m a psychological disorder. Sue, Sue and Sue (1994) notes that the American Psychiatric Association recognizes five types of anxiety disorders. These can be defined as:
1) Panic Disorder which is characterized by recurrent and unexpected panic attacks, concern about future attacks or losing control during an attack. Panic disorder can occur with or without agoraphobia.
2) Phobias which consist of persistent, unrealistic fears of specific objects, events or situations. The response to phobias is almost always one of avoidance. However, the anxiety level dissipates when the phobic situation is not being confronted.
3) Posttraumatic Stress Disorder can be characterized as the re-experiencing of a traumatic event through recurrent and intrusive memories and dreams. PTSD is accompanied by attempts to avoid thoughts of the event. Commonly, there can be emotional detachment from others and increased arousal manifested by such symptoms as sleep disturbances, temper outbursts, concentration difficulties, and exaggerated startle responses.
4) Generalized Anxiety Disorder defined as excessive anxiety and apprehension over a number of life circumstances with difficulty in controlling worry. Symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder include vigilance, muscle tension, restlessness, edginess, and difficulty concentrating.
5) Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder can be characterized as consisting of recurrent and persistent intrusive thoughts and impulses accompanied by attempts to suppress the thoughts or behaviors which are usually recognized as unreasonable but which are nonetheless repeatedly listened to and followed in terms of behavior.
It is estimated that approximately 14 million people in the United States suffer from anxiety disorders (Sue, Sue & Sue, 1994) and that the costs in terms of health care needed to remediate the conditions amount to billions of dollars per year (Stanhope, 1994). Financial costs, however, do ...