Diagnosing Anxiety Disorder: Learn More About Anxiety Disorder
Diagnosing Anxiety Disorder
Living with Anxiety
Diagnosing Anxiety Disorder
Anxiety disorders are more common than you may think. Millions of individuals suffer silently every year, when help is available. If you or a loved one suffers from an anxiety disorder, know that there is help and relief out there for you. The key is to find a doctor and therapist that will listen to your concerns and help you on the road to recovery.
One of the trickiest things about anxiety disorders is the origins. Anxiety is a common part of every day life. It is the drive that keeps up safe from dangerous objects and situations. You may feel a bit of anxiety when crossing the street- this helps you pay attention to on-coming traffic and make it to the other side safely. Anxiety disorders develop when your mind has trouble distinguishing between extremes. You may become very anxious over common, non-threatening life events. Such “attacks” may leave you feeling confused, alone, and scared. If you feel that this may be the case with you, consult a doctor immediately. Don’t be afraid to seek help and treatment, because that is the only way that you can get better. Your doctor and therapist are trained to deal with anxiety disorders, and can help lead you in the right direction.
There are many different types of anxiety disorders that you should be aware of. It could be a generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, panic disorder, or phobias. Many patients experience one or more of these disorders over the course of their lives. While it is still unknown as to why some patients develop anxiety disorders, it is understood that we all begin the same way. Every individual is born with a fight or flight response that is meant to keep them out of harms way. At some point, patients with anxiety disorders experience an alteration in perception or brain chemistry.
If you feel that you may have an anxiety disorder, you may be experiencing one or more of the following symptoms:
- Increased heart rate or tightness in the chest
- Feeling shaky, dizzy, or lightheaded
- Dry mouth
- Sick to your stomach
- Frequent urination or bowel movements
Mentally you may feel:
- Frightened
- That you are sick
- That people are looking at you
- That you may lose control
- That you must escape to a safe place
Once you have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, there are plenty of things that you can do to help eliminate panic attacks. Your doctor may discuss medication options to help improve the chemical imbalance present in your brain. This coupled with therapy has been very successful. In therapy you will discuss different triggers for your anxiety disorder, and work on ways to eliminate those triggers. Discussing your condition with friends and family members will also help improve your success rate. Once they understand that certain social situations trigger your panic attacks, they can help you avoid those areas until you are comfortable again. There is a lot of work involved in treating an anxiety disorder, but if you set your mind to it, success is imminent.
Living with Anxiety
Anxiety is a disorder that fills people’s lives with fear and nervousness.
People can have anxiety in a range of forms including panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, social anxiety disorder (also known as social phobia), phobias and generalized anxiety disorder.
Everyone is familiar with the feeling of anxiety – nervousness, a knot of fear or a sinking feeling in your stomach, the feeling of fight or flight. But imagine having to live with that feeling every day?
Quite often people who have anxiety disorders also suffer from depression and this needs to be treated along with their anxiety disorder. Symptoms of depression include feelings of sadness, hopelessness, changes in appetite or sleep, low energy, and difficulty concentrating.
Environmental, psychological, genetic and bodily factors can all contribute to the risk of a person developing an anxiety disorder. Because of this some people are more at risk than others and some anxiety disorders have more of a relation to genetics than others.
There is a four to seven times increased risk of developing panic disorder for close relatives of those who are already sufferers.
Many people who live with anxiety disorders live their lives suffering and remain untreated. However, anxiety is very treatable with a combination of anxiety-reducing drugs and other therapies.
A specific phobia is an intense fear of something that poses little or no actual danger. Common phobias can include spiders, closed-in places, heights, escalators, tunnels, highway driving, water, flying, dogs, and injuries involving blood.
People with panic disorder have feelings of terror that strike suddenly and repeatedly without warning and are often highly anxious between attacks about where and when the next one will occur.
Social phobia or social anxiety disorder involves overwhelming anxiety and excessive self-consciousness in everyday social situations. Sufferers have a persistent, intense, and chronic fear of being watched and judged by others and being embarrassed or humiliated by their own actions.
Those with obsessive-compulsive disorder suffer from anxious thoughts or rituals they feel they can't control. They can be suffer from persistent, unwelcome thoughts or images, or by the urgent need to engage in certain rituals such as washing their hands a certain number of times or getting dressed following a very strict routine.
Post-traumatic stress disorder can develop following a terrifying event. Those with the disorder have persistent frightening thoughts and memories of their ordeal and feel emotionally numb.
Generalized anxiety disorder goes beyond everyday anxiety. It is a chronic disorder that involves unprovoked exaggerated worry and tension.
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