What is anxiety?
Anxiety is your body’s natural response to
stress. It’s a feeling of fear or apprehension about what’s to come. For
example, going to a job interview or giving a speech on the first day of school
may cause some people to feel fearful and nervous.
Anxiety affects everyone in
different ways. Sometimes, the feelings of fear and dread don’t go away or get
worse over time. Here, you can learn about anxiety, who it affects, and how to
manage it.
But if your feelings of anxiety are extreme,
last for at least 6 months, and are interfering with your life, you may have an
anxiety disorder.
What is
an anxiety disorder?
An anxiety disorder is a type of mental health condition.
If you have an anxiety disorder, you may respond to certain things and situations
with fear and dread. You may also experience physical signs of anxiety, such as
a pounding heart and sweating.
It’s normal to have some anxiety. You may feel anxious or
nervous if you have to tackle a problem at work, go to an interview, take a
test or make an important decision. And anxiety can even be beneficial. For
example, anxiety helps us notice dangerous situations and focuses our
attention, so we stay safe.
But an anxiety disorder goes beyond the regular
nervousness and slight fear you may feel from time to time. An anxiety disorder
happens when:
- Anxiety interferes with your ability
to function.
- You often overreact when something
triggers your emotions.
- You can’t control your responses to
situations.
Anxiety disorders can make it difficult to get through
the day. Fortunately, there are several effective treatments for anxiety
disorders.
Symptoms
Common
anxiety signs and symptoms include:
·
Feeling
nervous, restless or tense
·
Having
a sense of impending danger, panic or doom
·
Having
an increased heart rate
·
Breathing
rapidly (hyperventilation)
·
Sweating
·
Trembling
·
Feeling
weak or tired
·
Trouble
concentrating or thinking about anything other than the present worry
·
Having
trouble sleeping
·
Experiencing
gastrointestinal (GI) problems
·
Having
difficulty controlling worry
·
Having
the urge to avoid things that trigger anxiety
Several
types of anxiety disorders exist:
·
Agoraphobia (ag-uh-ruh-FOE-be-uh) is a type of
anxiety disorder in which you fear and often avoid places or situations that
might cause you to panic and make you feel trapped, helpless or embarrassed.
·
Anxiety disorder due to a medical condition includes symptoms of
intense anxiety or panic that are directly caused by a physical health problem.
·
Generalized anxiety disorder includes persistent
and excessive anxiety and worry about activities or events — even ordinary,
routine issues. The worry is out of proportion to the actual circumstance, is
difficult to control and affects how you feel physically. It often occurs along
with other anxiety disorders or depression.
·
Panic disorder involves repeated episodes of sudden
feelings of intense anxiety and fear or terror that reach a peak within minutes
(panic attacks). You may have feelings of impending doom, shortness of breath,
chest pain, or a rapid, fluttering or pounding heart (heart palpitations).
These panic attacks may lead to worrying about them happening again or avoiding
situations in which they've occurred.
·
Selective mutism is a consistent failure of children to
speak in certain situations, such as school, even when they can speak in other
situations, such as at home with close family members. This can interfere with
school, work and social functioning.
·
Separation anxiety disorder is a childhood
disorder characterized by anxiety that's excessive for the child's
developmental level and related to separation from parents or others who have
parental roles.
·
Social anxiety disorder (social phobia) involves high levels
of anxiety, fear and avoidance of social situations due to feelings of
embarrassment, self-consciousness and concern about being judged or viewed
negatively by others.
·
Specific phobias are characterized by major anxiety when
you're exposed to a specific object or situation and a desire to avoid it.
Phobias provoke panic attacks in some people.
·
Substance-induced anxiety disorder is characterized by
symptoms of intense anxiety or panic that are a direct result of misusing
drugs, taking medications, being exposed to a toxic substance or withdrawal
from drugs.
·
Other specified anxiety disorder and unspecified anxiety
disorder are
terms for anxiety or phobias that don't meet the exact criteria for any other
anxiety disorders but are significant enough to be distressing and disruptive.
Diagnosis
See your GP if anxiety is affecting your daily life or is causing you
distress.
