• Generalized anxiety disorder includes symptoms such as jumpiness, irritability, tension, difficulty concentrating, or fatigue. People are on edge and have trouble falling asleep. Excessive anxiety and worry about activities such as work or school are difficult to control and persistent, continuing for more than a few weeks.

• Panic disorder makes people panic suddenly, without cause.. They become very frightened and often think they are going to die. Heart palpitations, sweating, trembling, dizziness, chest pains and a sense of unreality are some of the symptoms. A panic attack generally lasts a few minutes. Panic disorder may last a few weeks or months or recur over time. Anticipation of another attack can make people afraid to leave home or be alone.

• Agoraphobia is the diagnosis when panic attacks become so frequent that people just stay home, sometimes for years.  This anxiety disorder, also called a phobia, causes people to avoid crowds, tunnels, stores, elevators or public transportation--places from which they can't easily escape.

• Specific phobia and social phobia are other types of phobias. They cause persistent, irrational fears of specific objects or activities, such as animals or flying, and unreasonable fears of being embarrassed or humiliated in social settings.

• Posttraumatic stress disorder is a reaction to an overwhelming or extraordinary event such as war, rape, flood, or torture, when people felt intense fear and helplessness. They experience the event over and over in their thoughts and dreams.  They become unresponsive to others, have little interest in activities, can't sleep or concentrate, and suffer from memory problems and angry outbursts.

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) causes an uncontrollable repetition of thoughts or behaviors, stemming from a fear of harm or of harming others. People with OCD often perform rituals, such as repeatedly washing their hands or checking to see if they have turned off the stove. People with OCD perform these rituals even though they know their behavior is illogical.

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