- 24/7 Admissions | Call Now:
Clinically reviewed by Victoria Passarelli, LMHC, Clinical Director
If your worry never seems to shut off, or your body reacts to situations that other people seem to handle easily, you may have wondered whether what you’re feeling has a name. For many people, it does. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health conditions in the United States, and an estimated 31.1% of adults will experience one at some point in their lives, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
Understanding which type of anxiety you may be dealing with is often the first step toward feeling like yourself again.
Don’t let anxiety limit your life any longer. Our professional behavioral health specialists can devise an individualized treatment plan to help you thrive.
Everyone feels anxious sometimes. Nerves before a job interview or worry during a family crisis are normal responses to real stress, and they usually ease once the situation passes.
An anxiety disorder is different. The fear or worry is persistent, more intense than the situation calls for, and it starts to interfere with work, relationships, sleep, or daily routines. It also tends to stick around even when life calms down. Many people describe it as their body staying on alert long after the danger is gone.
The DSM-5-TR, the diagnostic manual clinicians use, groups these conditions together because they share that core pattern of excessive fear, anxiety, and avoidance. What sets each type apart is what triggers the anxiety and how it shows up. Knowing which type you may be dealing with is often the first step toward feeling like yourself again, and toward finding the right anxiety treatment in Boca Raton.
The DSM-5-TR lists 11 anxiety disorders:
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were once grouped with anxiety disorders but are now classified separately. We explain why further down.
GAD involves persistent, excessive worry about many areas of life, such as health, work, money, or family, on most days for six months or longer. The worry is hard to control, and it often jumps from one topic to the next. People with GAD often describe feeling braced for something to go wrong, even when nothing specific is happening.
GAD is also physical. Muscle tension, fatigue, headaches, restlessness, poor sleep, and trouble concentrating are common. Many people see a doctor for these symptoms long before anyone connects them to anxiety. Learn more about generalized anxiety disorder and how it’s treated.
Panic disorder involves repeated, unexpected panic attacks, along with ongoing fear of having another one.
A panic attack is a sudden wave of intense fear that peaks within minutes. It can bring a racing or pounding heart, chest tightness, shortness of breath, dizziness, sweating, trembling, and a sense of losing control or even dying. Panic attacks feel dangerous, but they are not harmful on their own. Still, new or unexplained chest pain should always be checked by a doctor. If you’re unsure what you’re experiencing, it helps to understand the difference between anxiety and panic attacks.
Over time, the fear of the next attack can become as disruptive as the attacks themselves. People may start avoiding places where an attack happened before, like a grocery store, a highway, or a crowded event. Little by little, the world can get smaller.
Social anxiety disorder is more than shyness. It’s an intense, lasting fear of being judged, embarrassed, or rejected in social or performance situations.
It can show up as dreading conversations, avoiding meetings or gatherings, staying quiet to avoid attention, or replaying interactions for days afterward. Physical symptoms like blushing, sweating, a shaky voice, or trembling hands often make the fear worse. Unlike introversion, which is a preference for quieter settings, social anxiety is driven by fear and causes real distress.
Social anxiety can lead people to turn down promotions, skip events, avoid speaking up, or hold back from close relationships. These choices protect against discomfort in the moment, but over time they can limit careers, friendships, and confidence.
A specific phobia is an intense fear of a particular object or situation, such as heights, flying, needles, blood, or certain animals. The fear is out of proportion to the actual danger, and avoidance is the main way people cope.
Phobias can quietly shape a life. Someone might turn down a job that requires travel, delay medical care to avoid needles, or plan every route around a bridge, without ever thinking of it as an anxiety disorder.
Agoraphobia is a fear of situations where escape might be difficult or help might not be available. Common triggers include crowds, public transportation, open or enclosed spaces, standing in line, or being outside the home alone. It often develops after panic attacks, though it can also occur on its own.
Agoraphobia tends to grow over time. Avoiding one store can turn into avoiding all stores, then driving, then leaving home without someone else. Treatment can help reverse that pattern, often gradually and at a pace the person can manage.
Separation anxiety disorder involves excessive distress about being apart from the people you’re closest to. It’s often associated with children, but adults can have it too.
In adults, it may look like intense worry about a partner’s or family member’s safety, difficulty being alone, frequent check-ins, or reluctance to travel or spend nights away from home.
The remaining anxiety disorders are diagnosed less often, but they matter, especially for people whose symptoms don’t fit a more familiar category.
Selective mutism is a consistent inability to speak in certain social settings, like school or work, while speaking comfortably in others, such as at home. It usually begins in childhood and is rooted in anxiety, not defiance or shyness.
This diagnosis applies when anxiety or panic is caused by a substance or medication. It can happen during use, intoxication, or withdrawal. Common examples include alcohol withdrawal, stimulants, high caffeine intake, and benzodiazepine withdrawal. Because substance use and anxiety so often feed each other, an evaluation should look at both.
Some anxiety is a direct physical effect of a medical issue, such as a thyroid disorder or certain heart conditions. This is one reason a full evaluation matters before assuming anxiety is purely psychological.
These diagnoses are used when anxiety causes real distress or impairment but doesn’t meet the full criteria for any one disorder. Not fitting neatly into a category doesn’t make your anxiety less real or less treatable.
Before the DSM-5 was published in 2013, both OCD and PTSD were classified as anxiety disorders. They were moved because research showed they work differently. OCD is now part of its own group of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, and PTSD falls under trauma- and stressor-related disorders.
Anxiety is still a central part of both conditions. If intrusive thoughts and rituals sound familiar, learn more about OCD treatment. If your anxiety traces back to a traumatic experience, our page on trauma and PTSD may help.
Many people with an anxiety disorder also live with another condition, such as depression or a substance use disorder. This is common, not a sign that something is unusually wrong. Anxiety and depression frequently appear together, and some people turn to alcohol or other substances to quiet anxiety, which can make symptoms worse over time.
Having more than one condition doesn’t make recovery less possible. It does mean treatment works best when it addresses everything at once. Dual diagnosis treatment is designed for exactly that.
An anxiety disorder is diagnosed by a licensed clinician, usually through a conversation about your symptoms, how long they’ve lasted, and how they affect your daily life. The clinician uses DSM-5-TR criteria and may recommend a medical checkup to rule out physical causes.
Online quizzes can be a helpful starting point, but they can’t replace a professional evaluation. Asking for an assessment isn’t a commitment to any particular treatment. It’s simply a way to understand what’s going on.
Anxiety disorders respond well to evidence-based therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) helps people recognize anxious thought patterns and gradually face avoided situations. DBT skills can be part of an individualized plan to build emotional regulation and distress tolerance, and EMDR may help when anxiety is connected to past trauma.
Medication can also play a role for some people. A psychiatric provider reviews your history and symptoms before making recommendations. Some anxiety medications carry a risk of dependence, so they are prescribed and monitored carefully.
When anxiety is significantly affecting work, relationships, or daily functioning, a structured outpatient program may provide more support than a weekly therapy session. A clinical assessment helps determine which level of care fits your needs.
You don’t have to keep managing anxiety on your own. Archway Behavioral Health offers anxiety treatment in Boca Raton for adults across South Florida, including an intensive outpatient program and a partial hospitalization program. Our team will start with an assessment and build a plan around your needs and your life.
Call (888) 488-4103 to talk with our team. If you are in crisis or having thoughts of harming yourself, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, available 24/7.
Keep Learning
