Treatment for Anxiety
What is anxiety?
Anxiety, in simple terms, means fear in its various forms – dread, fright, worry, nervousness, tension, upset.
Though the term “anxiety” has a negative connotation, it is part of our human make-up and essential to our survival. If we did not have anxiety, we would walk off cliffs and pick up poisonous snakes. However, some people experience too much anxiety, too often. This is called an “anxiety disorder.”
Following are some of the more common anxiety disorders:
Generalized anxiety disorder is ongoing worry, often overblown, and unrelated to a particular event or situation. For instance, you may constantly worry about a child who is perfectly healthy.
Specific phobia is an exaggerated fear of animals or objects, e.g., spiders, dogs, birds, heights, water, darkness. Although many people are uneasy about specific objects, or become nervous around other people, true phobias affect your quality of life, and ability to perform daily activities.
Social phobia is characterized by your irrational fear of social situations and interactions with other people. Usually, a person with social phobia is disproportionately afraid of how he or she will act in the company of others. Social phobics have a fear of embarrassing or humiliating themselves in front of others.
Panic Disorder involves repeated periods of extreme panic, known as “panic attacks.” Suppose one day you’re getting out of your car to go to work and suddenly, your chest feels tight. Your heart races, you feel dizzy, faint, and start to choke. You feel as if you are dying. Most likely, you are experiencing a panic attack.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder can develop after exposure to a terrifying event in which grave physical harm occurred, or was threatened. This stressor may involve serious physical injury, someone else’s death, a threat to your life, or someone else’s life. Your response may include intense fear, helplessness, and/or horror.
(Certain medical conditions, such as thyroid disorders, diabetes, hypoglycemia and adrenal disorders may produce symptoms of anxiety. When dealing with possible anxiety disorders, it is important to have a complete examination by a physician to rule out organic causes.)
What are some common symptoms of anxiety disorders?
- The symptoms of anxiety can be quite frightening, and may include:
- chest pain
- racing pulse
- dizziness
- shortness of breath
- sweating
- trembling
- shaking
- nausea
- tingling in hands or feet
- hot flashes or chills
- choking feeling
- sense of unreality, or dreamlike sensations
- What is the neurochemistry of anxiety?
The brain and body are helping you deal with a perceived threat. In broad terms, you are preparing for “fight or flight.” Blood pressure, heart rate, blood flow to the muscles, and sweating increase as immune and digestive system functions decrease, enhancing physical performance for short bursts of time.
The hormone adrenaline, released from the adrenal glands in times of threat or emergency, plays a central role in the short-term stress reaction. This is the biochemical that enables us to lift a car off of a trapped child, or race away from a tiger on the loose.
The problem with the anxious client is that he cannot distinguish between a major threat (a tiger on the loose) and a minor threat (his neighbor gave him a dirty look). His nervous system is like an alarm designed to go off when a burglar breaks down the front door, but rings when a flies lands on it.
Who is susceptible to an anxiety disorder?
According to some statistical studies, 19% of women and 8% of men have an anxiety disorder.
Depression often goes hand-in-hand with anxiety. More than 95% of depressed people may have at least one symptom of anxiety; 29% reported panic attacks and 42% experienced bodily symptoms.
Treatment for Anxiety:
As with many other psychiatric illnesses, anxiety is treated with psychotherapy in conjunction with medication (if deemed appropriate by a psychiatrist).
Cognitive-behavioral therapy is the most widely recognized, empirically-proven method of diminishing anxiety. Essentially, the clinician assists the client in recognizing thoughts that foster anxiety, and teaching behaviors that will lessen anxiety.
Some techniques used to diminish anxiety include:
- Calmative breathing
- Relaxation exercises
- Controlled worry (allow only a certain amount of time allotted to worry each day)
- Confront what you fear (either in real life or in your imagination)
- Avoidance of caffeine, drugs, and alcohol
- Yoga
- Biofeedback
- Warm bath
- Relaxing activities, e.g., listening to music
I highly recommend the book Freedom From Fear: Overcoming Anxiety, Phobias and Panic by Howard Liebgold, M.D., who suffered from these disorders for 31 years until he discovered effective ways to rid himself of excessive anxiety. Dr. Liebgold shares valuable tips and insights for those who suffer from an anxiety disorder.
We hope the information contained in this article has been of help to you. Please feel free to contact us at Milestones Ranch Malibu with any questions or comments you may have. Call: (800) 791-6859 for assistance.
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