Anxiety
Anxiety
Anxiety
Anxiety is the displeasing feeling of fear and concern. Anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness and dread. It is also associated with feelings of restlessness, fatigue, concentration problems and muscle tension. Anxiety is a normal human emotion that everyone experiences at times. Many people feel anxious or nervous when faced with a problem at work, before taking a test, or making an important decision.
Anxiety disorders, however, are different. They can cause such distress that it interferes with a person’s ability to lead a normal life. Anxiety can be confused with fear. However, fear is concrete (a real danger), whereas anxiety is the paranoia of something out there that seems menacing but may not be menacing, and, indeed, may not even be out there.
There are many types of anxiety disorders, including:
- Panic disorder
- Obsessive compulsive disorder
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Social anxiety disorder
- Specific phobias
- Generalized anxiety disorder
An anxiety disorder is a serious mental illness. For people with anxiety disorders, worry and fear are constant and overwhelming, and can be crippling.
Causes & risk factors
The exact cause of anxiety disorders is unknown; but it is important to note that anxiety disorders – like other forms of mental illness – are not the result of personal weakness, a character flaw, or poor upbringing.
Like certain illnesses, such as diabetes, anxiety disorders may be caused by chemical imbalances in the body. Studies have shown that severe or long-lasting stress can change the balance of chemicals in the brain that control mood. Studies also suggest that the inability to adapt to stress is associated with the onset of depression or anxiety.
Risk factors associated with anxiety and psychological stress:
- Acute coronary syndrome (ACS), a collection of symptoms that indicate a heart attack or approaching heart attack.
- Stroke. In some people, prolonged or frequent mental stress causes an exaggerated increase in blood pressure, a risk factor for stroke.
- Susceptibility to Infections. People who are under chronic stress have low white blood cell counts and are more vulnerable to colds or flu. And, once a person catches a cold or flu, stress can make symptoms worse.
Symptoms
Anxiety takes several forms: phobia, social anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, and post-traumatic stress. The physical effects of anxiety may include heart palpitations, tachycardia, muscle weakness and tension, fatigue, nausea, chest pain, shortness of breath, headache, stomach aches, or tension headaches.
As the body prepares to deal with a threat, blood pressure, heart rate, perspiration, and blood flow to the major muscle groups are increased, while immune and digestive functions are inhibited (the fight or flight response). External signs of anxiety may include pallor, sweating, trembling, and pupillary dilation. For someone who suffers anxiety this can lead to a panic attack.
Although panic attacks are not experienced by every person who suffers from anxiety, they are a common symptom. Panic attacks usually come without warning and, although the fear is generally irrational, the subjective perception of danger is very real. A person experiencing a panic attack will often feel as if he or she is about to die or lose consciousness. Between panic attacks, people with panic disorder tend to suffer from anticipated anxiety – a fear of having a panic attack may lead to the development of phobias.
General symptoms of anxiety include:
- Feelings of panic, fear, and uneasiness
- Uncontrollable, obsessive thoughts
- Repeated thoughts or flashbacks of traumatic experiences
- Nightmares
- Ritualistic behaviors, such as repeated hand washing
- Problems sleeping
- Cold or sweaty hands and/or feet
- Shortness of breath
- Palpitations
- An inability to be still and calm
- Dry mouth
- Numbness or tingling in the hands or feet
- Nausea
- Muscle tension
- Dizziness
Treatment
Fortunately, much progress has been made in the treatment of people with mental illnesses, including anxiety disorders. Although the exact treatment approach depends on the type of disorder, one or a combination of the following therapies may be used for most anxiety disorders:
- Talk Therapy, called psychotherapy, addresses the emotional response to mental illness. It is a process in which trained mental health professionals help people by talking through strategies for understanding and dealing with their disorder.
- Medication: Drugs used to reduce the symptoms of anxiety disorders include anti-depressants and anxiety-reducing drugs.
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: People suffering from anxiety disorders often participate in this type of psychotherapy in which the person learns to recognize and change thought patterns and behaviors that lead to troublesome feelings.
- Expressive Arts Therapy: Uses art and creativity to help people connect to their problems, give voice to their emotions, and learn techniques to heal. It uses a variety of techniques including art, drama, movement, music, poetry, puppetry, and sand play.
- Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT): Uses trained animals to enhance an individual’s physical, emotional and social well-being, thus improving self-esteem, reducing anxiety and facilitating healing.
