More Than One Kind of Anxiety Disorder: Part Two
This is part two. Remember, recognizing that you face a problem is just the first step in treating an anxiety disorder. However, as you speak to your therapist you will realize that he or she is trying to identify the specific disorder that may be afflicting you so that your condition may be treated effectively. So now you may wonder if there is more than one kind of anxiety disorder and if so, what are the different kinds or types?
Health experts have identified six major types of anxiety disorders:
1. Generalized Anxiety Disorder
2. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
3. Panic Disorder
4. Phobia
5. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
6. Social Anxiety Disorder.
Each one of these has their own distinct symptoms, as we will get to know in the following sections.
In this article we will talk about number 2.
2. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
If you have constant negative thoughts or repeat certain behavior, both of which seem beyond your control, you may be suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). You may be troubled almost constantly by obsessions such as a fear that you have forgotten to turn off the gas or that if you do not place a thing in a particular way, someone close to you may get harmed. You may also have some uncontrollable compulsions like washing your hands repeatedly.
It is quite normal to be concerned sometimes, about whether your door or car is locked properly or whether the gas and taps have been turned off. In fact, on more than one occasion, you may feel the need to go back and make sure that everything is fine. However, when you are suffering from an obsessive-compulsive disorder, you will find that such thoughts and behavior become more and more of a norm. The obsessive thoughts as well as compulsive behaviors go to such an extreme that they start affecting your daily activities. Most importantly, no matter how much you assure yourself or how hard you try, you are not able to shake them off.
The most obvious characteristics of the obsessive-compulsive disorder are the unwanted thoughts that keep haunting one and the repeated behaviors that one feels compelled in doing, to the point of making it a ritual – and no matter how hard you try, you are not able to stop or control these thoughts or behaviors. You may be fully aware that there is no rational reason why you should have these fears or feel compelled to carry out certain acts repeatedly and even then; it is difficult for you to resist them or to stop them. In fact, people with an obsessive-compulsive disorder may take things to an extreme, like checking the lock on the door twenty times, washing the hands repeatedly til they are scrubbed red and raw, driving around the same place for hours to make sure that the thud that was heard was not someone you had run over.
There are typically two aspects to an obsessive-compulsive disorder. The Obsessions are completely involuntary and uncontrollable fears or thoughts that keep coming into your mind. You know they do not make any sense and however hard you may try, you keep thinking these thoughts again and again. They start intruding into whatever else you may be thinking about at that moment and can prove to be extremely distracting and disturbing. Compulsions on the other hand are actually behaviors that you feel forced to indulge in for fear of what may happen if you do not do them. In fact you become so used to doing these acts that they become like rituals. If you are afraid of germs or contamination, you may feel like washing your hands over and over again. You may develop very elaborate cleaning rituals. You may even experience a sense of relief at the end of it but it is very short-lived. You are again plagued by anxiety and the thought of having to go through the rituals again causes you even further anxiety. As you can imagine, this can take up a significant amount of your time and starts to seriously affect your normal, daily life.
People suffering with obsessive-compulsive disorders can be further categorized into the following -
· Those who are afraid of germs, dirt, any sort of contamination in general. These persons are prone to cleaning objects or washing their hands repeatedly.
· Some feel the need to repeatedly check on things to make sure everything is fine like checking locks, the gas, anything they feel, if neglected may lead to some harm or danger.
· Others do something in only one particular way or try to do things perfectly, and are afraid that if they do not it that way or if things are not perfect, something terrible will happen to them or to those close to them.
· Some people with OCD tend to be obsessed with symmetry and order. They cannot bear to see any irregularity in arrangements or numbers and may prefer some colors to others.
· Many others keep hoarding things, however old or useless, for fear that if they throw them out, something terrible will happen to them.
It is important to remember that just because you occasionally have some obsessive thoughts or go through a period of compulsive behavior, you do not necessarily have obsessive-compulsive disorder. It is entirely possible that you are going through a particularly stressful period in your life and these thoughts or actions are caused by it. Once the stressful period is over, you will find yourself in a much calmer frame of mind. However, for people with obsessive-compulsive behavior, these thoughts are all pervading and can cause a great deal of distress, waste a lot of time and cause great interference in their social lives, jobs or even daily lives.
Remember if you find yourself or a love one suffering from this symptoms and would like relief, a great non-pill anti-anxiety program could be your best option. For a recommendation, click here.
Visit us again for part 3
