  2. Mixture of life experiences
  3. Way harmones and Chemical regulate your brain
  4. Inherited and mental health perils
  5. Trauma at different stages in your life
  6. Temperament
  7. Violent personal assaults
  8. Serious road accidents
  9. Military combat
  10. Being held hostage
  11. Terrorist attacks,
  12. Diagnosis of a life-threatening disease
  13. Difficult surgery or operation
  14. Death of a close member in the family

(Source: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Post-traumatic-stress-disorder/Pages/Causes.aspx)
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