- Dietary and Lifestyle Changes
- Relaxation Therapy
Complications
Having an anxiety disorder does more than make you worry. It can also lead to, or worsen, other mental and physical health conditions, such as:
- Depression
- Substance abuse
- Trouble sleeping (insomnia)
- Digestive or bowel problems
- Peptic ulcers
- Headaches
- Teeth grinding
- Muscular and joint pain
- Sexual dysfunction
Social Anxiety and Stress
Social Anxiety/Stress
Shyness is the tendency to feel awkward, worried or tense during social encounters, especially with unfamiliar people. There are many degrees of shyness. Stronger forms are usually referred to as social anxiety or social phobia. Shyness may merely be a personality trait or can occur at certain stages of development in children. The primary defining characteristic of shyness is a fear of what other people will think of a person’s behavior, which results in the person becoming scared of doing or saying what he or she wants to, out of fear of negative reactions, criticism, or rejection, and simply opting to avoid social situations instead.
Severely shy people may have physical symptoms like blushing, sweating, a pounding heart or upset stomach; negative feelings about themselves; worries about how others view them; and a tendency to withdraw from social interactions. Most people feel shy at least occasionally. Some people’s shyness is so intense, however, that it can keep them from interacting with others even when they want or need to — leading to problems in relationships and at work.
Causes & risk factors
A chronic and disabling form of shyness is called social phobia or social anxiety disorder, and is a chronic problem that can result in a reduced quality of life.
The difference between social anxiety and normal shyness is that social anxiety involves an intense feeling of fear in social situations and especially situations that are unfamiliar or in which one will be watched or evaluated by others. The feeling of fear is so great that in these types of situations one may be so worried that he or she feels anxious just thinking about them and will go to great lengths to avoid them.
Like many other mental health conditions, social anxiety disorder likely arises from a complex interaction of environment and genes, including inherited traits, brain chemistry, brain structure and negative experiences (e.g., bullying, rejection, sexual abuse).
Left untreated, social anxiety disorder can be debilitating.
Social anxiety disorder can cause:
- Low self-esteem
- Trouble being assertive
- Negative self-talk
- Hypersensitivity to criticism
- Poor social skills
Social anxiety disorder can also result in:
- A poor work record
- Low academic achievement
- Isolation and difficult social relationships
- Substance abuse
- Excessive drinking, particularly in men
- Suicide
Symptoms
Emotional and behavioral social anxiety disorder signs and symptoms include:
- Intense fear of interacting with strangers
- Fear of situations in which you may be judged
- Worrying about embarrassing or humiliating yourself
- Fear that others will notice that you look anxious
- Anxiety that disrupts your daily routine, work, school or other activities
- Avoiding doing things or speaking to people out of fear of embarrassment
- Avoiding situations where you might be the center of attention
- Difficulty making eye contact
- Difficulty talking
Physical social anxiety disorder signs and symptoms include:
- Blushing
- Sweating
- Trembling or shaking
- Fast heartbeat
- Upset stomach
- Nausea
- Shaky voice
- Muscle tension
- Confusion
- Diarrhea
- Cold, clammy hands
Treatment
Overcoming social anxiety depends on the person and the situation. In some cases it can be relatively easy—just a matter of time for many individuals—yet for some people social anxiety can become a very difficult, painful and even disabling problem. The reasons are unknown. Recovery from chronic social anxiety is possible in many cases, but usually only with some kind of therapy or sustained self-help or support group work.
Types of Treatment
- Cognitive Behavorial Therapy (CBT) can be one of the most effective treatments available. The goal of CBT is to guide the patient’s thoughts in a more rational direction when faced with anxiety; it helps the person to stop avoiding situations that once caused anxiety and teaches people to react differently to the situations that trigger their anxiety. Cognitive behavior therapy may include systematic desensitization or controlled exposure to the feared situation. With systematic desensitization, the person imagines the anxious social situation and works through their fears in a safe and controlled environment. CBT may also include role-playing to practice social skills and gain the comfort and confidence in order to relate to others.
- Relaxation techniques include breathing methods and muscle relaxation strategies. Calm breathing or ‘diaphragmatic breathing’ is a breathing technique used to slow down and control one’s breathing when they start to feel anxious or even stressed.
- Medication such as antidepressants like Paxil or benzodiazepines such as Xanax, Librium, Valium, and Ativan. Beta-blockers, which are often used to treat heart conditions, may be used to mitigate some of the physical symptoms of social anxiety, such as reducing heart rate or blood pressure.