The Küsnacht Practice

Anxiety disorders are conditions where severe or long-lasting feelings of anxiety interfere with every day life. The types of anxiety disorders are: general anxiety disorder (GAD); post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); acute stress disorder(ASD); obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD); and phobias.

Everybody gets anxious when faced with a stressful situation. Before an exam or an interview, or a worrying time such as illness. It's normal to feel anxious when you face something difficult or dangerous, and mild anxiety can be a positive and useful experience. However, for one in 10 people, anxiety interferes with normal life. Excessive anxiety is often associated with other mental health problems like depression. And it is only considered to be a mental health problem when it is long lasting and severe and is interfering with your ability to lead a normal life.

• how we treat anxiety disorders

These happen because of your body's so-called 'fight or flight' response, which is caused by the release of the stress hormone adrenaline. The symptoms can include:

• discomfort in your abdomen (tummy)
• diarrhea
• dry mouth
• rapid heartbeat or palpitations
• tightness or pain in your chest
• shortness of breath
• dizziness
• needing to urinate more often than usual
• difficulty swallowing
• shaking

Can include:

• sleeping difficulties (insomnia)
• feeling worried or uneasy all the time
• feeling tired
• being irritable or quick to get angry
• being unable to concentrate
• a fear that you're 'going mad'
• feeling not in control of your actions, or detached from your surroundings (derealisation)

Sometimes when anxiety disorders occur with other conditions, such as depression, schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, they can lead to self-harm or suicide.