Diagnosing And Treating Anxiety Disorder
In this day and age of juggling work and family, people are under more stress than ever. What may be a temporary bump in the road for some, can be downright debilitating for others. When people refer to anxiety they are often referencing a “feeling” that they get under exorbitant amounts of stress. And we have all experienced what is considered to be anxiety at one time or another. Anxiety disorder, however, is something very different; a general term that medical professionals use to describe a variety of psychological conditions related to fear, anxiety, and phobias.
Most noticeable, anxiety disorder can interfere with everyday activities, getting in the way of work responsibilities, social activities, and personal relationships. Even the most commonplace activities – shopping, driving; even leaving the house – can seem insurmountable to those suffering from an anxiety disorder. The conditions associated with anxiety disorder are numerous and not everyone feels them acutely as others. But these conditions are considered to be a disorder if they are ongoing, irrational, and interfere with daily life.
People who suffer from anxiety in any capacity will report varied emotions when faced with situations that activate their fight or flight response. This feeling of heightened anxiety can also be described as fear – an emotion that the body reacts to by releasing adrenalin throughout the body. When we are not able to calm this reaction – when the fear or anxiety takes over – the adrenalin takes over as well and a host of physiological reactions ensue. Those with anxiety report increased heart rate, sweating, the inability to catch their breath, and paralyzing fear.
Thankfully, there are a number of excellent medications on the market today that have been designed to help people who suffer from anxiety. But in order to treat sufferers appropriately, it is necessary to determine the anxiety disorder subcategory from which the patient suffers.
Generalized anxiety disorder refers to ongoing and persistent fear and anxiety that comes and goes with no particular catalyst. A sufferer of generalized anxiety may feel a heightened state of awareness, fear, and worry most of the time – manifesting itself in a host of physical symptoms including body tension, sleep disorders, headaches, stomach ailments, and heart palpitations.
Panic disorder refers to episodes of anxiety generally provoked by one or several catalysts. The sufferer reacts to a particular stress by experiencing heightened anxiety and panic translated to often severe physical symptoms that sometimes include hyperventilation, dizziness, shaking, and incapacitating fear. Many new sufferers of panic disorder have confused the symptoms of the condition with those experienced during a heart attack.
Social anxiety is anxiety experienced in any social situation, rendering the sufferer incapable of being within groups of people without feeling embarrassed or scrutinized. Often the anxiety is so great that those suffering from this disorder avoid most social interaction.
Phobias also fall under the umbrella of anxiety and include agoraphobia – where sufferers limit their visitation to places because of their fear of anxiety surfacing; many agoraphobics have difficulty leaving their homes for this reason. Other phobias are included in this subcategory as well; in essence, a phobia is an irrational and ongoing fear of a particular place, situation, or object. Often, the fear is so great that people will avoid the catalyst altogether.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is anxiety that is manifested through compulsive behavior – activities that the sufferer can not help but complete. Such disorders vary in severity and circumstance; those who suffer most strongly experience very real feelings of dread if they do not complete certain repetitive, often ritualistic behaviors – checking locks, counting steps, etc. Often the OCD sufferer is completely aware of how irrational their behavior is but they are unable to stop doing it nonetheless.
There are many comprehensive medications on the market today that have made significant strides in managing and even eliminating many disorders of this kind. Those who live with an anxiety disorder no longer have to suffer at the hand of their irrational thoughts; with proper medical diagnosis, supervision, and pharmaceutical intervention if necessary, anxiety need no longer run the show.
By: Candice Sabrina (Get FREE Anxiety Treatment)
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Choosing a Treatment For Panic Attacks That Will Work For You
What is a good form of treatment for panic attacks? There are a few viable options available to you if you are suffering from panic attacks, but you first need to understand your problem if you are successfully going to deal with it. Panic attacks are sudden periods of anxiety or fear often accompanied by more physiological symptoms such as nausea, stomach discomfort, or chest pain, among other things. Those who experience panic attacks say that they are one of the worst feelings that they have ever felt; that they feel like they have lost total control of themselves. Panic attacks are actually a human form of the ‘fight or flight’ response found in animals and are therefore an ingrained way in which the human psyche deals with stress.
