Guest Author - Jim Lowrance

When thyroid patients experience anxiety problems, they may sometimes wonder what catagory their anxiety might fit into. Below, I give a general rundown of the types of anxiety disorders that are recognized. I aso use some statistics from the NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health), which they allow reprinting of, with preference that it be used to help educate the public.

Anxiety Disorders include Panic Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and Phobias (social phobia, agoraphobia, and specific phobia).

Approximately 40 million American adults ages 18 and older, or about 18.1 percent of people in this age group in a given year, have an anxiety disorder.

Anxiety disorders frequently co-occur with depressive disorders or substance abuse.

Most people with one anxiety disorder also have elements of other anxiety disorders. Nearly three-quarters of those with an anxiety disorder will have their first episode by age 21.

Anxiety (and clinical depression, that often co-exists with it) are in the "neurosis" category, they are not "psychosis" and do not lead to psychosis. The one type of depression that can cause psychotic episodes, is Bi-polar Depressive Disorder but typical clinical depression that can result from severe anxiety conditions, is not in the psychosis category. Anxiety itself is never considered a psychosis, unless the term is mistakenly used. The term "neuropsychosis/psychoneurosis" may sometimes be used when referring to anxiety, meaning the "psychology of neurosis". Anxiety is a neurosis and does not lead to insanity or becoming crazy. The fear of going crazy is a very concerning one to those who experience anxiety disorders and also for those with clinical depression and these two often co-exist but are irrational thoughts and will not take place.

Psychosis, the true term for one actually losing touch with reality and having delusions and hallucinations, is the term for mental illnesses/disorders, that may or may not have significant emotional aspects to them. Anxiety and common clinical depression, being in the neurosis category, means they are stress related and not caused by an underlying mental disorder. People who experience psychosis have a mental illness and should also not be termed as being crazy or insane. These type characterizations are inconsiderate and unkind to people who suffer mental illness by no choice of their own and who are usually otherwise intelligent and productive people. Estimates by some Mental Health Organizations state that psychosis affects an estimated 1.1% of the U.S. population, whereas, the more common anxiety and depression conditions, affect a much higher percent of the population. Approximately 10%-25% of women and 5%-12% of men become clinically depressed at some point during their lives. Anxiety sufferers equal or surpass that figure with a full 18% of adults experiencing an anxiety disorder during their lifetimes.

Look for my articles in "related conditions" below, where I give further description of different anxiety disorders.