Okay this is gonna sound weird… a couple of my friends in youth group think that I may have an anxiety disorder. I tried to tell my mom this and she blew it off (I’ve tried to convince her I have tons of different diseases, this is the only one I actually thought I did have), but when I looked up the symptoms on the net, I was like “ahh!” It can take me hours to sleep at night because I think there’s someone in my room about to kill me, and my heart will start pounding really fast/ I won’t be able to breathe when the phone rings and I’m home alone… and that’s most of it, but not all… anyone think that’s an anxiety disorder? 
(BTW, my dad has one, and isn’t it genetic??)
IANADoctor, but it seems plausible. I was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder two years ago, and taking meds helped a ton! You should see a psychiatrist if you think you have an anxiety disorder, plus get some professional therapeutic help.
Well, thinking there’s someone in your room who’s gonna kill you isn’t a symptom of anxiety disorders. But breathlessness, accellerating heartbeat, sweating-- basically, physiological signs of agitation-- are.
Keep in mind that it can be easy to read a list of symptoms off a website or textbook and think “Oh my god! That’s exactly how I feel!” It’s called medical student’s disease. It’s too easy to perform self-diagnoses and decide you have a problem. You may be taking a handful of occurrences and blowing them out of proportion.
If this is really concerning you, you should go see a doctor. Because, really, what we armchair psychologists here at the SDMB think is of little importance. See a doctor, and tell him how you feel when those symtoms come over you. Let a professional assess you.
RE: genetics. IIRC, if an immediate relative has an anxiety disorder, you do have a stronger chance than some guy off the street of developing one yourself. But it’s not entirely genetic. Still, it’s worth mentioning to your doc that your dad has one-- try to find out from your dad which disorder he has.
Good comments, all. I’m not a shrink or a doctor (which would be the people you really need to talk to), but I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and have suffered symptoms similar to what you’re experiencing, ** lonelynoodle05 ** . And yes, the pounding heart and difficulty breathing can be signs of a panic attack and may be associated with an anxiety disorder. I would strongly recommend you see someone. If your mother won’t believe you (and do make an effort to explain to her exactly what you’re going through), then I would suggest going to someone else you trust - a friend or family member would be a good start, or perhaps a school therapist, if your school has one.
Best wishes.
I just posted about having generalized anxiety disorder in my thread about being nervous, and when the board refreshed, this thread was right underneath it. Creepy sequential thread titles! :eek:
Anyway I have it too, and it can boil over into full-blown panic attacks sometimes. It’s under control, but it still sucks. Just know that you’re not alone. 
Best of luck.
It sure sounds possible. I’ve gotten them out of the blue about two months ago. Have no clue why they started, as I’m generally an easy-going character, not particularly stressed-out by much.
I’ve had two full-blown attacks in my life (one with an obvious cause, the last without) and let me tell you, it sucks big time. The worst part for me is the feeling that I’m going insane and am enjoying the last moments of sanity. For me the symptoms are shortness of breath, lightheadedness, thoughts of death, etc, etc. When it happens, it usually peaks at about 10 minutes, although it generally leaves me loopy for an hour or two and wiped out for up to two days. It’s bizarre.
Anyhow, there are plenty of treatments available, both immediate short-term treatments which stop attacks from happening (Xanax and other benzos, for instance) plus long-term treatments which work on your seratonin levels (Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, etc.)
Of course, none of us can diagnose you from a computer. See a school doctor if you must. It’s a real problem, and difficult to understand unless you’ve had it. Like I said, up until two month ago, I just didn’t get why anxiety was such a problem with some people. I thought, hey everybody’s got some stress. There’s stress and then there’s your body shifting into “fight-or-flight” mode. There’s a world of difference between the two.