Anxiety and Stress Forum - Anxiety disorders and treatment

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Learn how doctors clinically diagnose one of twelve kinds of anxiety disorders...and which doctors you should see for an anxiety diagnosis....

Q: Anxiety disorders and treatment

asked by: DoctorQuestion on March 15th, 2008

Hi Doctor,
I've recently developed trichotillomania. I've been under a lot of stress lately. I've been studying for an entrance exam that I've failed twice already and always find myself fishing through my hair stands and pulling out irregular hairs in my head, which amounts to about 30-40 strands a day. I think this has been a way to cope with the stress. Also, i've had anxiety attacks and spontaneous flashes of images of death. I would describe myself as a relatively normal person, I'm a recent college graduate from a top 20 university but am very paranoid about my future. As I've been studying for my exam, I feel that I cannot fall asleep because of the anxiety attacks and the images that arise in my mind. My head tingles and I experience a burning sensation all around my head when this happens and I feel extremely scared. I know I have a mild degree of OCD, but where are these scary images coming from. What exactly am I suffering from?

Replies(1)

Dr. Nikola Gjuzelov , MD

replied on April 3rd, 2008

Anxiety and Stress Answer A3857

According to your symptoms (trichotillomania, anxiety attacks, “spontaneous flashes of images of death”, “paranoid about my future”, “I cannot fall asleep”, “images arise in my mind”, head tingles, burning sensations around the head, “feel extremely scared”…) you could be experiencing an anxiety disorder, probably generalized anxiety disorder. I don’t see any data that can confirm to me that you have obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) which is also a type of anxiety disorder (neurosis). OCD is characterized by constant repetition of thoughts and actions.
You may want to consult a psychiatrist about your condition.

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