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