HEALTH TIPS
LIFESTYLE
ANXIETY DISORDER
The health of every individual has characterized with a number of disorders and many are on pills or drugs to stay healthy or sustained their life.
Anxiety Disorder
Anxiety disorders are characterized by irrational worry, fear and panic in response to mundane situations.
Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress and can be beneficial in some situations. It can alert us to dangers and help us prepare and pay attention. Anxiety disorders differ from normal feelings of nervousness or anxiousness, and involve excessive fear or anxiety.
Anxiety disorders are the most common of mental disorders and affect nearly 30% of adults at some point in their lives. But anxiety disorders are treatable and a number of effective treatments are available. Treatment helps most people lead normal productive lives.
√Low self-esteem
√Genetics:
•people with a family history of anxiety disorders are more likely to experience anxiety
√Chemical disorders in brain
√Environment factors such as harassment, abuse, violence, rejections and death of a loved one
√Drug abuse or withdrawal
√Other mental health issues such as depression, bipolar disorder
The Six types includes;
✓panic disorder
✓social phobia
✓ generalized anxiety
✓agoraphobia
✓specific phobia
✓separation anxiety disorder
Anxiety disorders are characterized by irrational worry, fear and panic in response to mundane situations. Six types include panic disorder, social phobia, generalized anxiety and others.
We all get worried or scared in response to certain situations in our lives.
On a clinical level, anxiety refers to the state of extreme worry, fear and panic the majority of your day. Trivial situations or even in the anticipation of situations that have not happened will trigger these feelings in someone with a clinical anxiety disorder.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Generalized anxiety disorder involves persistent and excessive worry that interferes with daily activities. This ongoing worry and tension may be accompanied by physical symptoms, such as restlessness, feeling on edge or easily fatigued, difficulty concentrating, muscle tension or problems sleeping. Often the worries focus on everyday things such as job responsibilities, family health or minor matters such as chores, car repairs, or appointments.
Panic Disorder
The core symptom of panic disorder is recurrent panic attacks, an overwhelming combination of physical and psychological distress. During an attack several of these symptoms occur in combination:
Sweating
Trembling or shaking
Feeling of shortness of breath or smothering sensations
Chest pain
Feeling dizzy, light-headed or faint
Feeling of choking
Nausea or abdominal pains
Fear of losing control
Fear of dying
Phobias, Specific Phobia
A specific phobia is excessive and persistent fear of a specific object, situation or activity that is generally not harmful. Patients know their fear is excessive, but they can’t overcome it. These fears cause such distress that some people go to extreme lengths to avoid what they fear. Examples are fear of flying or fear of spiders.
Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is the fear of being in situations where escape may be difficult or embarrassing, or help might not be available in the event of panic symptoms. The fear is out of proportion to the actual situation and lasts generally six months or more and causes problems in functioning. A person with agoraphobia experiences this fear in two or more of the following situations:
Being in open spaces
Being in enclosed places
Standing in line or being in a crowd
Being outside the home alone
The individual actively avoids the situation, requires a companion or endures with intense fear or anxiety. Untreated agoraphobia can become so serious that a person may be unable to leave the house. A person can only be diagnosed with agoraphobia if the fear is intensely upsetting, or if it significantly interferes with normal daily activities.
Social Anxiety Disorder (previously called social phobia)
A person with social anxiety disorder has significant anxiety and discomfort about being embarrassed, humiliated, rejected or looked down on in social interactions. People with this disorder will try to avoid the situation or endure it with great anxiety. Common examples are extreme fear of public speaking, meeting new people or eating/drinking in public. The fear or anxiety causes problems with daily functioning and lasts at least six months.
Separation Anxiety Disorder
A person with separation anxiety disorder is excessively fearful or anxious about separation from those with whom he or she is attached. The feeling is beyond what is appropriate for the person’s age, persists (at least four weeks in children and six months in adults) and causes problems functioning.
A person with separation anxiety disorder may be persistently worried about losing the person closest to him or her, may be reluctant or refuse to go out or sleep away from home or without that person, or may experience nightmares about separation. Physical symptoms of distress often develop in childhood, but symptoms can carry though adulthood.
How Common Are Anxiety Disorders?
Anxiety refers to anticipation of a future concern and is more associated with muscle tension and avoidance behavior.
Fear is an emotional response to an immediate threat and is more associated with a fight or flight reaction – either staying to fight or leaving to escape danger.
Anxiety disorders can cause people to try to avoid situations that trigger or worsen their symptoms. Job performance, school work and personal relationships can be affected.
In general, for a person to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, the fear or anxiety must:
Be out of proportion to the situation or age inappropriate.
Hinder ability to function normally
There are several types of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, specific phobias, agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder and separation anxiety disorder.
Risk Factors
The causes of anxiety disorders are currently unknown but likely involve a combination of factors including genetic, environmental, psychological and developmental. Anxiety disorders can run in families, suggesting that a combination of genes and environmental stresses can produce the disorders.
Diagnosis and Treatment
The first step is to see your doctor to make sure there is no physical problem causing the symptoms. If an anxiety disorder is diagnosed, a mental health professional can work with you on the best treatment. Unfortunately, many people with anxiety disorders don’t seek help. They don’t realize that they have an illness that has effective treatments.
Self-Help, Coping, and Managing
There are a number of things people do to help cope with symptoms of anxiety disorders and make treatment more effective. Stress management techniques and meditation can be helpful. Support groups (in-person or online) can provide an opportunity to share experiences and coping strategies. Learning more about the specifics of a disorder and helping family and friends to understand better can also be helpful. Avoid caffeine, which can worsen symptoms, and check with your doctor about any medications.
How do you treat anxiety?
There are many effective treatment options for anxiety disorders, these include:
Medications:
SSRIs like buspirone (Buspar and Vanspar) are used for treatment of anxiety
Benzodiazepines like diazepam, lorazepam (Valium, Xanax, Librium, Ativan) are the medications to treat short term anxiety. These have a rapid onset of action
Talk therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): It is a short-term treatment designed to help the patients identify inaccurate and negative thinking (thinking traps) in situations that cause anxiety. It can be done as a one-on-one therapy or a group therapy session with people experiencing similar problems. CBT mainly focuses on the ongoing problems in a patient's life. It helps them develop new ways of processing their feelings, thoughts and behaviors to develop more effective ways of coping with their life
Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE)
It is a type of CBT that helps patients overcome the extreme distress they experience when reminded of past traumas or in confronting their fears. It is mainly used to treat PTSD and phobia.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
It involves teaching patients how to develop skills to regulate their emotions, stress-management, mindfulness and healthy interpersonal relationships
Family therapy
It is a type of group therapy that involves the patient's family to help them improve communication and develop better skills for overcoming anxiety.
•Meditation
•Yoga
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ANXIETY DISORDER
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