Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is chronic, excessive worry that feels hard to control and touches nearly every area of life — work, relationships, finances, health, the future. It’s more than just “being stressed.” People with GAD often feel on edge, fatigued, and mentally drained for months or even years.

• Feeling restless or constantly keyed up

• Muscle tension, headaches, and digestive issues

• Difficulty sleeping or staying asleep

• Irritability and low tolerance for stress

• Persistent worry that feels disproportionate or intrusive

High-functioning anxiety is a subset of generalized anxiety disorder that often goes unnoticed and untreated. This form of anxiety often flies under the radar. You’re high achieving, driven, maybe even praised for your productivity but it comes at a cost. Internally, you’re anxious, overstimulated, and chronically exhausted. You don’t let it show, but you’re barely holding it together.

Signs of high-functioning anxiety include:

• Overthinking and obsessive worry

• Perfectionism and fear of failure

• Difficulty relaxing or slowing down

• Avoidance masked as busyness

• Irritability, sleep issues, and burnout

Panic disorder involves sudden, intense episodes of fear or discomfort often without warning. These panic attacks can feel like you’re dying, losing control, or going crazy. The fear of having another attack often leads to avoidance of certain places or situations.

Symptoms of panic attacks include:

• Racing heart, chest tightness, or shortness of breath

• Sweating, shaking, or feeling faint

• A sense of doom or disconnection from reality

• Fear of losing control or “going crazy”

Social anxiety disorder is an intense, chronic fear of being watched and judged by others. For people with social anxiety disorder, the fear of social situations may feel so intense that it seems beyond their control. For some people, this fear can get in the way of going to work, attending school, or doing everyday things. People with social anxiety disorder may worry about acting or appearing visibly anxious (e.g., blushing, mumbling, or saying the wrong thing), or being viewed as weird, awkward, or boring. This often leads to a person avoiding social or performance situations. When a situation cannot be avoided, they experience heightened anxiety and distress. Many people with social anxiety disorder also experience intense physical symptoms, such as a rapid heart rate, nausea, sweating, and may experience full-blown attacks when confronting a feared situation.

People with social anxiety disorder may experience:

• Blushing, sweating, or trembling

• Pounding or racing heart

• Stomachaches, nausea, lack of appetite

• Rigid body posture or speaking with an overly soft voice

• Difficulty making eye contact or being around people they don’t know

• Feelings of self-consciousness or fear that people are judging them