Anxiety Disorders Types
Anxiety affects everyone differently, but it is a real disease that can be treated. Treatment can include medication and therapy.
Most anxiety disorders are the result of a mix of factors, such as childhood experiences, genetics, and stress caused by health issues or work. However, there are other risk factors.
Doctors can diagnose anxiety disorders through an examination or interview, as well as lab tests.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
GAD patients struggle to control their anxiety. They are constantly worried about money, health and family, and have trouble in focusing their attention or imagining. Their anxiety affects their daily activities and causes significant distress as well as fatigue, discomfort and anger. They may seek reassurance or avoid situations in which they might be disappointing others. Other symptoms include headaches, tension in the muscles and restlessness. They are often overly optimistic, even when there is no reason to believe that way.
Every person experiences anxiety from time to time -- for example, before taking an exam or going to a job interview. If these feelings continue to linger and affect your daily life it may be indicative of anxiety disorder. GAD is characterized by persistent anxiety, in contrast to the short-lived anxiety that comes with anxiety disorders.
GAD is more common in children and teenagers than in adults. Kids who have GAD frequently feel worried about school or sport performance, about having fun with their friends, and about feeling safe in everyday events. Teachers, parents, and other adults are often called upon to comfort them. They rarely receive relief from symptoms despite seeking assistance.
Treatments for anxiety disorders include lifestyle changes, medications and psychotherapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a kind of psychotherapy that focuses on teaching relaxation techniques and helping to control distorted thinking that can cause anxiety. Antidepressants, buspirone and benzodiazepines can relieve anxiety symptoms. It is helpful to alter your diet, stay away from caffeine and other stimulants and get enough rest. Informing yourself and your loved ones about the kind of anxiety disorder that you suffer from will aid in treatment.
The cause of an anxiety disorder isn't always obvious, but genetics and experiences can play a part. People who have an extensive or prolonged stress, traumatic events in childhood, chronic medical illness and other mental health issues are more at risk of developing an anxiety disorder.
Panic Disorder
It's normal to be anxious and scared for instance, when you're about attend an interview for a job. Or your child is about to take an important test. If these feelings persist for months, or even longer, then you might suffer from anxiety disorder. These disorders include panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and specific phobias. They are among the most prevalent mental health disorders in the United States. Most begin in childhood, the adolescent years, or in early adulthood. Certain people with anxiety issues will get over their problems and others may require treatment.
Your doctor can assist you in finding the appropriate treatment to ease your anxiety symptoms. Your healthcare provider will begin by doing a physical exam and asking you to describe your symptoms. They will want to make sure there isn't any physical cause, like thyroid or heart disease issue. They will also ask about your family history of mental illness and any supplements or medications you take.
Risk factors are those that increase the risk of suffering from anxiety disorders in certain people. This could include an ancestor with a history of depression or other mental health issues or chronic medical conditions and a negative experience in childhood, like physical, emotional or sexual neglect or abuse.
If you suffer from an anxiety disorder, you may require treatment using psychotherapy or medications. Psychotherapy is a kind of counseling that helps you to discover new ways of thinking or behaving. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most researched type of psychotherapy for treating anxiety disorders. It helps you identify and change thinking patterns that lead to negative emotions. Exposure therapy is another form of psychotherapy that assists you to face the people, situations or places that trigger anxiety.
The use of medication can alleviate some of the most depressing symptoms of anxiety disorders, including fast heartbeat and trembling. Your physician will work with you to determine the best dosage, medication, and combination for you with minimal adverse consequences. Beta blockers are frequently used to treat high blood pressure. panic anxiety disorder can reduce anxiety by blocking the adrenaline that causes it.
Social Anxiety Disorder
People with social anxiety disorder fear social situations that are commonplace, like meeting new people or talking to strangers. They fear being judged or humiliated by others. These fears are unfounded and overblown, yet they affect your life in different ways. It's not shyness which may be a normal reaction to certain situations.
The healthcare professionals employ a variety of tools and tests to determine if you're suffering from this illness. They'll ask you questions about your symptoms and how they have affected your life. They can also conduct an examination of your body and check your blood pressure. This will help them determine if your symptoms could be caused by a medication or an illness.
It isn't completely clear what causes this disorder. It appears to run in the family and there's a connection between the disorder and the amygdala, which is a part of the brain that's overactive. Both genetic traits and environmental factors may be involved.
There are a myriad of treatments available for this condition. They include cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), and antidepressant medications. CBT helps you find new ways to deal with stress and confront your fears. You can also consider exposure therapy. Exposure therapy involves gradually exposing yourself to the situations that trigger your anxiety. It begins with the least scary and moves on to the most frightening. The medication can help reduce anxiety and boost mood, but they don't change the way you think.
Sometimes, these treatments don't work immediately. But you should keep trying until they do. Consult your doctor if your symptoms do not disappear after a few weeks. They may suggest alternative treatments, or give you a different medication.
Support groups for people with social anxieties can be a great way to meet people who share the same condition. You can receive honest, objective feedback from people who share your condition. You can also learn about how others deal with their fears and learn what has helped them. These groups can be found in person as well as online. You should be cautious when you take advice from a group of individuals who have had similar experiences to yours.
Specific Phobias
A specific phobia is an intense fear and irrational of a certain object or circumstance. It can cause extreme distress and is in contrast to the risk that the trigger could pose. People often shape their lives to avoid most feared situations or objects. To be diagnosed with a particular fear, the fear and anxiety must significantly affect functioning.
The fear could be triggered by observing or thinking about the trigger. It may be triggered in the vicinity of something that triggers it, such as when someone is walking by a statue or watching a film that includes a scene with the object that is feared. The most common phobias are fear of spiders, insects, or animals (arachnophobia) or heights, flying, needles, blood or injections (trypanophobia, hemotophobia).
Specific phobias have many of the same symptoms similar to other anxiety disorders including fear, anxiety, and avoidance. Some people with phobias also tend to over-react or experience panic attacks when confronted with the object or situation they are afraid of. In some cases, the fear and anxiety is so intense that it leads to a lack of interest in daily activities.
The most popular treatment for specific phobias is exposure therapy, which involves gradually exposing a person to the parts of the object or situation until their reaction is lessened or eliminated. This kind of therapy typically involves cognitive behavioral therapy in order to assist the patient in learning new ways of thinking about and coping with the phobias.
Some people with phobias also have symptoms of other mental conditions like agoraphobia, depression, bipolar disorder or substance-related disorders, as well as somatic symptoms and related disorders, as well as dependent personality disorder. It is important to confirm these conditions prior to starting treatment for a phobia.
For some people, long-term psychotherapy is needed to address a specific fear. Treatment for phobias can be performed in various ways, including cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) or exposure therapy. Other treatments include hypnosis or a technique known as modeling, in which the person observes a trained professional perform an interaction with the feared situation or object. Medications like short-acting sedatives/hypnotics beta blockers, benzodiazepines, or medications commonly used to treat anxiety or depression can be used to ease the anxiety that comes with anticipatory anxiety.