Anxiety disorders: symptoms, panic attacks, treatment and where to get help
When worry becomes an anxiety disorder, what panic attacks feel like, how anxiety is assessed and treated, and where to get help in India at any hour.
Also known as: Generalized Anxiety Disorder
What an anxiety disorder is
Everyone feels anxious at times — before an exam, an interview or a medical result. That kind of anxiety is normal and passes. An anxiety disorder is different: the fear or worry is out of proportion to the situation, lasts for weeks or months, is hard to control, and gets in the way of work, study, relationships or sleep.
There are several types, and people can have more than one:
- Generalised anxiety disorder — constant worry about many everyday things, such as health, money, family or work
- Panic disorder — repeated, unexpected panic attacks and fear of the next one
- Social anxiety disorder — intense fear of being judged or embarrassed in social situations
- Specific phobias — strong fear of a particular thing, such as heights, needles or flying
- Agoraphobia — fear of places where escape might be difficult, such as crowds, buses or shops
Obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder share features with anxiety and are treated by the same professionals. Anxiety disorders are common, and they are treatable.
Symptoms
Anxiety affects the mind and the body. Common symptoms include:
- Excessive worry that is hard to switch off
- Restlessness, feeling on edge or easily irritated
- Palpitations — a pounding or racing heart
- Breathlessness, tight chest, sweating, trembling or dizziness
- Stomach upset, nausea or frequent trips to the toilet
- Muscle tension and headaches
- Sleep problems, especially difficulty falling asleep because of racing thoughts
- Avoidance of situations that trigger fear
Panic attacks are sudden surges of intense fear that peak within minutes. They often come with chest pain, a racing heart, breathlessness, tingling and a feeling of losing control or dying. They are frightening but not dangerous in themselves. Because the physical symptoms are so strong, many people in India first go to a heart specialist or emergency department, and are told their tests are normal without being told what is actually happening.
Causes and who is at risk
Anxiety disorders develop from a mix of factors. Risk is higher with:
- A family history of anxiety or depression
- A naturally cautious or shy temperament from childhood
- Stressful or traumatic experiences, now or in the past
- Ongoing pressure from exams, work, money or family conflict
- Long-term physical illness
- Heavy use of caffeine or alcohol, or withdrawal from alcohol or sleeping pills
- Depression, which often occurs alongside anxiety
Some physical conditions, such as an overactive thyroid, heart rhythm problems or low blood sugar, can mimic anxiety, and so can some medicines and stimulants.
How it is assessed
Anxiety is diagnosed through a clinical assessment: a conversation about what you feel, when it happens, what you avoid, how long it has been going on and how it affects your life. The doctor will also ask about mood, alcohol and substance use, and thoughts of self-harm. A short questionnaire such as the GAD-7 may be used to measure severity and track progress.
To rule out physical causes, your doctor may order blood tests, including a thyroid function test and blood sugar, and an ECG if palpitations or chest symptoms are prominent. Normal results are useful: they help confirm that the symptoms come from anxiety, which is treatable.
Which professional to see
A general physician is a good first step: they can check for physical causes, make the diagnosis and start treatment or refer you. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who specialises in mental health and can prescribe medicines; see one if anxiety is severe, if it comes with depression or thoughts of self-harm, or if first treatments have not helped.
A clinical psychologist provides structured talking therapies such as CBT, which is often the main treatment for anxiety. You can find psychiatrists in Bengaluru, clinical psychologists and general physicians on The Doctor Index.
The Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 gives every person in India a right to access mental health care and treatment from services run or funded by the government, so government hospitals are an option if cost is a concern.
Treatment
Most people with an anxiety disorder improve with treatment. Your doctor will decide based on the type of anxiety, its severity and your preferences.
Talking therapies
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is the most widely studied psychotherapy for anxiety. It helps you understand the cycle of anxious thoughts, physical sensations and avoidance, and teaches you to face feared situations step by step. Its benefits often last after therapy ends. Acceptance and commitment therapy and other approaches can also help.
