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SANIMA Klinik am Mayenberg
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Anxiety Dis­orders.

Fear as a fundamental emotion essential to survival, phylogenetically shaped to serve an alarm and warning function, becomes pathological when it occurs too intensely, too frequently, or in a manner disproportionate to a given situation.

Inpatient Treatment · Private Insurance · Government Allowance · Self-Pay

Medically reviewed by
Vivien Müller-Prasse, Specialist in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
Last updated
Reading time
approx. 6 minutes
Mandala for anxiety disorders: dense, sharp spikes in warm tones
The extreme tension
Annual Prevalence15%

This makes anxiety disorders the most common mental health conditions, ahead of depressive disorders.

Clinical Picture

How anxiety manifests.

With an annual prevalence of 15 %, anxiety disorders are the most common mental health conditions, ahead of depression. They often begin in early adulthood and, if left untreated, lead to pronounced avoidance behaviour that — in the absence of corrective experiences — ultimately maintains the anxiety cycle and can lead to chronification, incapacity for work, social withdrawal, and considerable distress.

According to current knowledge, we distinguish between various anxiety disorders. Depending on the type of anxiety disorder, the anxiety relates to specific situations or objects perceived as (disproportionately) threatening. Cognitively, catastrophising thoughts are associated with the anxiety-provoking situation. All anxiety reactions involve autonomic symptoms (increased heart rate, rise in blood pressure, increased muscle tension, sweating, trembling, laboured breathing, dizziness, nausea, and much more). At the behavioural level, flight and avoidance reactions set in. When the anxiety disorder becomes chronic, avoidance leads to an increasing number of situations being experienced as potentially threatening, corrective experiences can no longer be had, and life becomes progressively narrower and poorer in quality.

Forms

Typical anxiety disorders.

The following is an outline of some typical anxiety disorders:

Panic disorder is characterised by sudden and unexpected anxiety attacks (relating to one's own physical integrity) which, in the worst case, are associated with mortal fear (fear of cardiac death, suffocation, etc.) and can secondarily relate to specific situations (e.g. public transport), which then become triggers of anxiety and are subsequently avoided — at which point we speak of agoraphobia with panic disorder. Social phobia, on the other hand, involves an irrational fear of certain activities or situations in public that are anticipated with embarrassment or scrutinising observation (speaking in front of an audience, restaurant visits, etc.). In generalised anxiety disorder, states of predominant tension and irrational worry about everyday events and problems take centre stage (e.g. constant worry that something might happen to a family member), which can subsequently lead to pronounced controlling behaviour (e.g. constant telephoning and reassurance-seeking) and ultimately to interpersonal strain and distress also in those around them. There are also specific phobias (such as fear of spiders), which do not necessarily require psychotherapeutic treatment. However, when it comes, for example, to fear of flying, examination anxiety, fear of injections, blood tests, or dental phobia, the corresponding avoidance behaviour in the context of these particular anxiety disorders can lead to professional or personal consequences (cancelled business appointments or holidays, incomplete training, prevented examinations and treatments) that cause considerable distress and make appropriate therapy necessary.

Causes
Diagram: multifactorial model of causation in mental disorders
Multifactorial model of causation

How anxiety develops.

The development of anxiety disorders is, as with depression, multifactorial. Alongside genetic and neurobiological factors, significant events, including societal stressors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and personality factors (to be explained in learning-theory or psychodynamic terms) may play a role. It is important to seek professional help as early as possible in order to prevent the spread of avoidance behaviour and chronification of the condition with a narrowing of all areas of life (professional and personal alike).

Treatment

Treatment at Sanima Klinik.

At Sanima Klinik, we pursue a multidimensional therapeutic approach. The combination of approved and effective antidepressants for the treatment of anxiety disorders and intensive psychotherapy has proven particularly effective. With regard to psychotherapy, we initially focus on cognitive-behavioural treatment elements in order to interrupt the anxiety cycle, impart a healthy and reality-oriented way of relating to anxiety, and thereby achieve symptom relief. Exposure to anxiety triggers and to the anxiety itself is a central component of effective treatment. In the further course, a deeper psychodynamic engagement with intraindividual personality factors (one's own, e.g. anxious-avoidant personality structure, inner conflicts, absent coping mechanisms, existing self-doubt, etc.) is also possible and worthwhile.

Häufige Fragen

Answers to frequently asked questions about anxiety disorders.

Patients, relatives, and referring physicians ask us recurring questions about the treatment of anxiety disorders. Here you will find the most important answers summarised.

01.When does fear require treatment?

Fear is initially a fundamental emotion essential to survival, serving an alarm and warning function. It becomes a disorder requiring treatment when it occurs too intensely, too frequently, or in a manner disproportionate to a given situation — particularly when avoidance behaviour increasingly restricts daily life. It is important to seek professional help as early as possible in order to prevent chronification.

02.What forms of anxiety disorders are there?

Typical anxiety conditions include panic disorder with sudden and unexpected anxiety attacks, generalised anxiety disorder with predominant tension and worry about everyday events, and anxieties relating to specific situations or objects (phobias).

03.How are anxiety disorders treated at Sanima Klinik?

We pursue a multidimensional therapeutic approach: cross-method psychotherapy with a dedicated primary therapist, supplemented by creative and body-oriented therapeutic procedures. Cognitive-behavioural interventions frequently create the conditions for symptom relief and a changed relationship with the symptoms in anxiety conditions.

04.How long does inpatient treatment last?

The average stay is 6–8 weeks — sufficient time not only to treat symptoms but to understand and work through underlying patterns. The specific duration is agreed individually with the primary therapist.

05.Who covers the cost of treatment?

Admission is open to privately insured patients, those entitled to government allowance (Beihilfe), and self-pay patients. Some statutory health insurers (e.g. Techniker Krankenkasse and DAK) stipulate in their statutes that, under certain conditions, they may cover the costs of treatment at a purely private clinic up to the level of comparable rates at a hospital approved under Section 108 SGB V. We are happy to advise you during the initial telephone consultation.

06.How do I arrange an admission interview?

By telephone on +49 7083 748-0 (Mon–Fri 8:00–16:30) or via the Call-Back Service on the contact page. Our admissions office will respond within 24 hours with a proposed appointment for a detailed, no-obligation telephone consultation.

Quellen

Fachliche Grundlage der Inhalte.

  1. [1]S3 Guideline: Treatment of Anxiety Disorders APA/DGPPN et al., AWMF Registry No. 051-028, Version 2, 2021. register.awmf.org/de/leitlinien/detail/051-028
  2. [2]ICD-10-GM — Chapter V, F40/F41 (Anxiety Disorders) Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte (BfArM). bfarm.de — ICD-10-GM
  3. [3]Deutsche Gesellschaft für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Psychosomatik und Nervenheilkunde (DGPPN) Specialist information on anxiety disorders. dgppn.de
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Patients of some statutory health insurance providers (e.g. Techniker Krankenkasse and DAK) may in certain cases be able to obtain partial cost reimbursement from their insurer.

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