It is as if the two parts of their brain are not connected. One part order the body to do a certain thing, lock the door for example. The other part of the brain does not registers this action. The person is not sure if he did it, or if he did it right and he repeats the action again. But before the repetition accrues, the stress level is building up and leading to anxiety.

Have I locked the door when I left the house? Have I turned off the stove or is the pot left boiling and will burns the house down? Thoughts like that in a constant loop can cause a lot of stress and interfere with normal life. People with OCD are aware of the fact that are repeating the same action but they are powerless to stop themselves.
The fears a person with OCD can range from fear of germs, fear of harming others, fear of being embarrassed in public, fear of thinking bad thoughts, among many others. They need order in their life and any deviation causes anxiety. Compulsion that an OCD person can engage in are excessive washing of hands, refusing to touch door knobs or shake hands, eating food in a certain way and in certain order and being “stuck” on a word, number or phrase without being able to move on.
Doctors believe that the cause of OCD is both physical and environmental. The serotonin levels in the brain are usually low. Low level of serotonin uptake in the brain is thought to be passes from parents to children. Recently researchers found that there might be a link between repeated ear infections in childhood (especially Streptococcus) may lead to OCD later in life.
The treatments for OCD are similar to the treatments for anxiety. Anti depressants that elevate the level of serotonin uptake, psychological therapy and acquired skills that teach the sufferer how to avoid repetition are also helpful. The combination of all three is the best way to help a person suffering from OCD lead a normal and productive life.

Moderate anxiety helps you focus on the problems at hand, gather all your energy and motivation, but when the worry is so big that it is accompanied by feeling of helplessness, sleeplessness and confusion, that are not in proportion to the problems you deal with, then you are suffering from anxiety.

Anxiety can effect you physically as well as emotionally. The symptoms that usually accompany anxiety are divers. From trembling and shaking, through rapid heart rate and breathlessness. From feeling light headed and dizzy to cold sweat. The hands may be clammy, the muscles tense, ache or sore and a you have a feeling of something stuck in your throat.

Anxiety affect the parts in the brain which are responsible for communication and it may cause problems between you and your loved ones. When both the emotional and physical symptoms manifest themselves, we call it anxiety disorder.

Women are affected by anxiety twice as much as the men for reasons yet unknown. The causes of anxiety in itself are also often unknown. People with the disorder admit that they have felt anxious and worried all their lives.

The symptoms can start at any stage of life, and are believed to have some basis in hereditary. Children of parents with anxiety or depression are twice as likely to have those symptoms.
Anxiety disorder has many sub categories; Panic attacks, phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder and even post traumatic stress disorder.

Panic attack is a feeling of intense, unexplained fear or anxiety that last for an hour or so. It is accompanied by a racing heart, trouble breathing, cold sweat and fear to close you eyes because you might stop breathing. They happen to healthy people as well but are shorter and not that acute. When the panic happens regularly, such as every night or so, it interferes with your normal life and has to be treated.

Phobias – manifests themselves as an extreme and irrational fear. The sufferers are aware that their fear is irrational but can’t help themselves. Fear of flying, of high places, of spiders or clowns – all those may interfere with daily normal life and are bothersome. Most people deal with phobias by avoiding doing the thing that causes the fear, such as open or closed spaces, fear of criticism (social phobia) and more.

You could live with anxiety for many years without admitting to it, or you can have it treated and finally go on that plane to the vacation of your dreams.