Ultimate Guide To Cognitive Behavioural Therapy For Anxiety

We all feel anxious from time to time. Still, anxiety disorders are more than a temporary bout of worry or fear. Anxiety refers to a feeling of unease. For instance, worry or fear, which can vary from mild or severe. Anxiety is feeling worried or anxious about an impending exam or having a medical test or for a job interview.

People with anxiety may exhibit fear that is intense enough to interfere with their day-to-day life. Not to mention, they can experience stress that may be out of proportion. For example, people with anxiety worry a lot and can’t put the negative thoughts aside. Besides, they may feel constantly tense and on-edge, even if they aren’t sure what exactly they’re anxious about.

Although depression is the condition most people associate with mental health issues, anxiety is more common. In fact, in a 2020 survey, 62% of respondents reported experiencing some degree of anxiety. And 284 million people worldwide suffer from anxiety disorders, according to a 2017 study.

Types of Anxiety Disorders

There are five significant kinds of anxiety disorders. So, it might be helpful to identify which one fits you. Also, it’ll help raise anxiety awareness, and you can get help accordingly.

1. Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

2. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

3. Panic Disorder

4. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

5. Social anxiety

Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD): 

People with GAD constantly worry about everything and don’t know how to stop the worry cycle and feel it is beyond their control. Some characteristics of GAD are persistent and excessive worry about many things. Moreover, GAD causes people to feel anxious about many situations and issues rather than one specific event.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD):  

It’s a disorder in which people have recurring, unwanted thoughts, ideas or sensations. And that make them feel driven to do something repetitively, otherwise known as compulsions. For example, double-checking or even triple-checking your locks before leaving home. 

Panic Disorder: 

A panic disorder can be characterised by repeated and unexpected panic attacks.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): 

PTSD is a mental health condition triggered by a terrifying event. It can happen due to either experiencing it or witnessing it. 

Social Anxiety (Social Anxiety Disorder): 

Social anxiety disorder is sometimes referred to as a social phobia. It’s a type of anxiety disorder that causes extreme fear in social settings. People with this disorder struggle to talk to people, meet new people, and attend social gatherings. That’s because they fear that people will judge and scrutinise their actions and behaviours.

Besides these five major types of disorders, there are other anxiety disorders as well. They are below:

Health Anxiety: 

Health anxiety is an obsessive and irrational worry about having a severe medical condition. It’s also called illness anxiety. In brief, it is a constant worry about having a severe illness.

Phobias: 

It refers to an intense, irrational fear of something that poses little or no actual danger. For instance, fear of heights, crowded places, flying and so on.

What are the Most Common Symptoms of Anxiety?

Many people know what it is like to feel blue or sad or very worried about something. For some people, these feelings are big enough that they become challenging to manage by themselves especially when they fall into the vicious cycle of anxiety. Some common anxiety signs and symptoms may include the following:

Note that there are other symptoms of anxiety too. These symptoms may vary depending on their type of anxiety disorders.