Symptoms and Treatments

what is Anxiety?

Anxiety is a psychological apprehension or feat that comes with physiological disorders. Anxiety disorders are serious mental illnesses that affect about 19 million American adults and as a group comprise the most common mental illness in the US. Children and teenagers are not immune to it.

Description

Anxiety disorders are chronic which can progressively worsen when left untreated.  While some level of anxiety is normal in many of the stressful events attending a busy lifestyle, such as sports competition, business deals, a first date, or a school presentation, the worst anxiety disorder can lead to suicidal tendencies or murderous proclivities.

Causes and Risk Factors of Anxiety

Anxiety can arise in many situations some of which normally attend a stressful event, like your first date, worries about an exam result or pre-employment screening, your wedding day, first school, etc.  It is often caused by anticipatory worries which may or may not be grounded in reality.  But severe anxiety attacks can be the result of certain medical condition like drug overdose and intoxication, drug withdrawal attach, heart conditions or even an asthma attack.  The following factors can triggers anxiety attacks

• Stress at work, school, road traffic conditions and at home
• Financial distress that can seem insurmountable, with the worst case resulting in suicides
• Deep-seated angst or hatred on anything or anyone.
• Suddenly losing your job when everything hangs on it with the fear of being thrown into the streets.
• Uncontrolled intake of caffeine from coffee and tea
• Emotional trauma like death in the family, being victimized in physical or sexual abuse, surviving a crime or natural disaster which can lead to post traumatic stress disorders
• Intoxication from overuse of cocaine or amphetamines
• Effect of medication that elevate thyroid levels
• An over active thyroid
• Post operative stress after undergoing major surgery
• Lack of air or oxygen in drowning situations or in high altitudes, emphysema and pulmonary embolism

Symptoms of Anxiety

Anxiety attacks come with a variety of physiological manifestations or symptoms that include

• Phobic disorder or phobias are irrational fears of certain things like the fear of height and fear of spiders and will cause severe anxiety attach when confronted with their object of fear.
• Separation anxiety disorder present in children with parents undergoing separation and strongly anticipating what lies ahead for them which can result in problems that were not present before like degraded school performance, antisocial interpersonal problems and nutritional oversights.
• Obsessive compulsive disorder involves people whose habits have become their all-encompassing purpose in life and are severely distressed when they cannot engage in their hobbies or activities or when they become obsessed with germs so they continuously clean themselves with alcohol, etc.

The most common anxiety attacks fall under panic disorder with associated symptoms like

• Insomnia or the inability to sleep as stressful thought continue to hound the person at night

• Palpitation and rapid heart beat
• Sweating even in comfortable surroundings
• Trembling, numbness or tingling sensation
• Chest pain and a sense of being choked or the world closing in
• Nausea,  stomach upset and diarrhea
• Inability to think through and to concentrate
• General depression
• Hypervigilance and paranoia
• Chills and hot flashes
• Muscular tension

Symptoms like shortness of breath, palpitations, dizzy spells, fainting and general body weakness may be triggered by anxiety attack but should prompt immediate consultation with the doctor as they could be symptomatic of some other more serious medical ailment that have been triggered by anxieties.

Diagnosis of Anxiety

If the symptoms are clearly interfering with normal daily routines and functions, it is time to consult with your doctor even before the symptoms worsen to the point that normal life becomes a real challenge if not impossible.  Feelings of severe depression and suicidal tendencies require prompt attention and your doctor can refer you to the right psychiatric evaluation and treatment.

There are no set procedures for diagnosing anxiety and a careful reading of your medical history and routine lab exams can be made if medical causes are suspected. In most cases, a productive session with a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist or mental health professional is in order.

Treatment of Anxiety

Most of time, typical anxieties at homes can be overcome by refocusing one’s attention on other activities that interest the person to keep the mind busy elsewhere outside of the object of anxiety.  A talk with a psychiatrist can often allow a venue for releasing internal tensions and anxieties as well as being part of a support therapy group like anger management

If the cause is physiological, like an overactive thyroid, treatment can be directed at the cause.  If the cause is psychological, which is often the case, treatment can sometimes involve a head-on confrontation with the object or person causing the anxiety like having a moderated meeting with the person you hate or getting marriage counseling in a troubled marriage.