So how do you cope with panic attacks? Well, an easy first step is to seek counseling. Often, simply speaking to a professional about your problems will be enough to help you deal with them. It is a big step to admit that you have such problems, but if you are having panic attacks, it is time to deal with it. Rest assured that licensed professionals, such as psychologists or psychiatrists, take on patients with much more serious issues than yours and will not sit in judgment of you. Like your physician, they are there to help.
Another option is medication. Often, your counselor will be able to recommend someone to you that can write you an appropriate prescription for the medication you need. If you are already seeing a psychiatrist, they can write you a prescription. There are a few medications available that successfully treat panic attacks. First, there is paroxetine (AKA Paxil) and sertraline (AKA Zoloft). Both are antidepressants that have been approved by the FDA for long-term treatment of panic disorder. These antidepressants can often vanquish the panic attacks altogether and have mild side effects, if any. They are mild medications that don’t change your personality or any of the other horror stories you may have heard. They allow you to be you.
A couple of other effective medications available are alprazolam (AKA Xanax) and clonazepam (AKA Klonopin). These medications are used to treat fear and anxiety and are only for use for short periods due to their potency. Because of this, you should stick to your doctor’s recommendations (as you always should when taking medication) when taking these medications.
Conclusion:
At the end of the day, you should rest easy knowing that there are treatments available for you if you are suffering from panic attacks. Panic attacks are a relatively common problem among our populace that has been successfully treated for years and you should not be embarrassed if you are one of the many that has to deal with them. They are an evolutionary way that our species deals with stress, left over from days of old. A licensed professional can free you of your burden with counseling, medication, or both. Seek treatment for panic attacks, you won’t be sorry.
By: Peter Johnson (Free Treatment for Anxiety eBook)
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Treating Anxiety Attacks Can Change Your Life
Many who suffer from panic and anxiety attacks have given up hope finding any salvation. Some studies have shown that a majority of those who suffer from panic and anxiety attacks have given up trying to find a way to regain life without them. If you are one of them, you will be happy to know there are now new and innovative ways for treating anxiety attacks.
If you think you might be one of those affected, the first important step is understand exactly what a panic attack is, and what it is not. These attacks actually stem from a normally beneficial component of our self defense mechanisms. The “fight or flight” response serves as an early warning system thus alerting us to danger.
The problem arises when this normally protective system becomes activated at inappropriate times when one is not facing any danger. When it happens with regularity it can evolve into a debilitating disorder. Those who suffer from them can attest to the adverse effects they can have upon both family relationships and within the work environment.
Once you gain an understanding of what a panic attack is, then you must learn to recognize the signs which indicate an attack is pending. Sudden increased pulse is the most universally reported signal. Some experience hot flashes, others a damp cold feeling. Many report loss of balance and vertigo. Skin breakouts akin to allergic reactions have also bee reported by many.
In addition to these physical indications, the most intense and feared components are focused in the mind. Sheer terror, sureness of one’s impending death, frozen with fear are common descriptions of the mental state associated with a panic attack. Most usually, this fear does not pertain to any given tangible thing, event or person. It is more a general sense of dread.
Now that you have basic understanding of the origins and indications of what constitutes a panic attack, the next issue becomes how to deal with them. Traditional medicine has identified several pharmaceutical based treatments which some have found greatly beneficial. Others, unfortunately, have not found relief from this avenue of treatment.
Many have found respite using other more natural, holistic techniques. Examples of these include accupuncture, massage therapy and aroma therapy. Classic psychology has proved beneficial for many as well. Most commonly, therapists will employ cognitive behavioral therapy in an attempt to give you control over the internal mechanisms triggering these events.
Suffice to say, there are many available options out there. Different approaches work for varying forms and severity of the disorder. You must explore the various choices and select the one which best suits your needs as an individual. No matter how difficult, keep faith that there exists for you a good way for treating anxiety attacks.
By: Adam Hefner (Free Download Anxiety Treatment eBook)
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To find more on treating anxiety attacks, check out Panic Away. Could lead to a life changing experience.
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