Anxiety Disorder Is A Common Mental Illness
According to the Anxiety Disorders Association of America, anxiety is the most common mental illness in America, with nearly 20% of the adult population affected. Woman are twice as likely to experience life disrupting general anxiety disorder, GAD, and specific phobias than men are, however the numbers for those suffering with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder are equal for the sexes.
It is interesting to note that approximately 1/3 of all adult sufferers of anxiety disorders had experienced some symptoms when they were children. Women also hold the dubious honor of being far more likely to experience Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and twice as likely to suffer with Panic Disorders. In these studies it is noted that childhood sexual abuse is often a precursor for PTSD, and regardless of the age of the attack, rape will trigger PTSD in 65% of the men and almost 46% of the woman who experienced it.
We all face anxiety producing events in our daily lives, beginning when we were an infant and we realized our mother had left the room. From that day on the stress in our lives continues to be experienced, overcome, and the knowledge of our successes helps us move on to the next challenge.
The child goes to school for the first day and both the parents and the child are anxious. The first sleepover, away camp, learning to drive, and going away to college are all important milestones that can cause normal anxiety in the parties involved, even though there may well be an undercurrent of excitement, also.
For adults, the list for potentially stressful situations is virtually endless. Losing a job, serious debt, awaiting medical test results, the imminent death of a loved one are just a few. All of these and more are legitimate causes for anxiety. It is only when the anxiety becomes the defining factor in a person’s life, dictating their every move in some cases, that it is time to seek professional help. If the fears are no longer based in logic, if the affected person’s daily life is seriously diminished, and if no amount of reassurance will ease their fears, it is time to obtain an evaluation from a mental health professional.
There should be no stigma associated with seeking help with for mental health concerns. It is no different than hypertension or diabetes, in that, left untreated will severely impact the suffering person’s ability to interact with their family, friends and co workers, and possibly escalate to where the affected person is unable to even leave their home.
When basic daily functioning is impacted by the anxiety disorder, and the ability to enjoy life is disrupted, a family member may need to seek advice on how to best encourage their loved one to obtain necessary help. The need for this intervention is a vital one. An anxiety disorder left untreated can easily escalate to include other mental health concerns, including depression and suicidal thoughts.
As dismal as this may all sound, help is readily available, and cost or lack of insurance does not need to be a factor. Resources for help are as close as the phone book or the computer, and many state and county mental health clinics accept sliding payments based on ability to pay.
J. Lloyd
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/anxiety-disorder-is-a-common-mental-illness-139150.html
What is Anxiety Anyway?
The term anxiety, or anxiety disorder is really a catch-all term for many anxiety related mental conditions. To simply say someone has anxiety is to suggest that they are experiencing a feeling of fear, apprehension, worry, or other vague and unpleasant feelings. An anxiety disorder is often accompanied by physical symptoms and sensations.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, there are five general categories of mental anxiety disorders. In those five, there are additional subcategories that make it even more complex and challenging for a mental health professional to develop an accurate diagnosis.
The first of these five categories is called GAD, or generalized anxiety disorder. This is probably one of the most common types of anxiety. Ongoing or continual excess of worried or concerned about every day life and situations is symptomatic of GAD. People with generalized anxiety disorder can continue to function in society depending on the severity of the symptoms. Physical symptoms may also become apparent and include sleeplessness, fatigue, headaches and muscle tension. General anxiety disorder is considered chronic but can be successfully treated in controlled with medications and counseling.
Second, and one of the most common anxiety disorders is known as social anxiety. Societal anxiety is characterized by an over concern about how people may perceive you in a public place. Social anxiety is demonstrated by people who are unable or uncomfortable speaking in public. Many very popular celebrities have been known to suffer from social anxiety. You may want to check the website below for more information on social anxiety and those who suffer with it.
Third on the list of the top five anxiety categories is the obsessive compulsive disorder or OCD. A person suffering with obsessive-compulsive disorders is usually identified as being locked into ritualistic behavior. That is, someone who is overly worried about germs may wash their hands hundreds of times a day. People with OCD may have been unhealthy focus on certain aspects of their life which results in an ongoing behavior to try to limit the effects of the problem. Another example may be somewhat worried about being secure in their home may consistently check doors and windows to verify they are locked.
Fourth is panic disorder. Panic disorder is very similar to the feelings one would get while watching a horror or suspenseful movie. Symptoms include rapid breathing, fast and hard heart pumping, dizziness, lightheadedness and tangling in your hands and feet are all part of a panic attack. The difference between watching the horror or suspense movie, and someone suffering a panic attack is one of control. If that edge of your seat feeling becomes to intense at the movies you can simply close your eyes and regain control. Someone who suffers from panic attacks cannot control when or how long they happen.
