Anxiety Disorders are quite common.
Panic Disorder tends to begin in younger adults. Often the person is fearful of having a panic attack itself. Places and situations may be avoided in an effort to prevent a panic attack. A panic attack can cause a person to feel they are suffocating or dying. Emergency room visits are not uncommon.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder is a cause of diminished quality of life due to chronic proneness to worry. Often there is never an absence of things to worry about. Endless thinking about the “what if” can lead to exhaustion and secondary depression. Sometimes the chronic anxiety can become a way of life, a pattern that is difficult to break free.