Types of Anxiety Disorders - Essay Example

Anxiety is when a person reacts in apprehension, sometimes in both a psychological and physiological manner.  Two types of anxiety disorders are obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

            OCD is characterized by repetitive obsessions with a particular kind of phenomenon. One of the aspects of this disorder is through the use of rituals. For example, someone who is OCD about bacteria might wash their hands an obsessive amount of time to make sure they have gotten rid of the bacteria.  It is the fourth most commonly diagnosed psychological disorder. There is strong evidence to support that this condition not only has environmental and behavioral triggers but also that there is a biological component involved in the neurochemistry of behavior. The most common form of treatment for this disorder is through the use of behavioral therapy in which a therapist tries to make the ritualistic behavior, obsessions, and compulsions extinct through classical and operant conditioning. Also, in some cases, psychopharmacology is used to help supplement the counseling therapy.

            PTSD is a condition that often is the result of some sort of traumatic incident in a person’s life. This can range anywhere from military combat to sexual abuse. There are many different symptoms of PTSD, but the most common of these is flashbacks, and hallucinations, and are more likely to succumb to forms of substance abuse and domestic violence. In addition to the cognitive factors surrounding PTSD, there are also fundamental changes in the person’s neurochemistry due to the prolonged activation of the adrenal cortex and the stimulation of the secretion of Cortisol and catecholamines. There are many different ways in which to help with the treatment of PTSD. The most common type of therapy used is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). It works on the theory that by modifying the traumatic thought patterns you will be able to change the behavior. In addition, due to the damage in neurochemistry, medication may be used to help bring equilibrium back to the body’s hormones and neurotransmitter levels.

            In both of these anxiety disorders, the common type of therapy is through the use of types of behavioral therapy as well as medication. By being able to alter the behavior, you can make the abnormal behavior become extinct through a variety of training techniques. Even though OCD and PTSD are similar in that they are anxiety disorders, both are still relatively dissimilar in both of their diagnoses and criterion in order to qualify as having the disorder.