Anxiety Disorders: What s The Only Thing Nobody Is Talking About
Anxiety Disorders Symptoms
It's normal to feel anxiety and apprehension from time to time. If these feelings are persistent and interfere with your daily life, you might be suffering from anxiety disorder.
A health professional can help you find the right treatment for your needs. This can include antianxiety or psychotherapy, as well as natural remedies such as exercise and a healthy diet and sleeping.
1. Fear and Worry
Everyone experiences anxiety and fear at times. It's part of the body's "fight or flight" response to danger. But if the feeling is severe, doesn't go away and interferes with your daily activities you could be suffering from an anxiety disorder. Your doctor can diagnose anxiety disorders by speaking to you and doing an examination and urine or blood tests, and examining your past health. You may also be provided with questionnaires to complete that help your doctor evaluate whether you have a specific anxiety disorder.
The symptoms of anxiety disorders can vary depending on the type. People suffering from generalized anxiety disorder, for example, worry excessively and irrationally about everyday events even though there is no real threat. They also have trouble sleeping or relaxing. Other signs include a fast or racing heart (heart pounding) and trembling. They also experience sweating. People who suffer from panic disorders have frequent periods of fear or terror that are intense that can reach a high in minutes. They also have trouble controlling their emotions. They often try to avoid certain locations or activities to avoid these attacks happening.
People who suffer from phobias have strong fears about certain things, such as snakes or flying. They might have other symptoms as well like breathing problems or a headache. People suffering from PTSD experience anxiety after witnessing or experiencing traumatizing events, such as a war or car crash. Other symptoms include flashbacks or nightmares that reminisce about the traumatic incident.
Other anxiety disorders include OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) as well as hoarding disorder and social anxiety disorder. These disorders cause you to feel anxious in social situations. There's also anxiety over an individual health issue, known as illness anxiety disorder (formerly known as hypochondria). Stress and chemical imbalances can cause anxiety. Sometimes, anxiety is a side effect of some medicines.
2. Panic Attacks
People with anxiety disorders experience recurring feelings of fear and panic that are not proportional to their situation. These feelings can cause severe physical reactions such as an intense pulse, a breathing problems, and nausea. You might also feel disengaged or unreal.
Although anyone can experience panic disorder but it's more common to develop it during childhood, adolescence, or early adulthood. Many factors can cause it, such as prolonged or extreme stress that creates chemical imbalances in the brain and nervous system. Trauma, especially during the adolescent years or childhood, can increase your risk of anxiety disorders.
Panic attacks can happen without reason or in response to a particular circumstance that makes you feel anxious like being in an en masse. They differ from normal anxiety symptoms since they are more intense symptoms and are often unexpected. People suffering from anxiety disorders may also experience a mix of expected and unexpected panic attacks.
Talking therapies and medication are the most popular treatments for panic attacks and anxiety. Talking therapies can help you learn to manage your fears and overcome unfounded beliefs that cause anxiety. They can teach relaxation exercises like mindfulness and deep breathing. Certain medications, especially SSRIs (such as Prozac and Paxil) and SNRIs (such as duloxetine and venlafaxine) can help to make anxiety and panic less severe.
It's important that you see your doctor right away if you have frequent panic attacks. Your doctor will be able to check for other health conditions that have similar symptoms and recommend other treatments.
3. Insomnia
When people are anxious they may have trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep at night. This is known as insomnia. It can last for a short time or it can last a long time. Insomnia makes it difficult to function during the day, and can cause serious health issues. It is more prevalent among older adults and is more common in women than men. It is more common in those with psychiatric disorders.
Insomnia can be caused by a myriad of different things. In the short term, illnesses such as colds or headaches, as well as chronic illnesses such as arthritis, acid reflux or Parkinson's disease; and medications can all affect your sleep. Stressful life events can cause it. About half of the people who have chronic insomnia also have a mental health condition which is usually depression or anxiety.
The first thing the doctor will do is look for physical causes for the problem. They will review your medical history and ask about the symptoms making it difficult to sleep. They will also want to be aware of whether any medications you are taking are affecting it. They can also conduct a sleep study to monitor your breathing and heart rate at night.
The most effective treatment of insomnia is a form of behavioral therapy. It helps you change the negative thoughts that keep you awake. It also teaches you ways to unwind before going to bed. There are techniques for doing this, like progressive muscle relaxation, biofeedback and meditation. Your doctor can assist you to find a therapist to teach you the techniques. If you don't respond to behavioral therapy there are many medications that can help improve your sleep. They include benzodiazepines, that can be employed for short-term relief of symptoms, and antianxiety or antidepressant medication.
4. Eating Disorders
Eating disorders are characterised by anxiety about weight, body shape and food and eating habits such as eating excessively, purging frequently, vomiting, or misuse of laxatives and exercising. A lot of people suffering from an eating disorder suffer from anxiety. The same is true for those who also suffer from mental illnesses such as depression or bipolar disorder. Both conditions can lead to an unhealthy cycle where eating disorder symptoms are further aggravated by the person's mood issues.
There is a strong connection between anxiety and eating disorders as greater levels of anxiety symptoms being linked to greater severity of the disorder. Patients with anorexia nervosa are more likely to suffer from high levels of anxiety-related symptoms. Similar is the case for binge-eating disorders, bulimia, or the condition known as bulimia. In some cases anxiety can be the direct reason behind an eating disorder. In other cases, it could be an additional sign of an eating disorder.
Researchers discovered that the presence of anxiety and depression comorbid symptoms was strongly associated with more severe eating disorders among young females. The researchers employed an assessment of four items called the Patient Health Questionnaire-4, which measures depression and anxiety symptoms. They also assessed the severity of a person's eating disorder and asked participants to rate their coping strategies for anxiety.
The authors also examined three factors that may be a reason for the connection between anxiety and eating disorders self-esteem, perfectionist tendencies and mood dysregulation. They discovered that these variables moderated the link between anxiety/depression symptoms and symptomatology of eating disorders and that they did so in different types of anxiety disorders ways for different subgroups of the sample. They hope that the findings will lead to more precise and specific treatment for eating disorders.
5. Anxiety-related physical conditions that can be linked to anxiety
The majority of people have anxiety at some moment in their lives but it could turn into an illness if it becomes extreme and affects your with daily activities. Some people also have specific physical symptoms, such as stomach discomfort or chest pain according to the type of anxiety they have.
Getting the right treatment for anxiety disorders can make people feel better and lead happier lives. Psychotherapy, or talk therapy, helps many people. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a popular type. CBT helps you identify and change negative thoughts that cause anxiety and anxiety. It also teaches you how to face your fears and take small steps to overcome them.
Medication can be helpful. Benzodiazepines, like diazepam or Valium can help ease anxiety and panic attacks. Antidepressants like SSRIs and tricyclic antidepressants are also prescribed. These drugs are used to treat anxiety disorder getting worse disorders by themselves or in conjunction with other treatments.
Medical conditions can cause anxiety and may have the same symptoms as anxiety disorders. Traumas to the head can trigger anxiety and depression, for example. Other conditions that can trigger anxiety include chronic pain, fatigue disorders as well as rheumatologic diseases like Lupus, and a few nutritional deficiencies.
Certain factors increase the risk of developing an anxiety disorder. These are referred to as risk factors. Certain risk factors are genetic, like an ancestral history of anxiety or disorders. Other factors such as childhood abuse, depression or other mental disorders, and an accumulation of stress for a long time can increase the risk of anxiety disorders. This is why it is essential to undergo a thorough physical exam if you have anxiety.
