Understanding Different Types of Anxiety Disorders
Published February 27th, 2025
6.5 min read
Around three in ten people will experience an anxiety disorder over their lifetime. Here are the common types.
Written by Simon Spichak
Anxiety is a normal and natural reaction to stress that helps keep us alert and pay attention to our surroundings. When anxiety becomes excessive and disproportionate to the situation, it develops into an anxiety disorder. Fortunately, anxiety disorders can be treated with therapy and medications.
What is Anxiety?
Picture this: You’re going about your day when, all of a sudden, your heart starts racing, you start sweating profusely, and you feel an impending sense of danger or doom. You’re not in a life-or-death situation, but all of a sudden, you just want to retreat home to your bed, curl up, and hide.
This is an example of an anxiety attack, which can occur with or without obvious triggers. Some three in ten individuals will deal with an anxiety disorder and potentially experience one of these attacks during their lifetime.
There are many different types of anxiety disorders. Though some of these anxiety disorders may have symptoms and treatments in common, the triggers can differ.
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
What is GAD?
GAD involves constant, persistent worrying day-to-day about everything ranging from work, life, relationships, and social interactions. Some common concerns include worries about your health, being fired at work, or ruining a relationship.
People with GAD can have these concerns even if they know that, logically, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about. Some people even experience persistent anxiety and symptoms without any triggers.
Symptoms of GAD
Common symptoms include:
Trouble falling asleep or staying awake
Difficulty focusing or concentrating on tasks
Sweating
Chest pain
Trouble breathing
Fatigue
Increased heart rate or feeling like you’re having a heart attack
Headaches or lightheadedness
Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD)
What is SAD?
SAD is a type of anxiety disorder, sometimes called a social phobia, that is triggered by intense anxiety and fear of social situations. People with SAD get anxious around others and fear being judged, rejected, or seen as awkward.
If you have SAD, you might be shy in social settings, trying not to speak in case you say something wrong or embarrassing.
Symptoms of SAD
Common symptoms include:
Chest pain
Blushing and shyness in social situations
Stumbling over words
Rapid heart rate
Nausea
Sweating
Anxiety attacks
Separation Anxiety Disorder
What is Separation Anxiety Disorder
Separation anxiety disorder is a form of anxiety that tends to affect children and teens. A person with separation anxiety worries about being apart from friends or family members. This type of disorder might be triggered by early life trauma, like the passing of a close friend or family member. Some adults also experience separation anxiety, affecting their friendships and other relationships.
Symptoms of Separation Anxiety Disorder
Common symptoms include:
Extreme distress before and during separation
Constant worries about losing the figure that you’re attached to
Difficulty going somewhere without the figure that you’re attached to
Difficulty sleeping while away from the figure
Nightmares about separation
Physical symptoms like sweating, nausea, and increased heart rate during a separation
Panic Disorder
What is Panic Disorder?
Panic disorder is characterized by recurrent, unexpected panic attacks. People with panic disorder don’t have any other physical or mental health conditions that are causing the symptoms. Some people with panic disorder also experience agoraphobia, an intense fear of going into open/crowded spaces or leaving one’s home.
Symptoms of Panic Disorder
People with panic disorder experience attacks characterized by:
Sweating
Chills
Difficulty breathing
Weakness or dizziness
Tingly or numb hands
Chest pain
Stomach pain
Nausea
Other Phobias
What are phobias?
Phobias occur when something causes extreme fear or anxiety that disrupts your life. Some common phobias include public speaking, heights, needles, spiders, and crowded spaces.
Symptoms of phobias
Like other anxiety disorders, phobias can cause a myriad of physical and cognitive symptoms, including:
Sweating
Shortness of breath and rapid heart rate
Chest pain
Feeling like you’re choking
Hot flushes or chills
Trouble focusing or concentrating
Treating Anxiety Disorders
There are many evidence-based strategies for treating anxiety disorders.
Therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists can use different techniques like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and exposure and response prevention therapy.
The goal is to teach you strategies to counter the physical and psychological symptoms affecting your life. Some strategies help you change your thought patterns, while others help you practice healthy coping mechanisms.
One strategy would involve helping you accept your anxious thoughts without engaging with them. Opposite action can help you deal with anxiety by approaching situations that may trigger worries rather than avoiding them, helping desensitize your brain.
You can also speak with a doctor or psychiatrist who might want to prescribe you medications. The medications can help “open” your brain up to therapy. Combining anti-anxiety medicine with therapy can help you when therapy alone doesn’t.
Above all, remember that hundreds of millions of people around the world have also dealt with anxiety, and many have learned to manage it.
How Resolvve Can Help
Resolvve connects you to affordable therapists trained to help with anxiety. If you’re ready to take the next step toward treatment, you can book a free consultation with one of our therapists. If you’re a college or university student, the entire cost of the therapy session could be covered by insurance.
Please note that this post is written for educational purposes; it is not therapy. If you need to talk to a professional, please book a consultation with a psychotherapist through Resolvve.
