DSM-5 & ICD-10 Classification of Anxiety Disorders

All 18 Terms & Definitions

Separation Anxiety Disorder — DSM-5

Excessive fear or anxiety concerning separation from attachment figures, developmentally inappropriate and present for at least 4 weeks in children/adolescents or 6 months in adults. DSM-5 (2013) expanded the diagnosis across the lifespan, removing the earlier DSM-IV requirement that onset occur before age 18. Symptoms must cause significant distress or functional impairment.

Separation Anxiety Disorder — ICD-10 (F93.0)

Coded as F93.0 "Separation Anxiety Disorder of Childhood" within Chapter F93 (Emotional Disorders with Onset Specific to Childhood). ICD-10 restricts the diagnosis to childhood onset — a key difference from DSM-5, which recognises adult presentations. Symptoms include excessive distress upon separation, worry about losing attachment figures, and reluctance to be alone.

Selective Mutism — DSM-5

Consistent failure to speak in specific social situations (e.g., school) despite speaking in other contexts, present for at least 1 month (not limited to the first month of school), interfering with educational or occupational achievement. Classified under Anxiety Disorders in DSM-5, reflecting evidence that the behaviour is anxiety-driven rather than oppositional or volitional.

Elective Mutism — ICD-10 (F94.0)

The ICD-10 equivalent, coded F94.0 under F94 "Disorders of Social Functioning with Onset Specific to Childhood and Adolescence." ICD-10 retains the older term "Elective" (implying some element of choice), whereas DSM-5 renamed it "Selective" to reflect contextual specificity rather than volition. ICD-10 places it outside the anxiety disorders block.

Specific Phobia — DSM-5

Marked fear or anxiety about a specific object or situation, typically provoking immediate fear response, actively avoided or endured with intense anxiety, out of proportion to actual danger, and persistent (typically 6+ months). Five specifier types: Animal, Natural Environment, Blood-Injection-Injury, Situational, and Other. "Social type" is NOT a valid specifier — that is Social Anxiety Disorder.

Specific (Isolated) Phobias — ICD-10 (F40.2)

Coded F40.2 within the phobic anxiety disorders block (F40). F40 also contains F40.0 (Agoraphobia) and F40.1 (Social Phobias). ICD-10's term "isolated phobias" emphasises the discrete, circumscribed nature of the fear. The structure closely parallels DSM-5, though ICD-10 provides less prescriptive duration criteria.

Social Anxiety Disorder — DSM-5

Marked fear or anxiety about social situations in which the person may be scrutinised by others. The fear is that the person will act in a way that will be humiliating or embarrassing, or that anxiety symptoms will be negatively evaluated. Symptoms must persist for 6 months or more. DSM-5 added a "performance only" specifier for those whose fear is confined to public speaking/performance.

Social Phobia — ICD-10 (F40.1)

Coded F40.1 under Phobic Anxiety Disorders. Centres on a fear of scrutiny by other people leading to avoidance of social situations. ICD-10 does not specify a minimum 6-month duration (unlike DSM-5), and does not include the "performance only" specifier. Both systems recognise that the fear extends beyond shyness to significant avoidance and distress.

Panic Disorder — DSM-5

Recurrent unexpected panic attacks followed by at least 1 month of (a) persistent concern or worry about further attacks or their consequences, or (b) significant maladaptive behavioural change related to the attacks. In DSM-5, Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia are fully independent diagnoses — a key change from DSM-IV where Agoraphobia was a specifier of Panic Disorder.

Panic Disorder — ICD-10 (F41.0)

Also termed "Episodic Paroxysmal Anxiety" in ICD-10, coded F41.0 under Other Anxiety Disorders (F41). Unlike DSM-5, ICD-10 permits Agoraphobia to be coded with panic as a single category under F40.0. ICD-10 F41.0 thus represents Panic Disorder without significant agoraphobia, while F40.01 captures Agoraphobia with Panic Disorder.

Agoraphobia — DSM-5

Marked fear or anxiety about two or more of five situational categories: public transport, open spaces, enclosed places, queues/crowds, and being outside the home alone. The person fears these situations because escape might be difficult or help unavailable during a panic attack or incapacitating symptom. Situations are actively avoided or require a companion. DSM-5 codes Agoraphobia independently of Panic Disorder.

Agoraphobia — ICD-10 (F40.0)

Classified F40.0 within Phobic Anxiety Disorders. ICD-10 provides two subcategories: F40.00 (Agoraphobia without panic disorder) and F40.01 (Agoraphobia with panic disorder). The bundled coding contrasts with DSM-5's full separation. ICD-10 Agoraphobia includes fear of crowds, public places, and situations from which escape might be difficult.

Generalised Anxiety Disorder — DSM-5

Excessive anxiety and worry about numerous events or activities, occurring more days than not for at least 6 months, that the person finds difficult to control. Adults must show 3 of 6 associated symptoms: restlessness/on edge, easy fatigue, difficulty concentrating, irritability, muscle tension, or sleep disturbance (children require only 1). The worry is not confined to a single theme.

Generalised Anxiety Disorder — ICD-10 (F41.1)

Coded F41.1 under Other Anxiety Disorders. Key difference from DSM-5: ICD-10 places greater emphasis on autonomic symptoms (palpitations, sweating, trembling, dry mouth) as part of the primary symptom cluster. ICD-10 does not specify a 6-month minimum with the same rigour, and gives a longer symptom checklist including motor tension and hypervigilance alongside autonomic features.

Anxiety Disorder Due to Another Medical Condition — DSM-5

Prominent anxiety or panic attacks that are the direct physiological consequence of another medical condition (e.g., hyperthyroidism, pheochromocytoma, cardiac arrhythmia, hypoglycaemia). Critically, a psychological reaction to having a medical illness does not qualify — the condition must cause anxiety through a direct biological mechanism. Specifiers indicate the dominant symptom type.

Substance/Medication-Induced Anxiety Disorder — DSM-5

Prominent anxiety or panic attacks that develop during or shortly after substance intoxication/withdrawal, or following exposure to a medication. The diagnosis is NOT made if symptoms are better explained by an independent anxiety disorder that preceded substance use, or if symptoms persist for a substantial period beyond acute withdrawal. Many substances (caffeine, stimulants, cannabis, alcohol withdrawal) can produce anxiety syndromes.

Illness Anxiety Disorder — DSM-5 (Somatic Symptom Chapter)

Preoccupation with having or acquiring a serious illness, with absent or mild somatic symptoms. The preoccupation causes significant distress or functional impairment and persists for at least 6 months. Importantly, DSM-5 places this under "Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders" — NOT the Anxiety Disorders chapter — reflecting the centrality of illness preoccupation over anxiety per se. It replaces much of what was previously called Hypochondriasis.

Hypochondriacal Disorder — ICD-10 (F45.2)

Coded F45.2 under Somatoform Disorders (F45) in ICD-10. Characterised by a persistent preoccupation with the possibility of having one or more serious disorders, despite medical reassurance. Like DSM-5's placement outside the anxiety chapter, ICD-10 also groups this with somatoform presentations rather than with F40–F41 anxiety disorders, recognising the distinct phenomenology of illness preoccupation.