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Anxiety Disorders: types, symptoms, and treatment
Overview
Anxiety is a feeling of apprehension, fear, or worry. Most everyone experiences
temporary anxiety, a feeling of nervousness or fear, as a normal reaction
to a stressful situation at some point in life. While anxiety is a natural
response to some situations, it can develop into a debilitating disorder
in some people. There are several types of anxiety disorders, but they
all have the common symptoms of excessive, irrational fear and dread.
Most peope suffering from anxiety do not consult a doctor as they believe
only "mentally sick" people need to visit a psychiatrist. It is estimated
that about 13% of the United States population has anxiety. Due to pressures
of modern life, it is believed that people suffering from anxiety is increasing
at an alarming rate. The important thing is to understand that anxiety
can be treated and that living with constant anxiety is not necessary.
Untreated anxiety disorders can push people into avoiding situations
that trigger or worsen their symptoms. People with anxiety disorders are
likely to suffer from depression, and they also may abuse alcohol and
other drugs in an effort to gain relief from their symptoms. Job performance,
school work, and personal relationships can also suffer.
Types of anxiety disorders
There are several different anxiety disorders:
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder - an anxiety disorder characterized
by chronic, exaggerated worry and tension that is unfounded or much
more severe than the normal anxiety most people experience. Worrying
is difficult to control.
Symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder include muscle tension, trembling,
shortness of breath, fast heartbeat, dry mouth, dizziness, nausea, irritability,
loss of sleep and not being able to concentrate.
- Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder - an anxiety disorder characterized
by unexpected and repeated panic attacks along with intense anxiety
between attacks and possible avoidance of situations where attacks may
occur. Panic attacks last about 5 to 30 minutes. Panic attacks can lead
to phobias if they aren't treated.
- Phobias. A phobia is an extreme, unreasonable fear in response
to something specific. Examples include fear of crowds, bridges, snakes,
spiders, heights, open places or social embarrassment. A phobia is only
considered a problem when it keeps you from living a normal life. An
example is being afraid to leave home because you are afraid of having
a panic attack or of not being able to escape if an attack starts.
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - an anxiety disorder characterized
by recurrent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) or rituals (compulsions),
which feel uncontrollable to the sufferer.
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - a debilitating anxiety disorder
that may develop following a terrifying event. It is characterized by
persistent frightening thoughts and memories of the ordeal.
- Social Anxiety Disorder or Social Phobia - an anxiety disorder
characterized by a persistent, intense, and chronic fear of being watched
and judged by others and of being embarrassed or humiliated by one's
actions.
While each of these have their own distinct set of symptoms and features,
they are all bound together by the characteristic symptoms of excessive,
irrational fear and dread.
Symptoms of anxiety disorders
Anxiety is scientifically known as the fight/flight response since its
primary purpose is to activate the organism and protect it from harm.
Associated with this response are a number of physical, behavioral, and
mental changes:
- Physical symptoms:
- rapid or irregular heartbeat, feeling as if you are having a heart
attack
- stomach problems (gnawing feeling, nausea, diarrhea, irritated bowel
syndrome)
- breathing heavily, shortness of breath
- difficulty in swallowing
- sweating, or feeling cold and clammy
- headaches, lightheadedness or dizziness
- muscle tension and pains
- chronic fatigue
- difficulty falling or staying asleep
- insomnia
- hot flashes or chills
- chest pain
- rubbery legs, tingling in fingers or toes
- frequent urination
- Emotional and psychological symptoms:
- a general sense of apprehension and dread
- nervousness
- jumpiness
- poor memory
- lack of concentration
- extreme exhaustion
- fearfulness or terror
- isolation from others
- strong desire to escape
- feeling incredibly self-conscious and insecure
- feeling of being overwhelmed
- fear that you are losing your mind
- fear of going crazy, of dying
- fear of losing control
- frequently feel like crying for no reason
- feeling angry and lack of patience
- fear of madness, impending death
- feelings of being outside yourself, being cut off from reality
- feeling worried all the time, tired, irritable
Self-help methods
A self-help treatment is one that can be used by the public without necessarily
consulting a health professional.
- Physical Exercise. Because anxiety is the body's response for fight
or flight - physical exercise is a very good way of burning the adrenaline
off. It improves our physical well-being and helps to restore balance.
Choose the type of physical exercise that you enjoy and can do regularly
- cycling, walking, swimming, dancing, sport etc.
- Eat a healthy, balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables.
- Avoid alcohol and drug abuse. It may seem that alcohol or drugs relax
you. But in the long run they make anxiety worse and cause more problems.
- Avoid caffeine. Caffeine is found in coffee, tea, soft drinks and
chocolate. Caffeine may increase your sense of anxiety because it stimulates
your nervous system.
- Spend as much time as possible with people who make you feel good.
- Share your thoughts and fears with friends, family or a therapist.
A journal might be a helpful way to record things that cause make you
anxious, stressed or hurt.
- Often, helping someone else can take your mind off your worries and
give you perspective. Volunteering on a regular basis or helping someone
in need from your neighborhood, church or community can give you a break
from yourself and your worries.
- Improve you intimate love relationships. If your anxiety stems from
early life issues that interfere with your ability to build safe, trusting,
intimate love relationships, you may benefit from learning ways to improve
love relationships.
