What are the Symptoms of Anxiety?

There are different forms of anxiety common in PD. The following is a list of symptoms associated with each form:

1. Generalized Anxiety Disorder

• Generalized anxiety is a feeling of nervousness and thoughts of worry most of the time.
• The worrying is in excess of what patients would normally expect and often feels out of control.
• Physical symptoms are also common including: butterflies in the stomach, trouble breathing or swallowing, racing of the heart, sweating and increased tremors.

2. Anxiety Attacks

• Anxiety attacks usually start suddenly with a sense of severe physical and emotional distress.
• Patients may feel as if they cannot breathe or are having a heart attack. A common worry is that a medical emergency is happening.
• These episodes usually last less than an hour, particularly when associated with “off” periods though they can last for longer periods of time.

3. Social Avoidance

• Social avoidance involves avoiding social situations secondary to a fear of having Parkinson’s symptoms in public such as tremor, trouble walking etc.
• Exposure to these situations can lead to severe anxiety, which goes away when removed from the situation.

4. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

• People with OCD may be plagued by persistent, unwelcome thoughts or images, or by the urgent need to engage in certain rituals. They may be obsessed with germs or dirt, and wash their hands over and over. They may be filled with doubt and feel the need to check things repeatedly.
• Repetitive behaviors such as hand washing, counting, checking, or cleaning are often performed with the hope of preventing obsessive thoughts or making them go away. Performing these so-called "rituals," however, provides only temporary relief, and not performing them markedly increases anxiety.

Medical content reviewed by: Nina Browner, MD—Medical Director of the NPF Center of Excellence at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in North Carolina and by Fernando Pagan, MD—Medical Director of the NPF Center of Excellence at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C.

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