Having an anxiety disorder can make a major impact in the workplace. People may turn down a promotion or other opportunity because it involves travel or public speaking; make excuses to get out of office parties, staff lunches, and other events or meetings with coworkers; or be unable to meet deadlines.
People often jokingly point to odd habits or tidiness as signs of obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD. But the truth is OCD is a very real disorder that affects more than 2 million Americans, and there is a big difference between maintaining a morning routine or keeping a clean home and living with the disorder.
Ten years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks many people continue to struggle with symptoms of anxiety, stress and even posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
The ho
lidays are an exciting time of good cheer, warm family traditions, and spending time with friends. Or, are they?
Psychologist Dr. Douglas Mennin discusses how to understand anxiety disorders.
Back in 2006, I had it all: A loving fiancé, a coveted publishing job, a supportive network of friends and family. I was living in Washington, D.C., where I went out almost every night to press parties and trendy restaurants. In my spare time, I delivered meals on wheels and counseled Alzheimer’s patients at the local senior center. Perfectionistic and ever so vigilant, I could’ve won the Perfect Life Olympics.
My descent into GAD (generalized anxiety disorder) began the morning I received the call bringing the news of my mother's accidental death. It was the same week that my husband was laid off. We had moved across the country for his new job, and eight months later he was laid off. After only two months out West, we moved back, and I had a nervous breakdown.
I've suffered from generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD, coupled with panic attacks for more than two decades.
My son Dan was in college, and by the time I arrived at his dorm, he had not eaten in more than a week. He was spending hours at a time sitting in one particular chair, hunched over with his head in his hands, doing absolutely nothing. He could not enter most of the buildings on campus and could only do minimal amounts of work at specific times. To top it all off, he was self-injuring.