Anxiety Disorders Explained In Fewer Than 140 Characters
Anxiety Disorders Symptoms
It's normal to experience anxiety and apprehension from time to the time. If these feelings are constant and are affecting your daily life, you may have anxiety disorder.
A healthcare professional can help you in locating a solution that is compatible with your symptoms. This can include antianxiety medications or psychotherapy and natural remedies like exercise and a healthy diet and sleep.
1. Worry and Fear
Everyone feels anxiety and fear from time time -- it's a natural part of our body's "fight-or-flight" response to danger. However, if the fear or anxiety is severe, doesn't go away and interferes with your daily activities you could be suffering from an anxiety disorder. Your doctor can identify anxiety disorders by speaking to you and conducting an examination and urine or blood tests, and examining your previous health. You might also be asked to fill out questionnaires that help your doctor determine if you suffer from an anxiety disorder.
Types of anxiety disorders have different symptoms. For instance, those with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) suffer from persistent excessive and irrational anxiety about their daily routines even though they are aware of no danger. They also have difficulty getting comfortable or falling asleep. Other signs include a fast or racing heart (heart pounding) as well as trembling and sweating. People suffering from panic disorder experience frequent episodes of intense feelings of terror or fear that can reach a peak within minutes, and they have difficulty managing their emotions. They tend to avoid certain places or activities to stop these attacks from occurring.
People who suffer from phobias have intense fears of certain things, such as snakes or flying. They might have other symptoms like breathing problems or a headache. People with PTSD experience anxiety when they witness or experience a traumatic incident, like a war, or car accident. They may also experience other symptoms, too, such as nightmares and flashbacks of the traumatic event.
Other anxiety disorders include ocd (obsessive compulsive disorder) as well as hoarding disorder and social anxiety disorder. These disorders make you 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 a chemical imbalance can also trigger anxiety. Certain medications can trigger anxiety as a side-effect.
2. Panic Attacks
People with anxiety disorders are prone to experiencing recurring sensations of fear and panic that are out of proportion to their circumstances. These feelings can trigger intense physical reactions, including a racing heartbeat, shortness of breath and nausea. You may also feel detached or unreal.
While anyone can have panic attacks, you're more likely to develop this type of mental health condition in the adolescent years, childhood or early adulthood. It is caused by a variety of factors such as prolonged or severe stress that causes an imbalance in the chemical system of your brain and nervous system. A severe trauma, particularly in the adolescent years can increase your risk of developing an anxiety disorder.
Panic attacks can occur without cause or in response a situation that causes you to feel anxious, for example, being in a large group. They differ from normal anxiety symptoms because they exhibit more severe symptoms and are usually unexpected. People with anxiety disorders can also experience a combination of expected and unexpected panic attacks.
The most common treatments for panic attacks and anxiety include talking therapies and medication. Talking therapies help you manage your anxiety and reduce the irrational thoughts that fuel your anxiety. They can also help you learn to relax with exercises such as deep breathing and mindfulness. Some medications, such as duloxetine, SNRIs and SSRIs such as duloxetine and venlafaxine, can aid in reducing anxiety and panic.
It is crucial to see your doctor right away if you suffer from frequent panic attacks. Your doctor can check for any other health conditions that exhibit similar symptoms and recommend other treatments.
3. Insomnia
People who are anxious might have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. This is known as insomnia. It can last for an indefinite period of time, or it can last a long time. disorders anxiety can make it difficult to make it through the day, and could cause serious health problems. It is more prevalent in women than men and is more common in older adults. It is more prevalent among those with psychiatric disorders.
Sleepiness can be caused by a variety of different causes. It can be caused by temporary illnesses like headaches or colds; chronic conditions like arthritis, acid reflux or Parkinson's disease, and medication can affect your sleep. Stressful life events can also trigger. Around half of those who have chronic insomnia also have a mental health condition that is most often depression or anxiety.
A doctor will first look for physical causes. They will examine your medical history and ask about the symptoms that are making it difficult to sleep. They'll also want to find out if any medications you are taking are affecting it. They may also conduct a sleep study to ensure they can monitor your heart rate and breathing at night.
The most effective way to treat insomnia is to use behavioral therapy. It helps you to change the negative thinking patterns that keep you awake. It also shows you how to unwind before bed. There are many techniques to help you relax, including progressive muscle relaxation meditation, biofeedback and biofeedback. The doctor can assist you to find a therapist who can teach you these techniques. If the behavioral therapy doesn't work then you can try a variety of medications to help you sleep better. These include benzodiazepines that can be employed for short-term relief of symptoms and antidepressant or antianxiety medications.
4. Eating Disorders
The most common symptoms of eating disorders are obsessions with body shape, weight and food, as well eating behaviors like restricted eating, binge eating purging (through vomiting or laxative misuse) and excessive exercise. Many people who suffer from an eating disorder have anxiety. The same holds the case for those who suffer from mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder or depression. Combined, the two conditions can create a vicious circle in which a person's mood issues increase the symptoms of their eating disorder.
There is a strong connection between anxiety and eating disorders and eating disorders, with greater levels of anxiety symptoms being associated with greater severity of the disorder. Patients with anorexia nervosa tend to have high levels of anxiety symptoms. The same is true for bulimia, binge-eating disorders or the condition known as bulimia. In some cases anxiety can be the primary cause of an eating disorder. In other instances, it could be a secondary symptom of an eating disorder.
Researchers discovered that the presence of comorbid depression and anxiety symptoms was significantly associated with more severe eating disorders in young females. The team of researchers used a four-item scale called the Patient Health Questionnaire-4, which assesses anxiety and depression symptoms. They also assessed the severity of a person's eating disorder and asked participants to rate their strategies for anxiety.
The study's authors also analyzed three variables that could aid in understanding the relationship between eating disorders and anxiety: self-esteem, perfectionism and mood dysregulation. They found that these three factors played a role in reducing the connection between anxiety/depression symptoms and eating disorder symptomatology and that they did this in different ways for different subgroups of the sample. They hope that the findings will allow them to develop more precise and focused treatment of eating disorders.
5. Physical ailments that are associated with anxiety
Many people experience feelings of anxiety at some time, but it can become an illness when it becomes severe and causes problems with daily living. Certain people may also experience physical symptoms such as stomach pain or chest pain according to the type of anxiety they are experiencing.
The right treatment can help people lead happier and healthier lives. Many people benefit from psychotherapy or talk therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a very common type. CBT teaches how to identify and alter negative thoughts that cause anxiety and fear. It also teaches you how to confront the things that make you anxious and conquer your fears with small steps.
Medication can be helpful. Benzodiazepines, such as diazepam or Valium, can ease anxiety and panic attacks. Antidepressants, like tricyclic antidepressants or SSRIs, may also be prescribed. These drugs are used to treat anxiety disorders by themselves or in conjunction with other treatments.
Anxiety-related medical conditions can be caused by medical conditions and may have the same symptoms as anxiety disorders. Head trauma can trigger anxiety and depression, for example. Other conditions that can trigger anxiety include chronic fatigue and chronic pain; some rheumatologic diseases, such as lupus; and a few nutritional deficiencies, like iron deficiency.
Certain factors increase the chance of developing an anxiety disorder. These are known as risk factors. Certain risk factors are genetic, like the family history or anxiety disorders. Other factors, like the abuse of children, an underlying depression history or other mental health problems and the accumulation of stress over a long time, can increase the risk of suffering from anxiety disorders . For these reasons, it's important to get a thorough physical exam if you suspect you are suffering from anxiety.