Fifth is posttraumatic stress disorder and is usually associated with returning war veterans. PTSD however, can happen to anyone that experiences, a physical are particularly traumatic situation. Traumatic stress disorder has been known to affect people close to someone who has directly experienced a particularly trying our traumatic episode.
This is a very quick thumbnail of the major types of anxiety disorders that have so far been identified. For more information on these and other general mental health information, see the website below.
Abigail Franks
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/what-is-anxiety-anyway-84320.html
Causes, Symptoms and Treatment of Anxiety Attacks
Anxiety attacks are normal reactions to a threatening situation and results from an increase in the amount of adrenaline from the sympathetic nervous system. This increased adrenaline speeds the heart and respiration rate, raises blood pressure, and diverts blood flow to the muscles.
These physical reactions are appropriate for escaping from danger but when they cause anxiety in many situations throughout the day, they may be detrimental to a normal lifestyle. An anxiety disorder is a disorder where feelings of fear, apprehension, or anxiety are disruptive or cause distortions in behavior.
At times, an underlying illness or disease can cause persistent anxiety. Treatment of the illness or disease will stop the anxiety. Anxiety illnesses affect more than 23 million Americans with about 10 million Americans suffering from the most common, general anxiety disorder.
Panic attacks can begin with a feeling of intense terror followed by physical symptoms of anxiety. A panic attack is characterized by unpredictable attacks of severe anxiety with symptoms not related to any particular situation. The person experiencing the attack may not be aware of the cause.
Symptoms include four or more of the following: pounding heart, difficulty breathing, dizziness, chest pain, shaking, sweating, choking, nausea, depersonalization, numbness, fear of dying, flushes, fear of going crazy. Heredity, metabolic factors, hyperventilation, and psychological factors may contribute to anxiety causing panic attacks.
Panic disorder tends to run in families with first degree relatives of patients having four to seven times greater risk than the general population. Hyperventilation (rapid shallow breathing) can cause a decrease in carbon dioxide in the blood. This decrease in carbon dioxide has been associated with anxiety. Anxiety can be caused by psychological factors as well.
One theory is that there is an unconscious conflict between certain wishes and desires, and guilt associated with these desires. Another theory is that certain fearful childhood situations provoke anxiety later. This later theory has been associated with agoraphobia in that the fear of being abandoned in the past may lead to fear of public places.
Panic disorder is treated with drugs, cognitive- behavior therapy and other forms of psychotherapy, and/or a combination of the two. Relaxation therapy is also used in combination with other treatments.
Anxiety disorders oftentimes cannot be linked to specific life events and persist for months if not years at a time. Many people with anxiety disorders can be helped with treatment. Most of the medications which are prescribed are started at low doses and tapered off when treatment is near an end.
Side effects generally become tolerated or diminished with time. Behavioral therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy can be effective for treating several of the anxiety disorders. Behavioral therapy focuses on changing specific actions and uses different techniques to alter unwanted behavior.
Techniques include special breathing exercises and exposure therapy – gradually exposing patients to what frightens them and helps them cope with their fears. Cognitive-behavioral therapy teaches patients to react differently to the situations and bodily sensations that trigger panic attacks and other anxiety symptoms. Patients also learn to understand how to change their thoughts so that symptoms are less likely to occur. These techniques are designed to help people confront their fears. Without treatment, anxiety attacks can be extremely disabling and disrupt family, work and social relationships.
Tom Sample
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/causes-symptoms-and-treatment-of-anxiety-attacks-107409.html
How To Identify And Manage General Anxiety Disorder
General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) affects 4 to 5 million people in the United States alone and is one of the most debilitating forms of anxiety. It has been found that on the whole, women have a higher incidence of GAD than men.
The symptoms vary from one person to another, however there are several symptoms that are common to most people who suffer from GAD.
Chronic worrying
Worry is a natural feeling that everyone deals with occasionally, but people who suffer from GAD worry incessantly, often without a specific event or situation to trigger it. This worry can ultimately cause them to withdraw from social situations and make it difficult to perform their day-to-day activities.
People suffering from GAD often realize they are worrying unnecessarily, but they are unable to overcome it and move on.
Physical Symptoms
Physical symptoms of GAD can include things such as headaches, lightheadedness, nausea and stomach pain, elevated heartbeat, shortness of breath and a lack of concentration.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder can also lead to sleeping problems such as insomnia as well as depression.
Emotional Symptoms
People suffering from GAD often exhibit symptoms such as irritability, unexpected mood swings and constant feelings of tension and stress.
A person who is dealing with GAD can have unexpected panic attacks. Because they often worry about when the next one will come, it merely serves to contribute to their feelings of anxiety. This creates a vicious cycle which can be extremely difficult to overcome.
Because the problem can feed on itself, and continue to get more serious, medical attention should be sought as soon as possible. The sooner the problem can be diagnosed and treated, the less severe the side-effects may be, and conversely the longer it goes untreated, the worse it can become – ultimately leading to very serious problems and side effects.
