Anxiety is a worry about future events and fear is a reaction to current events. An anxiety disorder is said to be when the person's response is not appropriate for the situation, if the person cannot control the response, or if the anxiety interferes with normal functioning. People with anxiety disorders respond to certain objects or situations with fear and dread, as well as with physical signs of anxiety or panic, such as a rapid heartbeat and sweating.Anxiety disorders can be described as a group of mental disorders characterized by significant feelings of anxiety and fear. These feelings may cause physical symptoms, such as a fast heart rate and shakiness. There are a number of anxiety disorders: including generalized anxiety disorder, specific phobia, social anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, agoraphobia and panic disorder. The disorder differs by what results in the symptoms. People often have more than one anxiety disorder. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a mood disorder that is characterized by multiple and/or nonspecific worries that interfere with the person's life in some way.
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behavior, feelings and sense of well-being. It is a sustained mood disorder perceived by sadness, guilt, physical and mental slowing, psychomotor retardation, loss of interest, pleasure and self- destructive ideation. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, worried, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, hurt, or restless. They may lose interest in activities that once were pleasurable, experience loss of appetite or overeating, have problems concentrating, remembering details, or making decisions, and may contemplate or attempt suicide. Insomnia, excessive sleeping, fatigue, loss of energy, or aches, pains, or digestive problems that are resistant to treatment may also be present.
Bipolar disorder is a type of mood disorder. It is a psychiatric illness that causes major disruptions in life style and health. Everyone has occasional highs and lows in their moods. But people with bipolar disorder have extreme mood swings. This disease is called bipolar disorder because the mood of a person with bipolar disorder can alternate between two completely opposite poles, euphoric happiness and extreme sadness. Severe depression can be life threatening. It may be associated with thoughts of suicide, actual acts of suicide and even acts of homicide in some cases. It occurs in both men and women. People with bipolar disorder exhibiting psychotic symptoms can be misdiagnosed as having schizophrenia.
Obsessive compulsive disorder is a heterogeneous and a multi dimensional psychiatric disorder. It is characterized mainly by obsessive thoughts and/or compulsive actions. Obsessions are recurrent and intrusive thoughts, feelings and ideas or sensation. Compulsions are conscious, repetitivebehaviors or actions such as checking, counting, avoiding etc. The obsession leads to compulsive acts and if the person tries to resist this, it may lead to anxiety or similar episodes.In this condition people feel the need to check things repeatedly, perform certain routines repeatedly or have certain thoughts repeatedly. People are unable to control either the thoughts or the activities for more than a short period of time. Common activities include hand washing, checking to see if a door is locked. Some may have difficulty throwing things out. These activities occur to such a degree that the person's daily life is negatively affected. Often they take up more than an hour a day.
Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by recurrent unexpected panic attacks. Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear that may include palpitations, sweating, shaking, shortness of breath, numbness, or a feeling that something really bad is going to happen. The maximum degree of symptoms occurs within minutes. There may be ongoing worries about having further attacks and avoidance of places where attacks have occurred in the past. Panic disorder often runs in families. Risk factors include smoking, psychological stress, and a history of child abuse. Panic disorder sufferers usually have a series of intense episodes of extreme anxiety during panic attacks. These attacks typically last about ten minutes, and can be as short-lived as 1–5 minutes, but can last for twenty minutes in some. Common symptoms of an attack include
