Anxiety
Anxiety and worries are part of everyday life. Anxiety can have a motivating effect on school and work performance. However, when you feel anxious for no reason and worry interferes with your daily life, you may have an anxiety disorder.
Causes for Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders are speculated to have a number of different causes. Life stressors can build up and cause symptoms. Some personality types seem to be more prone to anxiety disorders and heredity may be a component. Altered brain chemicals are thought to play a role in developing these disorders. In addition, use of alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, street drugs and thyroid disorders can initiate anxiety symptoms.
The most common types of anxiety disorders are discussed below:
Generalized Anxiety Disorder Symptoms:
- Worrying or feeling anxious every day about a number of events or activities
- Trouble controlling the worry
- Feeling restless or on edge
- Fatigue
- Difficulty concentrating
- Irritability
- Muscle tension with resulting tension headaches, neck aches or stomach aches
- Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep
- The anxiety affects daily functioning
- Depression often co-exists with anxiety
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/generalized-anxiety-disorder/DS00502
http://www.webmd.com/video/generalized-anxiety-disorder
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
OCD is an anxiety disorder in which a person has recurrent and persistent thoughts that can’t be suppressed. Typical thoughts revolve around cleanliness and germs, orderliness and self-doubts. In addition, there may be repetitive behaviors (hand-washing, counting, checking, etc.) that the person feels compelled to perform the obsessive thoughts. These thoughts and behaviors interfere with a person’s daily life.
Symptoms:
- Fear of germs with repeated hand-washing and cleaning
- Obsessions about orderliness with resulting checklists
- Self-doubt resulting in checking behavior
- Other obsessions and compulsions
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/obsessive-compulsive-disorder/DS00189
http://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/tc/Obsessive-Compulsive-Disorder-OCD-Topic-Overview
Panic Attack
A panic attack is the sudden onset of extreme fear or anxiety resulting in the following symptoms:
- Heart racing
- Sweating
- Trembling
- Chest pain or tightness
- Dizziness
- Feeling of loss of control
- Trouble breathing or rapid breathing
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/panic-attacks/DS00338
http://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/tc/Panic-Attacks-and-Panic-Disorder-Topic-Overview
Social Anxiety
Social anxiety is isolated to social situations and symptoms include:
- Fear of social situations where you don’t know people well
- Fear of embarrassment or humiliation
- Blushing, sweating, trembling
- Nausea, heart palpitations
- Difficulty speaking
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/social-anxiety-disorder/DS00595
http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/tc/Social-Anxiety-Disorder-Topic-Overview
Self-Care for Anxiety Disorders
- Take care of your health
- Eat well
- Get adequate rest
- Exercise regularly
- Avoid caffeine, nicotine, alcohol and street drugs
- Share your problems with a friend or family member
- Seek counseling or therapy
- Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is often used. This type of therapy identifies distorted/negative thinking patterns which cause anxiety. By learning to recognize distorted thoughts and replace them with realistic perceptions, you can reduce your anxiety
- Exposure Therapy is used to develop tolerance for symptoms of anxiety
- Other therapies are also used by counselors as deemed appropriate
- See your healthcare provider for medical screening to see if medication is appropriate. Two different types of medications are used to control anxiety.
- SSRI's—Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors are prescribed to control symptoms. They take between two and eight weeks to become effective. Examples are fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil), sertraline (Zoloft), citalopram (Lexapro)
- Benzodiazepines—Tranquilizers may be prescribed for short-term use on an as needed basis. They work within minutes, but may be addictive, cause fatigue or loss of coordination