Shane Baxter
http://www.articlesbase.com/medicine-articles/how-to-identify-and-manage-general-anxiety-disorder-101054.html
General Anxiety Disorder Symptoms
General Anxiety Disorder or GAD as it is known is another type of anxiety disorder. It affects roughly 4 to 5 million people of the American population alone. If you suffer from this Disorder symptoms can include but are not limited to those also suffered by panic disorder victims. It has also been found that it affects women proportionally more that it does men.
The symptoms are many and vary from person to person. There are however a few symptoms that are the same across the board for most people and which generally characterize their lives and lifestyles. The sufferer will live in a chronic and exaggerated state of worry and tension most of the time. Extreme emotions may arise even if there is nothing happening to provoke these feelings. Symptoms can also induce the sufferer to be always anticipating disaster.
One such is chronic and incessant worrying. Although worry is a natural emotion and most of us experience it from time to time in our daily lives, for the sufferer their worry is chronic and most times pathological. Most times the chronic worrier will let their worries overtake their world and will sometimes let it go so far as to incapacitate them in their daily lives.
By this, I do not mean that there is no choice over whether or not they worry ceaselessly, on the contrary the person might be aware that they are worrying needlessly but be unable to stop it or help themselves.
By the same token it can bring on insomnia, panic attacks and depression. Intense anxiety and fear are also quite common to these symptoms.
Other more physical, symptoms include headaches, diarrhea and nausea, lightheadedness, trembling or twitching. A palpitating or pounding heart, shortness of breath and trouble concentrating are also effects that can occur.
Irritability and mood swings, constant tension coupled with the inability to relax are all General Anxiety Disorder symptoms, and are all contributing features to other symptoms as well.
This vicious cycle can sometimes take its toll not only on the Disorder sufferer but also on the family of the sufferer. The pressures of living with a person who suffers from GAD, the inability to cope with the persistent and sometimes inconsequential worrying, the constant depression and mood swings can all take their toll. Most families do not survive too well if someone within the family suffers from this disorder.
That is why medical attention should be sought as soon as possible to alleviate your symptoms. General Anxiety Disorder can be cured and you should know this. Treatment methods are readily available to you and it is merely a matter of finding the courage to go out and find it. Rest assured that your doctor or therapist can help you in alleviating your symptoms properly and it will only take a little time and patience and will power on your part to cure yourself.
Dtm
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/general-anxiety-disorder-symptoms-66564.html
Recognize Anxiety Symptoms for Control and Relief
Anxiety symptoms manifest themselves when facing a threatening situation and result from an increase in the amount of adrenaline from the nervous system. This increased adrenaline speeds the heart and respiration rate, raises blood pressure, and diverts blood flow to
the muscles.
These physical reactions are exactly what define
anxiety symptoms. They are appropriate for escaping from danger but when they cause anxiety, they may be detrimental to a normal lifestyle. An anxiety disorder is a disorder where feelings of fear, apprehension, or anxiety are disruptive or cause distortions in behavior.
Sometimes, an underlying illness or disease can cause persistent anxiety. Treatment of the sickness will probably stop the anxiety. Anxiety illnesses affect more than 23 million Americans with about 10 million Americans suffering from the most common, general anxiety disorder.
Panic attacks can begin with a feeling of intense terror followed by physical symptoms of anxiety. A panic attack is characterized by unpredictable attacks of severe anxiety with symptoms not related to any particular situation. The person experiencing the attack may not know what is the cause.
Symptoms include four or more of the following: pounding heart, difficulty breathing, dizziness, chest pain, shaking, sweating, choking, nausea, depersonalization, numbness, fear of dying, flushes, fear of going crazy. Heredity, metabolic factors, hyperventilation, and psychological factors can also contribute to anxiety causing panic attacks.
Anxiety disorders oftentimes cannot be correlated to specific life events and persist for months if not years at a time. Many people with anxiety disorders can be helped with treatment. Most of the medications which are prescribed are started at low doses and tapered off when treatment is near an end.
Side effects generally become tolerated or diminished with time. Behavioral therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy can be effective for treating several of the anxiety disorders. Behavioral therapy focuses on changing specific actions and uses different techniques to alter unwanted behavior.
Techniques include special breathing exercises and exposure therapy – gradually exposing patients to what frightens them and helps them cope with their fears. Cognitive-behavioral therapy teaches patients to react differently to the situations and bodily sensations that trigger panic attacks and other anxiety symptoms.
Patients also learn to understand how to change their thoughts so that symptoms are less likely to occur. These techniques are designed to help people confront their fears. Without treatment, anxiety attacks can be extremely disabling and disrupt family, work and social relationships. So if you ever experience some of the anxiety symptoms, make sure you take the necessary health measures.