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) can be difficult to diagnose. In some
cases, it can also be difficult to distinguish from other mental health
conditions, such as depression.
Anxiety is a normal
reaction to stress that most people experience throughout their lives. A person
may feel anxious when speaking in public, taking a test, or making an important
life decision. But if the anxiety is more than temporary worry or fear, does
not go away, or worsens over time, this may be a sign of an anxiety disorder.
Causes
The causes of anxiety disorders aren't fully understood. Life
experiences such as traumatic events appear to trigger anxiety disorders in
people who are already prone to anxiety. Inherited traits also can be a factor.
Medical causes
For some
people, anxiety may be linked to an underlying health issue. In some cases,
anxiety signs and symptoms are the first indicators of a medical illness. If
your doctor suspects your anxiety may have a medical cause, he or she may order
tests to look for signs of a problem.
Examples
of medical problems that can be linked to anxiety include:
·
Heart disease
·
Diabetes
·
Thyroid problems, such as hyperthyroidism
·
Respiratory disorders, such as chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma
·
Drug misuse or withdrawal
·
Withdrawal from alcohol, anti-anxiety
medications (benzodiazepines) or other medications
·
Chronic pain or irritable bowel syndrome
·
Rare tumors that produce certain
fight-or-flight hormones
Sometimes
anxiety can be a side effect of certain medications.
It's possible
that your anxiety may be due to an underlying medical condition if:
·
You don't have any blood relatives (such as a
parent or sibling) with an anxiety disorder
·
You didn't have an anxiety disorder as a
child
·
You don't avoid certain things or situations
because of anxiety
·
You have a sudden occurrence of anxiety that
seems unrelated to life events and you didn't have a previous history of
anxiety
Other outside factors that can cause
anxiety:
- Medication
side effects
- Use of an
illicit drug, such as Cocaine
- Symptoms
of a medical illness (such as heart attack , heat stroke,
hypoglycemia)
- Lack of
oxygen in circumstances as diverse as high altitude sickness, emphysema,
or pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in the vessels of the lung)
The
doctor has the often-difficult task of determining which symptoms come from
which causes. For example, in a study of people with chest pain -- a sign of
heart disease -- 43% were found to have a panic disorder, not a heart-related
condition.
Anxiety
Treatment
Your heart is pounding and you
feel like you can't catch your breath. You're dizzy and your vision blurs.
Thoughts rush around your head so fast that you can't focus on any of them. You
start getting afraid that you might faint- what would everyone think if that
were to happen? Then you'd be the freak that fainted! Geez, you'd never live
that one down!
Maybe your anxiety focuses on a
certain thing like spiders, flying, or germs. You certainly can't be around
that thing! Heck, you can't even think about it without breaking out in a cold
sweat. And it's keeping you from spending time with your family and friends,
not to mention that it's very embarrassing! You can't help but ask yourself
what's wrong with you that you can't just stop it! It seems like everyone else
just effortlessly goes through life.
This anxiety is keeping you as
an observer of your own life. You always are on the outside looking in, rather
than being an active participant in your own life. Wouldn't you like to be in
control for a change rather than being controlled by your anxiety?
·
Generalized
Anxiety- This
is you if you have excessive anxiety, but it's not really about anything in
particular and is in a number of different places and circumstances.
·
Social
Anxiety- social
anxiety is notable by the anxiety felt in social situations, or when you feel
scrutinized or judged by people around you. It can affect you at work, when you
are at play, or when you have to perform (like giving a speech or a
presentation in front of others). If often is the fear that you will be embarrassed
or rejected.
·
Specific
Phobias- This
is when a very specific thing triggers your anxiety, like a fear of flying,
driving over bridges, spiders, or of blood.
·
OCD- or Obsessive
Compulsive Disorder is primarily an anxiety disorder that effects your thoughts
(obsessions) and your behavior (compulsions). People with OCD have recurrent
anxiety-producing thoughts which they attempt to control with repetitive,
ritualistic behaviors that feel driven to do.
·
Panic
Disorder- is
a person who repeatedly has debilitating panic attacks that can make it
difficult to live your life. It can often morph into a fear of having more
panic attacks.
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