Medicines
Some antidepressants, mainly SSRIs and SNRIs, are effective for anxiety disorders even when depression is not present. They take a few weeks to work, and anxiety can briefly feel worse at the start, so your doctor will usually start gently and review you early. Other medicines are sometimes used for particular situations.
Sedative tablets known as benzodiazepines can calm anxiety quickly but can cause dependence, drowsiness and falls. Doctors generally use them only for short periods, if at all. Do not take sleeping or anxiety tablets borrowed from others or bought without a prescription, and do not stop any prescribed medicine suddenly without talking to your doctor.
Self-help
Relaxation techniques such as slow breathing, muscle relaxation and mindfulness, together with regular exercise, steady sleep and cutting down caffeine and alcohol, reduce anxiety and make other treatment work better. Guided self-help books and apps based on CBT help some people with milder anxiety.
Living with anxiety
Avoiding what you fear brings short-term relief but tends to make anxiety stronger over time. Gradually returning to situations you have been avoiding, with support, is a core part of recovery. Keep follow-up appointments, especially when starting or changing a medicine. Recovery is rarely a straight line: setbacks happen and are not a sign that treatment has failed.
When it is an emergency
Call 112 or 108, or go to the nearest emergency department, if:
- You have chest pain, breathlessness or palpitations for the first time, or they feel different from your usual anxiety — a heart problem must be ruled out
- You faint or have chest pain spreading to the arm, jaw or back
- You have thoughts of suicide or self-harm, or have harmed yourself — you can also call Tele-MANAS on 14416
- You are having severe withdrawal symptoms such as shaking, confusion or fits after stopping alcohol or sedative tablets
Questions to ask at your appointment
- What type of anxiety do I have?
- Could a physical condition be causing any of my symptoms?
- Would therapy, medicine or both suit me?
- How long before I notice a difference, and what side effects should I expect?
- What should I do during a panic attack?
- Who do I contact if things get worse between appointments?
Common questions
Questions people ask
- Can a panic attack cause a heart attack?
- A panic attack is not a heart attack and does not damage the heart, although the symptoms can feel very similar. If you have chest pain for the first time, or it is different from usual, get checked urgently so that a heart problem can be ruled out.
- Is anxiety just stress?
- Stress is a response to pressure and usually eases when the pressure lifts. An anxiety disorder is a lasting condition in which worry or fear is out of proportion, hard to control and affects daily life. It responds well to specific treatments such as CBT and medicines.
- Are anxiety tablets addictive?
- Antidepressants used for anxiety are not addictive, though they should be stopped gradually with your doctor's help. Benzodiazepine sedatives can cause dependence, which is why doctors keep them short-term. Never take these tablets without a prescription or share them with others.
- Can anxiety be treated without medicines?
- Yes, for many people. Cognitive behavioural therapy is effective for most anxiety disorders and is often the first treatment offered, especially for milder anxiety. Medicines are added when anxiety is severe, when therapy alone is not enough, or when therapy is hard to access.
This condition is usually assessed by a psychiatrist. Every profile shows the doctor’s registration and what has been checked.
Sources
- MedlinePlus, US National Library of Medicine — Anxiety
- World Health Organization — Anxiety disorders fact sheet
- Press Information Bureau, Government of India — Tele-MANAS launched with 24/7 toll-free helpline 14416
- India Code — The Mental Healthcare Act, 2017
- MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine — Anxiety — Public-domain health-topic summary
Anxiety disorders: symptoms, panic attacks, treatment and where to get help is original text by The Doctor Index; the compiled source draft was used for research. Source: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine. Orphadata Science: Free access data from Orphanet. © INSERM 1999; July 2026 data, CC BY 4.0. This product uses the Human Phenotype Ontology (hp/releases/2026-09-01). Only sources listed for this article apply. Source material has been selected and arranged; HPO definitions are reproduced without alteration. No source organisation endorses this compilation. Köhler S et al. The Human Phenotype Ontology project: linking molecular biology and disease through phenotype data. Nucleic Acids Research 2014;42(D1):D966–D974. doi:10.1093/nar/gkt1026.
General information, not advice about your situation. Errors can be reported through the corrections process. Reference TDI-C-0200.