ANXIETY

The feeling of anxiety is common to all and we have all felt it many times in the course of our lives. But when anxiety becomes an excessive, irrational dread of everyday situations, it becomes a disorder.

Find out more on Anxiety Disorders and Panic Attacks

Nearly 40 million people above the age of 18 are affected by this disorder in a given year. Anxiety disorder may be caused by a mental condition, a physical condition, the effects of drugs, or from a combination of these.

Some of the common Types of Anxiety Disorders are:

I PANIC DISORDER

This condition is characterized by periods of intense fear or a psychological distress that lasts for about half an hour.

II GENERAL ANXIETY DISORDER (GAD)

This condition is characterized by excessive anxiety and worry, occurring more days than not for a period of at least 6 months, about a number of events or activities. Having this disorder means always anticipating disaster, often worrying excessively about health, money, family, or work. Sometimes, though, the source of the worry is hard to pinpoint.

III PHOBIC DISORDERS

These are persistent, unreasonable, intense fears (phobias) of situations, circumstances, or objects giving rise to anxiety and avoidance. Phobic disorders are classified as general (agoraphobia and social phobia) or specific.

A) Agoraphobia

Agoraphobia literally means “fear of the marketplace”. Therefore, people with agoraphobia are afraid of open or public places. In reality, most people with agoraphobia are actually afraid of having a panic attack in these settings, especially settings in which there will be no one to help in case of panic attack or an actual emergency.

B) Social Anxiety Disorder

The person suffering from this disorder has an excessive and unreasonable fear of social situations. The anxiety in this case arises out of the fear of being closely watched, judged or criticized by people around you.

C) Specific Phobias

A specific phobia is fear of and anxiety about a particular situation or object. Specific phobias are the most common anxiety disorders. Among the most frequent are fear of animals zoophobia), heights (Acrophobia) and thunderstorms (Astraphobia or Brontophobia).

i) Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

OCD is a type of disorder involving two elements: obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are repetitive unwanted thoughts that make you feel anxious. Compulsions are repetitive behaviors and rituals that the patient feels compelled to perform as performing them temporarily reduces the anxiety.

ii) Separation Anxiety

This form of anxiety is a normal developmental stage experienced by a child when separated from the primary caregiver. It typically manifests itself as crying and distress when the child is away from a parent or from home.

ANXIETY MANAGEMENT & TREATMENT

At Home: In certain cases, it is possible to treat anxiety at home. However, these cases are limited to ones where the attack is of a short duration and where you know the reason for the attack. In such cases, stress can be relieved by practicing activities such as: Meditation, Watching TV, Deep breathing , Resting in a dark room etc.

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Medical Treatment: When the nature of attacks is more serious in nature then the patient has to turn to medical treatment. Medical treatment depends on the cause of the anxiety.

There are cases when the cause cannot be identified. In such cases, the only way to treat is control of symptoms.

Medication does not cure anxiety disorders, but it helps to keep them under control while the person receives psychotherapy.

With proper treatment many people with anxiety disorders can lead normal, fulfilling lives.

Cathy M. Ross

It is quite natural for everyone to feel anxious at some time in their life. Whether it is before a big meeting, before the wedding, or even if it is before going out of the front door, anxiety and panic attacks are a part of life. Anxiety from sudden exposure to something you don’t like such as a snake or spider is natural and most people deal with it very quickly and calm down.

However, an estimated 15% of the population suffers from the terrible effects of constant anxiety. In fact, they suffer so bad that they may find they can’t even leave the house! As you can imagine, this level of anxiety is not good.

When an anxiety or panic attack starts typically you will feel some of these common symptoms:

* Faster heart rate

* Shaking

* Uncontrollable sweating

* Dizziness

* Shortness of breath

A panic attack can last anything from a few seconds to a few minutes or even longer. After a panic attack you may experience even more negative emotions such as depression, frustration or even anger at yourself.

There is a multitude of ways to dealing with your anxiety and panic attacks. You could take medication for it, but they tend to have a whole host of unpleasant side effects. Therapy is another option, but for some it is too expensive. Hypnosis though works really well and can resolve you anxiety in just a few sessions, and I can highly recommend it.

In order to overcome your anxiety you can teach yourself deep breathing techniques. Concentrate now on breathing from your stomach rather than your chest. This means that when you breathe in your stomach expands, and when you breathe out your stomach contracts and you pull it in. Deep breathing from the stomach is incredibly relaxing, and you will find it very hard to get anxious whilst breathing in this way.

When you start to get anxious you will notice that your breathing becomes shallower (i.e. from your chest) and quicker. If you try breathing shallowly from your chest now, notice how you feel. How do you feel?

Yeah, you feel anxious and nervous. So if you can start to consciously breathe from your stomach as soon as you feel an anxiety or panic attack coming on, then you will calm yourself down and feel better.

This is a wonderful natural way to deal with anxiety so you can overcome it. I personally have an extreme phobia of spiders, yet through this deep breathing and remaining relaxed I can catch a spider in a glass and take it out of the house. It really works, and it works well.

Take back control of your life and banish your anxiety and panic attacks through learning to control your breathing.

A panic attack is a sudden occurrence of intense fear that develops for no reason and is associated with severe physical symptoms such as chest pains, rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, dizziness, sweating, and a sense of impending death.

Panic attacks can strike at almost any time without warning-when you are driving down the highway, at a store, asleep, or in the middle of an important meeting.  Panic attack can greatly interfere with your life-and may endanger you or others.  Many people with painc attack disorder develop intense anxiety between episodes, worrying when and where the next one will occur.  Also some people are afraid to leave their home because that is the only place that feel safe.

Panic attacks typically begin suddenly, without warning.  The symptoms reach their high point usually within 10 minutes and last about half an hour.  But they may last hours or sometimes up to a day.  You may feel tired or worn out after an attack.

It’s not known what cause panic attacks or panic disorders.  Things that may play a role includes, Heredity and Changes in our brain function.  Some research suggest that your body’s natural fight-or-flight response to danger is involved in panic attacks.  For example, if a tiger comes charging at you, your body react instinctively.  Your heart rate and your breathing would increase as your body get ready to defend itself from the dangerous situation.  But it’s not known why an attack happen when there is no danger.

While panic attacks and panic disorder benefit from professional treatment, such as medications and a type of psychotherapy, you can also help manage your symptoms on your own.  Some of the treatments are:  Stay on your MEDICATION.  Facing your fears might be difficult, but your medication can help you feel like you’re in control and not a hostage in your own home.

Join a support group.  By joining a support group, you will connect with other people who have anxiety or panic disorders.

Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and drugs, all can trigger a panic attack.  Get exercise, a walk may just change your mood.  Get adequate sleep so you won’t feel tired and worn out during the day.

Panic attacks can affect your life and according to some research there is no sure way to prevent them, but getting treatment for the attacks as soon as possible may help stop them from getting worse or becoming more frequent.