What Brings On Anxiety Disorder

How Is Panic Disorder Diagnosed

There isn’t a lab test specifically for panic disorder. Because the symptoms can feel a lot like those of a heart attack, your doctor probably will start by examining you and ruling out other health issues. If no other condition is causing your symptoms and youâve had two or more random panic attacks and live in fear of a repeat episode, you probably have panic disorder.

Can Anxiety Disorder Be Treated How To Manage Anxiety Disorders

Although each anxiety disorder has unique characteristics, most respond well to two types of treatment:

Pharmacological, which contains multiple groups of medications that help decrease the signs and symptoms of anxiety. They often bring back productivity to people who have lost their normal function in society.

The other treatments are called non-pharmacological, this include psychotherapy or also called talk therapy, a treatment that can be effective to ease stress, provide a new perspective on problems,

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, a treatment that focuses on thoughts and behaviors, teaches people different ways of thinking, behaving, and reacting to anxiety-producing and fearful objects and situations.

Counseling is another effective way to manage anxiety disorders. It is to help the concerned person through purposeful conversation and guidance to resolve problems.

Prevention is always easier than dealing with late complications.

Relaxation techniques,

Physical exercising,

Taking a deep breath.

Talking to someone willing to listen to them might be a friend, a therapist, or a family member.

Stress management techniques and meditation can help people with anxiety disorders calm themselves and may enhance the effects of therapy.

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General Tips For Help With Anxiety

Its important to have realistic expectations. Everyone experiences anxiety now and then, so you wont get rid of anxiety forever. Instead, realize that youll be able to manage your symptoms and stop avoiding certain situations that may cause you stress and anxiety.

Adopting a healthy lifestyle is another powerful tool for relieving stress and anxiety. The ingredients for a healthy lifestyle include:

• good sleep habits

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Outcomes In Relation With Selected Kinds Of Treatment

Large-scale international reviews of scientific studies have concluded that psychotherapy is effective for numerous conditions.

One line of research consistently finds that supposedly different forms of psychotherapy show similar effectiveness. According to The Handbook of Counseling Psychology: “Meta-analyses of psychotherapy studies have consistently demonstrated that there are no substantial differences in outcomes among treatments”. The handbook states that there is “little evidence to suggest that any one psychological therapy consistently outperforms any other for any specific psychological disorders. This is sometimes called the after a scene/section in Alice in Wonderland where every competitor in a race was called a winner and is given prizes”.

Further analyses seek to identify the factors that the psychotherapies have in common that seem to account for this, known as for example the quality of the therapeutic relationship, interpretation of problem, and the confrontation of painful emotions.

Outcome studies have been critiqued for being too removed from real-world practice in that they use carefully selected therapists who have been extensively trained and monitored, and patients who may be non-representative of typical patients by virtue of strict inclusionary/exclusionary criteria. Such concerns impact the of research results and the ability to generalize from them to practicing therapists.

How Is Panic Disorder Treated

Your doctor may refer you to a specialist called a psychotherapist. They might recommend:

• A type of talk therapy called cognitive behavioral therapy that helps you learn how to change unhealthy thoughts and behaviors that bring on panic attacks
• Antidepressants, like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors
• Benzodiazepines, which are sedatives that affect your central nervous system
• Anti-anxiety medications
• Cutting back on caffeine

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How Is Anxiety Treated

Which anxiety treatments will work for you depends on you, what type of anxiety disorder you have, and how severe it is. Mild anxiety may be helped by making lifestyle changes such as regular physical exercise, whereas more severe cases may require medicine.

People involved in your care might include your doctor, a psychiatrist or a psychologist, mental health nurse or other type of counsellor.

Recovery is possible with the right care. Common treatments and ways to manage anxiety include the following:

What Is Generalized Anxiety Disorder

With GAD, you may feel extreme and unrealistic worry and tension even if theres nothing to trigger these feelings. Most days, you may worry a lot about various topics, including health, work, school and relationships. You may feel that the worry continues from one thing to the next.

Physical symptoms of GAD can include restlessness, difficulty concentrating and sleeping problems.

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How Is Gad Diagnosed

Generalized anxiety disorder is diagnosed by a mental health clinician who can help determine whether the symptoms your child is experiencing is related to an anxiety disorder or another medical condition. The mental health clinician will make the diagnosis following a comprehensive assessment, which includes a diagnostic with you and your child. During the assessment, parents are asked to talk about their childs anxiety symptoms and related behavior. You will also be asked to give an overview of your childs family history, medical history, social history, and social interactions. Sometimes parent or child questionnaires are used to help clarify the diagnosis.

