When does normal anxiety become a disorder?

Fundamental & Powerful Concepts:

pathological anxiety/fear - irrational, persistent, maladaptive, and uncontrollable, may strike without a specific threat and cause significant personal distress and functional impairment

Vocabulary:

generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) – disorder characterized by constant and uncontrollable worry about anything and everything

phobia - a strong or irrational fear of a specific object or situation

specific phobia – disorder characterized by an excessive and irrational fear of a specific object or situation that interferes with a person’s everyday functioning

social phobia (or social anxiety disorder) – disorder characterized by severe and persistent fear of being embarrassed, humiliated, or negatively evaluated in social or performance situations

panic attack – episode of terror that strikes suddenly and escalates rapidly into a minutes-long period of frightening physical symptoms accompanied by feelings of impending doom

panic disorder – disorder characterized by frequent and recurring panic attacks

obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) – disorder characterized by intrusive and uncontrollable thoughts or mental images (obsessions) and repetitive, ritualized behaviors (compulsions) that the person feels driven to perform to reduce the anxiety caused by the obsessions

obsessions – intrusive and uncontrollable thoughts or mental images

compulsions – ritualized behaviors that a person feels driven to perform to reduce the anxiety caused by the obsessions

post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – disorder characterized by chronic anxiety that has developed after experiencing or witnessing an extremely frightening, often life- threatening traumatic event