Ray La Foy
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/recognize-anxiety-symptoms-for-control-and-relief-119317.html
Panic Away Scam – Does Panic Away Cure Anxiety?
Have you been looking for the truth behind Panic Away Scam? There have been a lot of anxiety programs and solutions published online in the past few years that have fallen short. Panic Away is the most successful method to treat anxiety and panic attacks naturally.
Panic Away also known as the Panic Portal, has been accessed by a large number of anxiety sufferers, 40,000 customers have already been cured.
The creator of Panic Away is Joe Barry, a former panic attack sufferer, that has decided to research into anxiety and finally found the cure to panic attacks. This article will mainly focus on revealing the truth behind the Panic Away Scam. Is it truth or fiction anyway?
Joe Barry has created the Panic Away ebook which shows you the step-by-step techniques to free yourself from the fear, panic attacks and anxiety forever.
One of the best ways to end your anxiety and panic attacks is by following Joe Berry’s relaxation methods, and stop waiting for another attack to occur. However, Panic Away is dedicated for anyone that suffers from any form of anxiety, including OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder), PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), GAD (General Anxiety Disorder) and panic attacks.
Does Panic Away help or is it just another Scam?
Over 40,000 people have used Panic Away already, and the number is continuing to increase. This program has cured thousands of people already, including me. It definitely cannot be described as a scam.
If you’re going to follow the guide correctly, you’ll succeed! The program works , people fail, it’s that simple. Some of the most advanced relaxation techniques as well as one-on-one coaching are included in the program, as well some bonus features.
You really need to start the program with an optimistic mind set. Put some positive thoughts on your mind and you will succeed. At least that is what I have done, at least that I can guarantee. There is no Panic Away Scam.
By: Alex (Anxiety Treatment eBook – FREE)
About the Author:
Do you want to learn how to free yourself from anxiety and panic attacks?
See my reviews of the most successful techniques that have helped thousands of people to eliminate panic attacks and general anxiety permanently, visit this website: Anxiety CuresGeneral Anxiety Disorder – How to Cope With Panic Attacks
Are you suffering from panic attacks? Well anxiety attacks are terrifying experiences, mainly caused by high levels of stress and anxiety. The most common symptoms of a panic attack are body trembling, heartbeat races, sweating, dizziness and more. Either you are one of the sufferers or someone you know might is suffering.. here is the cure.
Anxiety attacks are frightening experiences, and because you can lose control of yourself, it’s crucial that you first learn how to stop the them before they even hit.
Anxiety attacks can happen anytime, to anyone, no matter their age. .However they are more common in adolescents. Mine came out of nowhere, and made me isolate myself for more than 3 years. I hadn’t had them previously in my life, actually I never had any health problems ever in my life ..one day my first panic attack has been triggered instantly, that was the worst one I ever had. I suffered from panic attacks for many years from that point on. I learned there’s help, but I tried so many different methods, and none of them worked, until I found the Panic Away Program which really made a whole big difference in my life, and finally taught me the systematic ways to stop panic attacks.
Usually you might have panic attacks in public places, public transportation, am I right ? This fear actually feeds the fire, and you end up in a vicious cycle of panic attacks. Did you know that when you recognize the signs and symptoms, you can actually start to deal with them? Sure, you can start controlling them right away, but that is possible if you follow the right techniques.
You need to learn the systematic ways to stop your panic attacks. Life really does not go on this way, and you need to take action.
Stress and anxiety trigger panic attacks, however healthy people may experience panic attacks, but they are no that common. Learning to cope with stress is an important step to your recovery. The problem is when you don’t deal with stress, it builds up, and next thing general anxiety disorder occurs. If you find yourself stressed out, stop what you are doing, take a short break, you need it, health is more important than anything else.
Stop the stress, and break the anxiety cycle.
Learning to face your emotions, and deal with your anxiety is important. You need to be more confident and learn how to keep yourself calm in any situation. I was really good at pushing things away, avoiding my anxiety and not trying to do anything to overcome it, this only made me suffer longer, more than 4 years, which is nearly half of a decade.
Taking a walk in the park, breathing fresh air is a good way to reduce your stress levels, it`s better if you can do it all by your self from time to time. Anxiety attacks happen less often when you learn to control your emotions and become more confident. Anxiety attacks don’t have to be a part of your life, you might not even be able to do much except isolating yourself and avoiding social activities. This is not the way to go through life, you really need to take action, and wait no longer.
I have managed to cure my anxiety and panic attacks using Joe Barry’s Program. Go one and read my complete story and how Panic Away has cured me completely.
By: Alex (Free Treatment for Anxiety eBook)
About the Author:
Do you want to learn how to free yourself from anxiety and panic attacks?
See my reviews of the most successful techniques that have helped thousands of people to eliminate panic attacks and general anxiety permanently, visit this website: Anxiety Cures












