Anxiety disorders explained

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Anxiety has deprived so many people of the freedom that they deserve. If peace of mind were an indication of wealth, anxiety would place one in a state of poverty. Dr. Curtis Cripe of NTL Group explains this further in today's blog.

Before anything else, a clear understanding of anxiety as a disorder must be established. Often, people loosely use the term "anxiety" to describe normal feelings of anxiousness or nervousness. In the clinical sense, anxiety disorders involve far more complex feelings and involve excessive fear or anxiety. Anxiety disorders are behavior-changing, and in some extremes, life-altering in a negative way.

Anxiety disorders can affect people to the extent that they try to avoid situations that trigger or make their symptoms worse. The life of a person with an anxiety disorder can really be difficult, shares Dr. Curtis Cripe. It affects job performance, schoolwork, and personal relationships.

As a rule of thumb, for someone to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, the fear or anxiety must be characterized by a couple of things. The first is that it is out of proportion to the situation that causes fear. Secondly, it hinders the person from being able to function normally. If these two conditions are not satisfied, the fear is likely a normal one and not an indication of a clinical disorder.

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There are various kinds of anxiety disorders. Among the most popular ones would be a panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and separation anxiety disorder. These are all treatable, thanks to the expertise of professionals like Dr. Curtis Cripe. One thing to note about anxiety disorders is that many people who have it do not seek help, largely because they do not realize that they already have an illness. For this reason, checking on your friends and loved ones from time to time would be a huge help.

Curtis Cripe, Ph.D., is the head of research and development at the NTL Group, which specializes in the creation of neuroengineering programs aimed at the diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders associated with head injury (TBI), depression, anxiety, memory disorders, and neurodevelopmental delays in children with learning disorders. For more related reading, visit this page.