Anxiety, Panic Attacks and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

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anxiety and panic attacks, and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (1). Many of these symptoms cause people to avoid contact with the outside world, thus thrusting them deeper into their fears. The concept can be better understood through the example of a woman observed by researcher and psychiatrist Fraser Kent. This arachnophobic woman was so afraid of spiders that she would sweep, dust and vacuum twice a day to make sure spiders never settled in her home. She would clean, and then burn any bags coming from the grocery store to make sure that none entered the house from outside (2). This is an example of a person with OCD and a phobia. The obsessive-compulsive was birthed from her phobia. This greatly altered everyday life for her as she was fearful of leaving her house unless she knew her environment would be spider free. Unfortunately this is not an isolated case; there are many examples of the everyday lives of people worldwide that display the hardships of having a phobia and trying to lead a normal life. There are an estimated 26 million Americans alone living with a phobia. This ...

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