- Plan your day - list the chores or activities that need to be done
today, then the ones that can wait until tomorrow. List them in order
of priority, and make sure you at least try to do those at the top of
the list. Balance time for work or chores, for time with family, and
time for yourself.
- Relax. Take time out for play, recreation and relaxation and try to
spend time doing hobbies or activities you really enjoy.
- Identify your stress or anxiety triggers. Identify the situations
or thoughts that cause anxiety. It is only by identifying them that
you will learn to control the anxiety. Consider the following: When
do I feel anxious? Who am I with? How do other people cope in this situation?
Is there anything I can do differently? Am I allowing myself enough
time? Is there anyone I can talk to or telephone?
Try to limit the known stressors in your life.
- Be realistic - don't set your goals too high. Lower your expectations.
- Change gears. If you notice the start of anxiety or panic coming on,
try to break the cycle before it takes over. Stop what you are doing
and do something athletic (like going for a walk or a run) or do something
that you really enjoy (like painting or knitting) to shift your thoughts.
- Become your own expert. Learning more about your anxiety will help
you get the best treatment and enable you to conquer your fears. Read
books, visit websites, go to lectures and workshops, and talk to your
doctor and therapist.
- Laugh as much as possible and seek out things and people that you
find funny (like exercise, laughter causes the release of healthy endorphins
in the body). Try to find humor or absurdity in stressful situations.
- Positive Self-Talk. Use positive self-talk and affirmations - tell
yourself "I can ..." or "I will ..." and avoid the negative self-talk
that you may be more used to.
- Don’t generalize. Notice when you use expressions that generalize
("He always lets me down." "She is never nice to me." "Everyone knows
I'm a loser." "No one will help me."). Such statements are rarely true,
but when you use them, you are more likely to react to the situation
as if they are, which will increase your anxiety.
- Confront the things that have made you anxious in the past. You can
start by picturing yourself confronting things that have made you anxious.
After you feel more comfortable picturing yourself confronting these
things, you can begin to identify the root cause of your anxiety and
take steps to change your response.
- Deal with situations/problems before they get out of control.
- Positive Thinking. Optimism can counteract the negative impact stress,
tension and anxiety has on your immune system and well-being. Often
it is how you perceive things that determine if you get overwhelmed,
both mentally and physically. Having a positive attitude, finding the
good in what life throws your way and looking at the bright side of
things enhances your ability to effectively manage stress.
- Sleep. Getting enough sound sleep has a profound impact on your stress
levels, immune function and disease resistance. A chronic lack of sleep
can leave you feeling sluggish, irritable, forgetful, accident-prone,
and have difficulty concentrating or coping with life's daily aggravations.
Long-term sleep loss can also result in heart disease, stroke, hypertension,
depression, and anxiety. Sleep time is when your body and immune system
do most of its repairs and rejuvenation. Strive to get 7-8 hours of
sleep each night. Remember rest and relaxation go hand in hand.
Medications for anxiety
According to the National Institute for Mental Health, the types of medications
often prescribed for anxiety disorders include:
- Antidepressants:
SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), SNRIs (serotonin-norepinephrine
reuptake inhibitors), Tricyclic antidepressants.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are helpful in a variety
of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder, panic
disorder, OCD, and social phobia.
The FDA has granted specific indications to the following disorders
and agents: generalized anxiety disorder (venlafaxine,
buspirone,
escitalopram,
paroxetine),
social phobia (paroxetine,
sertraline,
venlafaxine),
OCD (fluoxetine,
sertraline,
paroxetine, fluvoxamine),
and PTSD (sertraline, paroxetine). All SSRIs may be equal in the treatment
of anxiety disorders. However, higher doses may be necessary in the
treatment of OCD.
- Anti-Anxiety
Medications: Benzodiazepines, Azipirones.
Benzodiazepines are especially useful in the management of acute situational
anxiety disorder and adjustment disorder where the duration of pharmacotherapy
is anticipated to be 6 weeks or less and for the rapid control of panic
attacks. If long-term use of benzodiazepines seems necessary, obtaining
a confirmatory opinion from a second physician may be helpful because
chronic benzodiazepine use may be associated with tolerance, withdrawal,
and treatment-emergent anxiety.
Benzodiazepines include clonazepam, which is used for social phobia
and GAD; alprazolam, which is helpful for panic disorder and GAD; and
lorazepam, which is also useful for panic disorder.
A common azipirone is called buspirone
(Buspar). Buspirone,
is a newer anti-anxiety medication that is used to treat GAD. Unlike
the benzodiazepines, buspirone must be taken consistently for at least
two weeks to achieve an anti-anxiety effect.
Herbal remedies
There are many natural alternatives that can help relieve anxiety. One
of such natural herbal remedies is PureCalm
produced by Native
Remedies.
PureCalm - proven natural anxiety treatment reducing escalating
anxiety symptoms and generalized anxiety. PureCalm combines the soothing
properties of Melissa Officinalis, with those of Lavender and Passiflora
Incarnata. PureCalm is non-addictive and can help you with:
- Axiety and nervousness
- Stress and tension
- Panic Attacks
- Restlessness
- Irritability
Interesting Facts
- Most people with one anxiety disorder also have another anxiety
disorder.
- Anxiety disorders frequently co-occur with depressive disorders
or substance abuse.
- Nearly 3/4 of those with an anxiety disorder have their first
episode by age 21.5.
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