Can Anxiety Disorders Be Prevented

You cant prevent anxiety disorders. But you can take steps to control or reduce your symptoms:

• Check out medications: Talk to a healthcare provider or pharmacist before taking over-the-counter medications or herbal remedies. Some of these contain chemicals that may make anxiety symptoms worse.
• Limit caffeine: Stop or limit how much caffeine you consume, including coffee, tea, cola and chocolate.
• Live a healthy lifestyle: Exercise regularly and eat a healthy, balanced diet.
• Seek help: Get counseling and support if you experienced a traumatic or disturbing event. Doing so can help prevent anxiety and other unpleasant feelings from disrupting your life.

Recommended Reading: Are Depression And Anxiety The Same Thing

Try The File It Mind Exercise

The File It technique works particularly well if youre lying awake at night thinking of all the things you have to do or havent done, or if youre rehashing something that happened during the day.

These are the steps for performing this exercise:

The idea with this exercise is that youre taking a moment to name your triggers, examine them, and then consciously put them aside with a deadline to tackle them later. In other words, youre validating your own feelings and making a plan to deal with them, one by one, when its a better time.

How Does Medication Treat Anxiety Disorders

Medications cant cure an anxiety disorder. But they can improve symptoms and help you function better. Medications for anxiety disorders often include:

• Anti-anxiety medications, such as benzodiazepines, may decrease your anxiety, panic and worry. They work quickly, but you can build up a tolerance to them. That makes them less effective over time. Your healthcare provider may prescribe an anti-anxiety medication for the short-term, then taper you off or the provider may add an antidepressant to the mix.
• Antidepressants can also help with anxiety disorders. They tweak how your brain uses certain chemicals to improve mood and reduce stress. Antidepressants may take some time to work, so be patient. If you feel like youre ready to stop taking antidepressants, talk to your provider first.
• Beta-blockers, usually used for high blood pressure, can help reduce some of the physical symptoms of anxiety disorders. They can relieve rapid heartbeat, shaking and trembling.

Your healthcare provider will work with you to find the right medication combination and dosage. Dont change the dose without consulting your provider. Theyll monitor you to make sure the medicines are working without causing negative side effects.

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What Causes Generalised Anxiety Disorder

The exact cause of GAD is not fully understood, although it’s likely that a combination of several factors plays a role.

Research has suggested that these may include:

• overactivity in areas of the brain involved in emotions and behaviour
• an imbalance of the brain chemicals serotonin and noradrenaline, which are involved in the control and regulation of mood
• the genes you inherit from your parents you’re estimated to be 5 times more likely to develop GAD if you have a close relative with the condition
• having a history of stressful or traumatic experiences, such as domestic violence, child abuse or bullying
• having a painful long-term health condition, such as arthritis
• having a history of drug or alcohol misuse

But many people develop GAD for no apparent reason.

Whats The Outlook For People With Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders can often go undiagnosed and untreated. Fortunately, treatment can help. The right treatment can help improve your quality of life, relationships and productivity. It can also support your overall well-being.

You dont need to live with constant worry and fear. If you notice symptoms of an anxiety disorder, talk to your healthcare provider. Its best to get diagnosed and treated as soon as possible. Doing so can limit the problems that anxiety disorders can cause. Often, a combination of medications and counseling for anxiety can help you feel your best.

Read Also: What Percent Of Teens Have Anxiety

Recovery Is Possible With Treatment

Recovery from an anxiety disorder is possible with the right treatment and support. Effective treatments for anxiety disorders may include:

• Cognitive behavioural therapy aims to change patterns of thinking, beliefs and behaviours that may trigger anxiety.
• Exposure therapy involves gradually exposing a person to situations that trigger anxiety using a fear hierarchy: this is called systematic desensitisation.
• Anxiety management and relaxation techniques for example deep muscle relaxation, meditation, breathing exercises and counselling.
• Medication this may include antidepressants and benzodiazepines.

What Happens If I Dont Get Treatment For My Child With An Anxiety Disorder

Getting your child help for an anxiety disorder can improve their development and self-esteem. But untreated anxiety disorders can harm:

• Family relationships.
• School performance.
• Social functioning.

Your child may also end up with more serious mental and physical health problems. Fortunately, there are several treatments for anxiety disorders. The right treatment can help your child manage their symptoms and feel their best.

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What Are The Symptoms Of Anxiety Disorders

The different types of anxiety disorders can have different symptoms. But they all have a combination of:

• Anxious thoughts or beliefs that are hard to control. They make you feel restless and tense and interfere with your daily life. They do not go away and can get worse over time.
• Physical symptoms, such as a pounding or rapid heartbeat, unexplained aches and pains, dizziness, and shortness of breath
• Changes in behavior, such as avoiding everyday activities you used to do

Using caffeine, other substances, and certain medicines can make your symptoms worse.

