Anxiety Disorders

© BURGER/PHANIE/age fotostock. Photo for illustrative purposes only; any individual depicted is a model.

Earl Campbell, born in 1955, gained fame as a National Football League (NFL) running back from 1978 to 1985. Campbell was such an outstanding athlete that he was voted most valuable player for each of his first 3 years in the NFL. He was later inducted into the Football Hall of Fame and went on to achieve in other areas of life: He became a food manufacturer, restaurateur, and businessman.

Campbell possessed remarkable talents and abilities and an unusually strong drive to achieve. But he also suffered from symptoms of anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders involve significant fear, agitation, and nervousness and can impair functioning in any or all spheres of life, including school, work, and interpersonal relationships. Campbell developed such severe anxiety symptoms that he became unable to work effectively.

In this chapter, we discuss six types of anxiety disorders that are described in DSM-5: generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder, specific phobia, and separation anxiety disorder. We’ll start with a general discussion of what anxiety is and identify some of the common features of the different anxiety disorders. In the process, we’ll examine how Earl Campbell responded to and handled his anxieties.