Anxiety disorders are a type of mental illness characterized by severe anxiety that interferes with a person's life. Anxiety is an uncomfortable feeling of fear, uneasiness, or concern that something bad is about to happen.

Anxiety disorders include:

• Generalized anxiety disorder, which involves several months of ongoing physical symptoms that occur along with anxiety.
• Panic disorders, which involve repeated episodes of sudden fear and feelings of danger or impending doom, along with physical symptoms.
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder, which involves frequent, repeated thoughts leading to repeated or persistent behavior (such as excessive hand-washing).
• Post-traumatic stress disorder, which involves reliving a traumatic event (such as a war experience or rape) and feelings of numbness and disinterest in daily activities.

These disorders can be treated with medicines and/or counseling.

By	Healthwise Staff
Primary Medical Reviewer	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine
Specialist Medical Reviewer	Lisa S. Weinstock, MD - Psychiatry
Last Revised	September 15, 2010