If you have an anxiety disorder or OCD, even NORMAL college stress can make your problem MUCH worse. Even if you do not have an anxiety disorder, but are at risk for one, normal college stress can bring out a full-fledged anxiety disorder or OCD.
The top 10 types of anxiety disorder related symptoms in college students that we see most often at the Coastal Center for Anxiety Treatment include:
1. Pathological Perfectionism
Since, by definition, you can NEVER be perfect, (socially, academically, personality, cleanliness, appearance, etc.) my perfectionistic clients and students are most often frustrated and disappointed with both themselves and other people who fail to meet their unrealistic expectations.
2. Panic Disorder
We treat a lot of college students for panic attack concerns. They are actually very common among college students and are often triggered by a combination of stress and poor behavioral habits (skipping meals, over-indulging in alcohol, pot, and/or caffeine, getting insufficient sleep, etc.).
3. Social Anxiety Disorder
Many college students are plagued by high levels of social anxiety. The Cal Poly required communications course that is ALL about public speaking has even caused some of my clients to drop out of college rather than face that class. Dating, small-talk, internship or job interviews and so on can feel like insurmountable obstacles!
4. Separation Anxiety
Some college students have never lived away from the comforts of their own home with their loving parents and close high school friends. Moving away feels like their life has been violently ripped away from them. They spend more energy focused on relationships at home rather than forming new attachments at college. For some, it means dropping out and moving back home.
5. Phobias
College students experience phobias (irrational fears) just like the rest of the population. We’ve treated many students for fear of driving, elevators, airplanes, vomiting, needles, small spaces, etc.
6. Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)
We often see college students who (very mistakenly) believe that they are horrifically unattractive. In fact, the average college student we see with BDD is much more attractive than average and believes (quite deeply) that they are the most unattractive person on campus. It becomes a daily and even hourly obsession and typically leads to a severe depression.
7. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
We see college students who are germ-phobic and are compulsively washing and cleaning. We also see students suffering with unwanted intrusive thoughts of being dangerous, gay, perverted, etc.
8. Health Anxiety
We see students obsessed that a rash may be a deadly STD (despite medical evidence to the contrary) or that a headache or stomach ache means they have cancer. Perhaps that muscle twitch means a terminal neurodegenerative disorder. They may spend many hours a day scouring the internet looking for reassurance that their symptoms are safe, but they end up more and more paralyzed with fear.
9. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
We see cases of PTSD from car accidents, abuse, rape, and so on. The hallmark of PTSD is a near-constant attempt to push away the thoughts and feelings associated with the trauma, which tends to make those thoughts and feelings sneak out in unpleasant ways.
10. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
In this disorder, people worry a significant portion of their life and feel plagued by those worries. The college student with GAD may spend their days in a never-ending worry buffet over a wide range of topics (parents health, academics, friendships, etc.). Most people worry in short doses, but with GAD worry can be about every conceivable thing. People with GAD hate uncertainty and worry as a way to feel certain they can handle anything that comes their way (the opposite usually results and they feel unable to handle their future).
*It is normal for people dealing with an anxiety disorder to have more than one of the above. They tend to cluster for many people. Learning the skills for dealing with one tends to help with dealing with the others. They are all basically the same dance, but with different tunes!
How we can help
Step 1: Contact Dr. Goodman at (805) 473-3388 or by e-mail at [email protected]/~anxiet14 for a free brief phone consultation to determine whether our services are appropriate for your needs.
Step 2: Schedule an evaluation session. This lasts approximately 75-85 minutes.
Step 3: Then you will learn more about your anxiety (what causes it, what maintains it, and how it is treated). Usually, the things people are doing to feel better are actually making matters much worse.
Step 4: Treatment for anxiety disorders involve learning new skills (CBT, Mindfulness, etc.). Then we help you to face your fears (i.e. exposure therapy) using those skills. You get out of it what you put into it and we are here to help coach you through the process step by step!
Social Anxiety Workshop
Our social anxiety workshop teaches you the skills you need to deal with social fears. The workshop is limited to 5-8 participants and typically takes place over ten weeks. We try our best to work with everyone’s schedule and to plan it around Cal Poly’s quarter system. The workshop tends to be a fun, upbeat, and challenging experience—like a social anxiety boot camp! Feel free to contact us to discuss whether this might be a good fit for you.