Medical Conditions That Cause Anxiety

Anxiety disorder is one of the most common forms of mental illness, affecting more than 20 million teenagers and adults in the United States. Anxiety disorders are chronic, relentless and require immediate treatment. There are also some medical conditions that can exacerbate anxiety disorders. Read on for more information on medical conditions that cause anxiety.

Definition

• Anxiety by definition is the feeling of apprehension and fear that can be manifested in the form of heart palpitations, excessive sweating and additional feelings of stress.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

• Generalized anxiety disorders are any medical condition that manifest in the form of agitation, distress, worry, tension or recurring anxiety. Sufferers are usually plagued by symptoms no matter what they do to resolve them.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a medical condition where sufferers experience chronic, unwanted thoughts and exhibit impulses to do repetitive motions. Examples of the compulsions include recurring impulses to wash your hands with unopened bars of soap, excessive counting of steps, cleaning and re-cleaning of objects. This condition can cause great anxiety, when left untreated.

Panic Disorder

• Bouts of intense fear is a symptom of panic disorder. The bouts are repetitive and go hand in hand with chest pain, palpitations, shortness of breath, nausea and dizziness. Panic strikes without warning and can leave a sufferer feeling weak, achy and disoriented.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

• Post-traumatic stress disorder manifests anxiety after a person undergoes an extremely stressful event or trauma. It is characterized by frightening thoughts, memories and thoughts of emotional numbness.

Social Anxiety Disorder

• Social anxiety or social phobia is a medical condition where anxiety is manifested by extreme fear of social situations and being in a crowd.