The Types of Anxiety and How They Each Impact Mental Health

How many people do you know? 20? 50? 

How many of them are living with anxiety?

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, more than 40% of adults in Arizona experienced symptoms of anxiety or depression in 2021. That’s 2 in 5 people!

While the understanding regarding mental health is making leaps and bounds, including the lowering of stigma around the topic, there’s still much that’s misunderstood. People have heard of anxiety before, but do they realize how varied it is and how much it can change from person to person?

Our team at Pinnacle Peak Recovery is committed to helping our community access the healing care they need and deserve. Today, we’ll discuss the different types of anxiety and the support options available for them.

What Classifies Something as an Anxiety Disorder?

We all experience anxiety and its related emotions, such as stress, fear, and worry. There comes a time, however, when the feelings and symptoms of anxiety are more than just an emotion – they’re a mental health condition.

Anxiety, however, can be a symptom of a variety of mental health conditions and even substance use disorders. So what makes something into an anxiety disorder versus anxiety just being a symptom?

To be classified as having an anxiety disorder, the person must primarily experience feelings of worry, fear, and dread. These symptoms get worse over time and impact day-to-day function. Depending on the specific type of anxiety disorder, individuals will also have different severity of physical and emotional symptoms.

Someone with anxiety can have other conditions, this is known as having co-occurring disorders. However, depending on how their symptoms present, how frequently, and how severely – the anxiety may be attributed to other conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorder or bipolar disorder.

Understanding When Worry and Fear Become Anxiety

Many people who regularly live with feelings like fear and worry wonder what the threshold is for their emotions to be a sign of something more. 

One thing we’d like to point out off the bat is that the vast majority of people who experience emotions like stress or anxiety know the source and understand why they’re feeling them. 

To be sure, here are a few questions that you can ask yourself regarding your anxiety.

• Does your anxiety cause you to avoid doing things you usually enjoy?
• Do you get headaches or have stomach issues after feeling anxious?
• Do you preemptively avoid things in the hopes of not feeling anxious?
• Are you on edge regularly?
• Have your energy levels and sleep patterns been affected by your experiences?
• Do your emotions feel overwhelming?
• Have your loved ones expressed concern about your emotions and behaviors?
• Do others not feel similar levels of stress and anxiety about the things you do?
• Have you ever been unable to pinpoint what’s causing your anxiety?

If you answered yes to any of the above, it’s time to talk with a medical professional about your anxiety.

What Are the Most Common Types of Anxiety Disorder?

There are four primary mental health conditions that fall under the classification of anxiety disorder. Those include generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and phobias. People living with these conditions will experience intense anxieties that impact their ability to go about their daily lives. What changes is how they experience these anxieties as well as their source.

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder – GAD is one of the most common types of anxiety disorder. The source of anxiety can be anything and everything, or it can be nothing. Their worry and stress often consume their day and lead to physical side effects, interrupting their day-to-day activities. 
• Social Anxiety Disorder – This type of anxiety disorder revolves around anxieties based on social situations. The most common source of anxiety is fear of judgment and humiliation, feeling like others are constantly observing them. This can be mistaken for shyness externally, but internally the feelings of anxiety are intense. 
• Panic Disorder – Those living with a panic disorder experience anxiety, but what primarily sets this condition apart are panic attacks. These are intense moments of terror that often occur without warning. People living with panic disorder regularly go to great lengths to avoid these moments, even to the detriment of their health and wants. 
• Phobias – These are anxiety disorders that center around a specific subject. The exact source varies from person to person. The responses to the subject are intense and overwhelming. Some common types of phobias include animal-based, environmental, situational, and bodily. 

When Does a Specific Type of Anxiety Become a Phobia?

While people can be born with a phobia, it’s also possible for anxiety to develop into a specific phobia. 

One of the most common reasons for someone to develop a phobia is due to trauma, usually directly associated with their phobia. This is especially true if they already had fear surrounding the subject – the traumatic event would validate their fear, solidifying it into a phobia.

Genetics, though not fully understood, have been studied extensively, and evidence currently supports them playing a role in the development of anxiety. Additionally, the environment someone grows up in can also play a large part in the development of a phobia. If someone who helped raise you also had a phobia or intense anxiety, you’re more likely to pick up that mentality, too.

How Are Anxiety Disorders Diagnosed?

Because anxiety disorders come along with many physical symptoms, during a diagnosis process, a doctor is likely to first perform a physical evaluation. This could include an examination, a look into your and your family’s medical history, and other tests. They do this to rule out other ailments, such as hyperthyroidism or heart disease. 

From there, a mental health professional will work with you to determine what type of anxiety disorder you have. They’ll do this utilizing the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), which sets guidelines for diagnosing different mental health conditions. 

If you’re diagnosed with an anxiety disorder of any kind, your medical team will work with you to discuss the next steps. Depending on your needs and circumstances, this could include looking into psychiatric and medication options. They may also discuss different facilities that could offer other levels of care so you can find the support you need. 

The Treatment Options Available for Anxiety in Arizona

If you’re looking to find what kind of anxiety treatment options are available both near you and to address your needs, you’re in the right place. Knowing what choices you have ensures that you make the best, well-informed decision for your recovery.

A quality mental health treatment program will offer different levels of care. This includes inpatient treatment options and varying levels and intensities of outpatient care. An alumni community is also a good sign of a caring program. This means people found support and acceptance to the point where they kept coming back, even after their time in treatment ended.

On top of that, it’s important to find a program that offers different approaches to healing that are backed by evidence. Our minds are unique, and so are our circumstances. A one-size-fits-all approach rarely truly works for everyone who goes through the program. With a wider range of choices, you work with the medical staff to find what combination works for you.

You deserve quality healing and care, and it’s available for you right here at Pinnacle Peak Recovery. With our compassionate care driven by our master’s level physicians, we work hands-on with you to craft your healing path. We offer a full continuum of care and ongoing support, too, so you get access to help when you need it, how you need it. Why wait? Give us a call today at 866-377-4761 to get started.

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