Anxiety Disorder

What is Anxiety Disorder?

          People with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) cannot stop themselves from worrying constantly about common situations. They worry about things like work, health, family, and money, but can literally worry about anything. While most people feel anxious at times, people with GAD feel overwhelmed by their anxiety. Living with constant worry becomes a distraction to the point where you cannot live a normal life because of your thoughts and feelings. Anxiety disorders are the most common of mental disorders and affect nearly 30% of adults at some point in their lives.

Anxiety disorders can include Generalized Anxiety, Panic Disorder, Specific Phobias, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and Social Anxiety.

Signs and Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder

          Symptoms of anxiety can vary widely among people with GAD. You may exhibit some or many of the following symptoms:

• An inability to stop worrying
• An overwhelming sense of dread
• Feeling on-edge or jittery
• Trouble falling or staying asleep
• Difficulty concentrating
• Indecisiveness or confusion
• Being easily startled
• Feeling tired during the day
• Shaking or trembling
• Muscle soreness or tension
• Digestive problems, including nausea and irritable bowels
• Excessive sweating
• An accelerated heart rate

Effects of anxiety on your body

These can include:

• a churning feeling in your stomach
• feeling light-headed or dizzy
• pins and needles
• feeling restless or unable to sit still
• headaches, backache or other aches and pains
• faster breathing
• a fast, thumping or irregular heartbeat
• sweating or hot flushes
• sleep problems
• grinding your teeth, especially at night
• nausea (feeling sick)
• needing the toilet more or less often
• changes in your sex drive
• having panic attacks.

Effects of anxiety on your mind

• These can include:
• feeling tense, nervous or unable to relax
• having a sense of dread, or fearing the worst
• feeling like the world is speeding up or slowing down
• feeling like other people can see you're anxious and are looking at you
• feeling like you can't stop worrying, or that bad things will happen if you stop worrying
• worrying about anxiety itself, for example worrying about when panic attacks might happen
• wanting lots of reassurance from other people or worrying that people are angry or upset with you
• worrying that you're losing touch with reality
• low mood and depression
• rumination – thinking a lot about bad experiences, or thinking over a situation again and again
• depersonalisation – a type of dissociation where you feel disconnected from your mind or body, or like you are a character that you are watching in a film
• derealisation – another type of dissociation where you feel disconnected from the world around you, or like the world isn't real
• worrying a lot about things that might happen in the future

Treatment Options for Anxiety Disorder

          Counselors, therapists, and psychiatrists can treat GAD in several ways. A patient may need therapy, medication, or a combination of both to start feeling better. Psychotherapy treatments for GAD include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). In CBT, patients learn to respond to triggers differently to reduce anxiety levels. Mental health professionals give patients specific tools designed to guide them through stressful situations.

Doctors, including psychiatrists, can use three different types of medications to treat GAD:

Antidepressants

Buspirone

Benzodiazepines

Antidepressants include several sub-categories as well.

Each of these medication classifications works on various chemicals and mechanisms in the brain.

What is Social Anxiety Disorder?

Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia) is an overwhelming, ongoing fear of being watched and judged by others. People with Social Anxiety Disorder have a fear of social situations so great that it is beyond their control. This fear may even get in the way of going to work, attending school, or performing other everyday tasks.

What Causes Social Anxiety Disorder?

It’s not fully known what are the specific causes of social anxiety disorder. Factors such as genetics, and learned behavior (such as developing social anxiety disorder after an incredibly embarrassing social situation) can be causes.

Signs and Symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder

People with social anxiety disorder may experience:

Blushing or feeling embarrassed or anxious

Sweating or trembling

Heart palpitations

Stomachaches

Stiff body posture

Speaking with an overly soft voice

Difficulty making eye contact with people

Difficulty being around people they don’t know

Being self-consciousness or fearful of being judged negatively by people

Depending on the severity, some people may find it difficult to go through common, everyday experiences, such as making eye contact, attending gatherings, dating, using public restrooms, starting conversations, or going to work and school.