Anxiety Disorder

Symptoms of Anxiety

People with panic disorder have feelings of terror that strike suddenly and repeatedly with no warning. They can't predict when an attack will occur, and many develop intense anxiety between episodes, worrying when and where the next one will strike.

If you are having a panic attack, most likely your heart will pound and you may feel sweaty, weak, faint, or dizzy. Your hands may tingle or feel numb, and you might feel flushed or chilled. You may have nausea, chest pain or smothering sensations, a sense of unreality, or fear of impending doom or loss of control. You may genuinely believe you're having a heart attack or losing your mind, or on the verge of death.

Panic attacks can occur at any time, even during sleep. An attack generally peaks within 10 minutes, but some symptoms may last much longer.

Not everyone who experiences panic attacks will develop panic disorder-for example, many people have one attack but never have another. For those who do have panic disorder, though, it's important to seek treatment. Untreated, the disorder can become very disabling.

Panic disorder is often accompanied by other serious conditions such as depression, drug abuse, or alcoholism and may lead to a pattern of avoidance of places or situations where panic attacks have occurred. For example, if a panic attack strikes while you're riding in an elevator, you may develop a fear of elevators. If you start avoiding them, that could affect your choice of a job or apartment and greatly restrict other parts of your life.

Some people's lives become so restricted that they avoid normal, everyday activities such as grocery shopping or driving. In some cases they become housebound. Or, they may be able to confront a feared situation only if accompanied by a spouse or other trusted person.

Basically, these people avoid any situation in which they would feel helpless if a panic attack were to occur. When people's lives become so restricted, as happens in about one-third of people with panic disorder the condition is called agoraphobia. Early treatment of panic disorder can often prevent agoraphobia.

Depression often accompanies anxiety disorders4 and, when it does, it needs to be treated as well. Symptoms of depression include feelings of sadness, hopelessness, changes in appetite or sleep, low energy, and difficulty concentrating. Most people with depression can be effectively treated with antidepressant medications, certain types of psychotherapy, or a combination of both.

You may genuinely believe you're having a heart attack, losing your mind, or are on the verge of death. Attacks can occur at any time, even during sleep.

Hyperventilation

Many people who panic show some signs of hyperventilation. Hyperventilation may act as the initial cue, which causes an individual to panic. Alternatively, hyperventilation may also become the way in which the body reacts to a fearful situation and it is likely that hyperventilation plays a part in the panic reaction. It is easily possible, however, that the individual will not be aware of his or her breathing patterns. Therefore, it is important to examine the individual's breathing pattern.

One way to test whether individuals are breathing too fast is to get them to monitor their breathing. Ask them to count how many breaths they take in one minute (where breathing in and then out is counted as one breath). At rest, the average person needs to take only 10-12 breaths per minute. If the individual's rate of breathing is greater than 10-12 breaths per minute then the individual may need to learn to reduce his or her breathing rate. It will also be useful to monitor breathing rates at other times, particularly during times of stress, anxiety or worry.

Anxiety Disorders

Most people experience feelings of anxiety before an important event such as a big exam, business presentation, or first date. When people become anxious, they typically feel upset, uncomfortable and tense. Anxiety disorders, however, are serious medical illnesses that fill people's lives with overwhelming anxiety and fear that are chronic, incessant, and can grow progressively worse if not treated. Feeling anxious is appropriate in these situations and usually we feel anxious for only a limited time.

These feelings are not regarded as clinical anxiety, but are a part of everyday life. Tormented by panic attacks, obsessive thoughts, flashbacks of traumatic events, nightmares, or countless frightening physical symptoms, some people with anxiety disorders even become housebound. Fortunately, there are effective treatments that can help.

Research is yielding new, improved therapies that can help most people with anxiety disorders lead productive, fulfilling lives. If you think you have an anxiety disorder, you should seek information and treatment.

Anxiety, depression, worry and fear can be very normal. One may become anxious when threatened or even when thinking about being threatened. Various physiological changes occur during stress. These are all normal changes that will help your body function best if you have to run or fight. But in this modern world we are threatened and get anxious in places where physical activity does not help. Thus the body changes are identified not as helpful but as harmful and unnatural. But being a little anxious is good. It sharpens up judgement and skill and often allow people to function more efficiently. Being psyched up is a good thing if you have a difficult challenge ahead.

What is Anxiety?

Anxiety is a term which describes a normal feeling people experience when faced with threat or danger, or when stressed. Anxiety problems originate when the flight or fight response is too sensitive. When the body's alarm is too sensitive, the flight or fight response is triggered at the wrong times. If your anxiety alarm goes off too easily, you will be more likely to become anxious in situations where other people would not feel anxious. If you have become anxious in situations in which other individuals would not be so anxious, it suggests that your anxiety the flight or fight response is too sensitive.

The flight or fight response is useful in the short term, especially when danger can be avoided by physical exertion. But it is of no use in the long term and certainly of little use in most stressful situations in the modern world. However, because the flight or fight response was useful when we were cavemen and cavewomen, it is still part of our bodily make up.

Anxiety disorders fill people's lives with overwhelming anxiety and fear. Unlike the relatively mild, brief anxiety caused by a stressful event such as a business presentation or a first date, anxiety disorders are chronic, relentless, and can grow progressively worse if not treated.

Anxiety disorders are serious medical illnesses that affect approximately 19 million American adults. Panic disorder affects about 2.4 million adult Americans and is twice as common in women as in men. It most often begins during late adolescence or early adulthood. Risk of developing panic disorder appears to be inherited.

Social Phobia

Many people are concerned and slightly apprehensive when they are in social situations that may be unfamiliar to them or where they may need to perform in front of others. For some people, however, this concern and apprehension is of sufficient high intensity and severity and such individuals may be suffering with social phobia, also known as social anxiety disorder.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Everyone experiences concerns and worries from day to day. When a problem arises a person might worry about how they will deal with the problem and what the outcome might be. However, some people worry excessively about a number of routine events or activities for a good part of each day for months on end.

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