Anxiety is common in people of all ages, and for one in four people, anxiety is debilitating. It’s also common for people to have more than one anxiety disorder or anxiety and depression at the same time. They are the most common mental health problem in women and second only to substance use disorders in men.
Skip to content
Duration: 35 minutes
Anxiety Disorders
Learn the signs, symptoms, and how it is diagnosed and treated.
Start LessonLesson Outline
By taking this interactive lesson, you’ll learn the answers to the following questions:
- What is anxiety, and how does it affect us?
- What causes anxiety disorders?
- What are the different types?
- How are they assessed, diagnosed and treated?
- What questions should I ask my healthcare provider?
Meet Debra and find out whether what she is experiencing would be considered normal anxiety or if it may be an anxiety disorder.
Handouts
Lesson Resources
Download these useful lesson resources.
-
Self-Help and Educational Resources Handout
-
This handout highlights useful links, apps, self-help books, and other resources.
View Resource -
Health Quality Ontario's Anxiety Disorders Patient Guide
-
Suggestions on what to discuss with your health care providers to help you receive high-quality care.
View Resource
More Resources
Micro-Learning
Subscribe to our free 4-week email-based micro-learning series and receive information about anxiety in your inbox.
SubscribeSurvey
Help us improve by giving us your feedback on this content with a 3-minute survey.
Take SurveyLesson References
Key sources of evidence/references for this lesson.
About this Project
This e-learning lesson was developed by the Division of e-Learning Innovation in the Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University. It was authored, reviewed and assessed for accuracy by Dr. Anthony J. Levinson, a psychiatrist at McMaster University. There are no conflicts of interest.
The development process included a review of the Canadian Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of Anxiety, Posttraumatic Stress and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders and Health Quality Ontario’s Patient Guide on Anxiety Disorders.
If you have questions or comments related to this resource, please contact us at info@healthhq.ca.
Core References
- Health Quality Ontario. Anxiety Disorders: Suggestions on What to Discuss with Your Health Care Providers to Help You Receive High-Quality Care; 2020. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.hqontario.ca/Portals/0/documents/evidence/quality-standards/qs-anxiety-disorders-patient-guide-en.pdf
- Health Quality Ontario. Anxiety Disorders: Care in All Settings; 2020. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://hqontario.ca/Portals/0/documents/evidence/quality-standards/qs-anxiety-disorders-quality-standard-en.pdf
- Katzman MA, Bleau P, Blier P, Chokka P, Kjernisted K, van Ameringen M. Canadian clinical practice guidelines for the management of anxiety, posttraumatic stress and obsessive-compulsive disorders. BMC Psychiatry. 2014;14(Suppl 1):S1. doi:10.1186/1471-244X-14-S1-S1
- Rector NA, Bourdeau D, Kitchen K, Joseph-Massiah L. Anxiety Disorders: an information guide: a guide for people with anxiety and their families; 2005. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.camh.ca/-/media/files/guides-and-publications/anxiety-guide-en.pdf
Learn More
Explore Our Other Topics
Major Depressive Disorder
Understand the signs and symptoms of depression, its assessment, and treatment options.
Depression
Mild Cognitive Impairment
Review the causes of mild cognitive impairment, its diagnosis, and management.
Cognitive Impairment
Promoting Brain Health
Reduce your risk of dementia through these evidence-based approaches to promote brain health.
Brain HealthAbout this e-learning lesson
-
This e-learning lesson was developed by the Division of e-Learning Innovation in the Faculty of Health Sciences. It was reviewed and assessed for accuracy by psychiatrist Dr. Anthony J. Levinson. There are no conflicts of interest. The development process included a review of the Canadian Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of Anxiety, Posttraumatic Stress and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders and Health Quality Ontario’s Patient Guide on Anxiety Disorders. The e-learning lesson was reviewed by experts in the content and e-learning instructional design, and was also evaluated through user experience testing and feedback surveys from the target audiences. If you have questions or comments related to this resource, please contact us at info@healthhq.ca.
-
See References area above. Key sources include the 2020 Health Quality Ontario Quality Standard on anxiety disorders; Canadian clinical practice guidelines; and others.
-
Date of initial publication on the McMaster Optimal Aging Portal: December 1, 2022. Date of publication on this site: February 21, 2023. Most recent review: June 27, 2024
-
The development of the e-learning lesson was funded through support from the McMaster Optimal Aging Portal, with support from the Labarge Optimal Aging Initiative and McMaster University. There are no conflicts of interest to declare.
Cookies
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience possible on our website and to analyze our traffic. You can change your cookie settings in your web browser at any time. If you continue without changing your settings, we'll assume that you are happy to receive cookies from our website. Review our Terms of Use for more information.