The Differences Between Anxiety Disorder and Panic Disorder

By: Julie U. Stevenson

How can anyone who withstands any type of mental distress learn to detect the dissimilarities between an anxiety disorder or a panic disorder. While in many instances sharing common physical and mental characteristics, there are some very determining abnormalities that establish them an distinct disorder all of their own.

Persistence of Anxiety

With a generalized anxiety disorder, the mind is continuously very-focused on worry and apprehension. Everything that happens in their life or that could take place in the future will create worrisome thoughts. By common definition, the anxiety in this disorder is constantly present, or almost continuously. There is no clear starting or ending point.

On the other hand, a panic disorder consists of attacks that come and go, usually unexpectedly. For most cases, the attacks come from nowhere at random moments and in a variety of locations and circumstances. Also, they can last for different lengths of time ranging from ten minutes to ten hours.

In the case of a generalized anxiety disorder, anything and everything can be a trigger. Even things that may never even cause intense worry and fear.

Anxiety Implications

On the other hand, it is sometimes reported that sufferers of panic disorder can be more susceptible to having full blown attacks when under particular types of stress or in certain types of situations. This creates even more anxiety in the victims whenever they think they may be in a situation that could bring on an attack.

For many individuals, the attacks come from nowhere at unexpected moments, but some are capables to eventually notice patterns or similarities between multiple attacks.

finally, it is not unheard of for those suffering from generalized anxiety disorder to work themselves into an intense state of panic that they actually have a full blown panic attack. This often happens in situations where there is a real reason to worry, so their normal high level of worry escalates above what they are able of handling.

Unmanifested Emotions

If they are scared they could find themselves in a similar circumstance, there could be future attacks of panic. This is why in the case of acute cases of anxiety disorder individual often feel symptoms much like panic disorder although not often lasting as long or as intense.

Sufferers of an anxiety disorder feel very distraught and perturbed fearing that something is going to go horribly wrong. They are agitated about average every day things that they should not elicit a second thought about in the first place. The emotions are usually unsettling and disturbing, as oppose to the griping panic and feeling of hysteria that envelops a panic disorder.

Although unclear of the cause of their fear, a panic attack victim, still finds themselves ensnared in alarm and abject horror. Even if the sensible part of their mind may know there is nothing to be scared with, they still can not eradicate the sense that something foreboding is about to take place.

Reprinted from: Communication Skills Articles.

Julie Stevenson tolerated : panic attacks for fourteen years. We recommend taking a look at her website: Anxiety Cure and find out how she was able to rid herself of this burden and live a happy life again.

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