ANXIETY DISORDERS

Definition of Terms

The following are adapted from:

American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision. [DSM-IV-TR] Washington DC, American Psychiatric Association, 2000, pp. 429-430.

* Panic Attack:

A discrete period in which there is the sudden onset of intense apprehension, fearfulness, or terror, often associated with feelings of impending doom. During these attacks, symptoms such as shortness of breath, palpitations, chest pain or discomfort, choking or smothering sensations, and fear of "going crazy" or losing control are present.

* Agoraphobia:

Characterized by anxiety about, or avoidance of, places or situations from  which escape might be difficult (or embarrassing) or in which help may not be available in the event of having a Panic Attack or panic-like symptoms. 

* Panic Disorder Without Agoraphobia

Characterized by recurrent unexpected Panic Attacks about which there is persistent concern.

* Panic Disorder With Agoraphobia:

 Characterized by both recurrent unexpected Panic Attacks and Agoraphobia.

Characterized by clinically significant anxiety provoked by anxiety provoked by exposure to a specific feared object or situation, often leading to avoidance behavior.

* Post Traumatic Stress Disorder:

Characterized by the re-experiencing of an extremely traumatic event accompanied by symptoms of increased arousal and by avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma.

* Generalized Anxiety Disorder:

Characterized by at least 6 months of persistent and excessive anxiety and worry.

* Anxiety Disorder "Not Otherwise Specified":

Reserved for coding disorders with prominent anxiety or phobic avoidance that do not meet criteria for any of the specific Anxiety Disorders (or anxiety symptoms about which there is inadequate or contradictory information).

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