What Are the Different Types of Anxiety?

Anxiety is a common problem for many American adults. In fact, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, anxiety disorders are the most common type of mental health condition in the United States, affecting about 20% of all adults. Anxiety is also common in children and adolescents.

However, not all anxiety is the same. The butterflies in your stomach before giving a presentation at work are very different from the sense of dread and dread you might feel while watching the nightly news. The source of your anxiety affects how you experience it. It also affects how you can go about dealing with it.

Understanding the different types of anxiety and which ones you’re experiencing can offer you insight into why you feel the way you do.

Anticipatory anxiety

Anticipatory anxiety refers to feelings of fear that you experience before an event. Although it is normal to feel stressed about future events, anticipatory anxiety involves excessive worry about the future.

A certain amount of stress can be adaptive and help you perform at your best. When this anxiety becomes severe, it can be debilitating. This type of anxiety can cause you to focus excessively on negative outcomes. It can be all-consuming and long-lasting.

Instead of feeling a bit nervous before an event, you may find yourself dealing with feelings of anxiety and dread for weeks or months beforehand.

You may experience this type of anxiety in response to a variety of events, including:

• Social events
• Romantic dates
• Work meetings
• Presentations or public speaking engagements
• Job interviews
• Athletic events
• A musical performance

Although it can involve anxiety about upcoming events, it can also occur in response to everyday events. For example, you may be worried about going to work or catching a train.

Anticipatory anxiety is not a separate mental health condition. Instead, it is often a symptom of an anxiety disorder, including social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, or generalized anxiety disorder.

One way to deal with anticipatory anxiety is to try to reconnect with your feelings. Instead of calling your emotions panic or anxiety, work on reframing them as excitement and anticipation. For example, instead of saying, “I’m nervous,” you’d say, “I’m so excited.”

This technique, known as anxiety conditioning, is an effective strategy that helps people change their interpretation of physical emotional symptoms.

Anxiety in general

Anxiety in general is a chronic and exaggerated worry that occurs without a specific source. This type of anxiety is sometimes called independent anxiety.

People who experience this type of anxiety spend a lot of time worrying about various future events. Such anxiety can focus on health, social interactions, work, relationships, and everyday events.

If a person experiences excessive anxiety that interferes with essential areas of life and lasts most days for more than six months, they may be diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

Some common symptoms of anxiety disorders include:

• Always feels on edge
• Always thinking about the worst possible outcome in every situation
• Unable to stop worrying
• Difficulty coping with uncertainty
• Difficulty concentrating
• Worries that are out of proportion to the actual risk

Anxiety in general is twice as common in women as in men. Women experience anxiety disorders at higher rates, so experts recommend that women and girls over the age of 13 should be screened during routine health exams.

If you experience generalized anxiety, you should talk to a primary health care provider or mental health professional. They can determine if your symptoms meet the diagnostic criteria for generalized anxiety disorder. They can also recommend effective treatments, including psychotherapy and medication.

Fear and panic

Panic is a type of anxiety that involves sudden and intense feelings of fear. When a person experiences a panic attack, they may experience heart palpitations, chest pain, trembling, sweating, a sense of impending doom, a sense of being out of control, or feeling as if they are dying.

Panic attacks are a symptom of an anxiety disorder called panic disorder. People with this condition worry that they will have a panic attack in the future, so they often avoid places or situations where they think they might experience feelings of panic.

Treatment for panic disorder includes medication and psychotherapy. Health care providers may prescribe antidepressants or benzodiazepines to treat panic symptoms. Antidepressants take longer to work and may reduce feelings of anxiety over time. On the other hand, benzodiazepines are fast-acting and can help reduce severe anxiety symptoms.

Performance problems

Performance anxiety involves anxiety about a person’s ability to perform a particular task. Sometimes known as stage fright, this type of anxiety occurs when a person is expected to perform a task, such as giving a speech or competing in an athletic event.

Common symptoms of performance anxiety include tremors, stomach upsets, nausea, shortness of breath, and an increased number of errors while performing. Escape behavior, such as finding excuses to avoid a task or performance, may also occur.

Types of performance problems may include:

Sometimes this type of anxiety involves mild panic. At a certain point, feeling a little pressure can help improve performance.

However, when this anxiety becomes excessive, it can negatively affect performance. You may forget important details, get distracted, or be completely unable to perform. In some cases, stage fright can lead to panic attacks.

Anxiety related to phobias

Sometimes anxiety can stem from a phobia, which is an intense and exaggerated fear of a particular object or situation. Common examples of specific phobias include extreme fear in response to blood, flying, heights, needles, spiders, or snakes.

When people have a phobia, they may experience a lot of anxiety and worry about possibly being confronted by the source of their fear.

They will also take steps to avoid what they fear, often in ways that limit their ability to function normally. For example, a person may leave their home entirely because they are too anxious to come into contact with something they fear.

Exposure therapy can be very effective for this type of anxiety. In exposure therapy, a person is gradually exposed to the source of their fear in a safe, controlled manner.

Separation anxiety

Separation anxiety involves excessive anxiety in response to separation from a caregiver, loved one, or other attachment figure. It is often associated with early childhood, but it can also occur at other points throughout the life span.

This type of anxiety is a normal and healthy part of child development that usually occurs between eight and 14 months of age. This is considered a normal part of development until the age of two. Symptoms of this type of anxiety include excessive crying, clinging and refusal to interact with others after the parent or caregiver leaves.

When this anxiety occurs after the age of two, it can be diagnosed as separation anxiety disorder. It can also affect adults. Symptoms of this condition include excessive distress, anxiety, and reluctance when separated from an attachment figure.

Situational anxiety

Situational anxiety is a type of anxiety that is triggered by certain situations. Many people experience this type of anxiety from time to time. For example, you may feel anxious on the first day at a new job or before an important presentation at work.

When experiencing something that triggers feelings of situational anxiety, you may experience a range of symptoms. For example, you may have trouble sleeping or have an upset stomach. Muscle tension, diarrhea, nausea, sweating and restlessness are also common.

For example, if you know you’ll be nervous during an upcoming job interview, practicing the interview and being prepared to answer questions can help you feel less nervous.

Social anxiety

If the thought of making small talk with a room full of strangers makes you feel tense and anxious, you may be suffering from social anxiety. Social anxiety is generally defined as the fear of social situations. However, it can manifest in many different ways.

For some people, social anxiety is primarily triggered by unfamiliar social situations. This can include meeting new people in situations such as job interviews or work-related events. Sometimes this anxiety only occurs during stressful moments, such as giving a speech in front of a large group of people.

However, in other cases, people find themselves experiencing feelings of fear and anxiety in almost every social encounter. Everyday activities like answering the phone or eating in a public place can become difficult or scary.

Social anxiety can cause a range of physical and cognitive symptoms. For example, during a stressful social situation, you may experience physical symptoms such as embarrassment, shortness of breath, dry mouth, and a shaky voice.

As a result of this fear, people often begin to avoid situations that lead to feelings of anxiety. The problem is that this strategy leads to loneliness and isolation. It also tends to worsen social anxiety. If a person’s social anxiety is persistent and interferes with their daily functioning, they may be diagnosed with social anxiety disorder.

So what works to combat this type of anxiety? Although each person’s needs are different, practicing social skills is often very effective. By becoming more skilled at communicating with other people, people become more confident in social situations.