How Can I Tell If I Have Ocd Or An Anxiety Disorder

You can differentiate OCD from anxiety disorders by the presence of obsessions and compulsive behaviors. Both can cause a significant amount of distress and get in the way of important daily activities, such as working and going to school.

For example, if you have OCD, you may have a fear of contamination, so you wash your hands every time you touch something new. Or you may fear that someone might get harmed because you werent careful, so you count to a safe number when doing tasks.

These types of behaviors and thought patterns arent typically present in anxiety disorders.

A trained therapist can diagnose your condition correctly and prescribe the best treatment plan for you.

If you want to read more, you can check out this article in which mental health advocate Sam Dylan Finch talks about the differences between OCD and GAD.

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What Are The Types Of Anxiety Disorders

There are several types of anxiety disorders, including:

• Generalized anxiety disorder .People with GAD worry about ordinary issues such as health, money, work, and family. But their worries are excessive, and they have them almost every day for at least 6 months.
• Panic disorder. People with panic disorder have panic attacks. These are sudden, repeated periods of intense fear when there is no danger. The attacks come on quickly and can last several minutes or more.
• Phobias. People with phobias have an intense fear of something that poses little or no actual danger. Their fear may be about spiders, flying, going to crowded places, or being in social situations .

What Is A Panic Disorder

If you have a panic disorder, you get intense, sudden panic attacks. These attacks often feature stronger, more intense feelings than other types of anxiety disorders.

The feelings of terror may start suddenly and unexpectedly or they may come from a trigger, like facing a situation you dread. Panic attacks can resemble heart attacks. If theres any chance youre experiencing a heart attack, go to the emergency room. Its better to err on the side of caution and have a healthcare professional check you.

During a panic attack, you may experience:

• Sweating.
• Chest pain.
• Feeling of choking, which can make you think youre having a heart attack or going crazy.

Panic attacks are very upsetting. People with panic disorder often spend a lot of time worrying about the next panic attack. They also try to avoid situations that might trigger an attack.

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How Anxiety Disorders Are Diagnosed

Diagnosis of anxiety disorder counts on the clinical presentation and history of the disorder. Sometimes an anxiety disorder goes undiagnosed because the person believes it is just worrying and not a medical condition.

Based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, an anxiety disorder is associated with at least three of the following signs.

Restlessness, Easily fatigued, difficulty concentrating, irritability, muscle tension or, sleep disturbance.

However, confirming the condition and knowing the cause requires a lengthy process of physical examinations that may include blood tests and imaging to rule out underlying medical conditions. in addition to a Mental health evaluations and psychological questionnaires.

Your Current Life Situation

Current problems in your life can also trigger anxiety. For example:

• exhaustion or a build-up of stress
• lots of change or uncertainty
• feeling under pressure while studying or in work
• long working hours
• worrying about the environment or natural disasters
• losing someone close to you
• being abused, bullied or harassed, including experiencing racism.

Big changes to your day-to-day life can be a particular trigger for anxiety, so you may find that you’ve experienced anxiety problems during the coronavirus pandemic. For information on how coronavirus may have affected your mental health and what could help see our coronavirus and mental health pages.

Read more about racism and mental health

“I have recently realised that I spend money when anxious, which in turn makes me feel anxious about how much I’m spending.”

Also Check: How To Distract Yourself From Anxiety

What Are The Major Types Of Anxiety Disorder

The major types of anxiety disorder are:

Some other conditions that are not considered anxiety disorders but are similar include:

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder . People with OCD have unwanted thoughts or behaviors that cause anxiety. They may check the oven or iron again and again or perform the same routine over and over to control the anxiety these thoughts cause. Often, the rituals end up controlling the person.
• Post-traumatic stress disorder . PTSD starts after a scary event that involved physical harm or the threat of physical harm. The person who gets PTSD may have been the one who was harmed, or the harm may have happened to a loved one or even a stranger.

Think About Something Funny

Visualize your favorite humorous moments, says Sultanoff. One where you laughed so hard you fell down and peed your pants. These can be real situations, or they can be situations you saw on sitcoms, in stories, jokes, or cartoons.

If its difficult for you to come up with something in the moment, try picking a couple of memories ahead of time, so you can go to them as soon as you start experiencing anxiety.

Like most mindfulness training, humor visualization takes you out of worrying about things that might happen in the future and focuses you back in your present circumstances, in the now.

It does a few other things too. You experience mirth, which is the uplifting reaction to humor, explains Sultanoff. You feel emotions such as joy, pleasure, or delight all powerful emotions that can help you reduce anxiety quickly.

And if youre able to make yourself laugh by remembering that funny moment, he says, humor visualization is even more effective.

When you laugh, you contract and expand muscles, which reduces physical anxiety, stress, and tension, he says.

Laughter also combats the production of cortisol levels in the body, he adds.

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Narcissistic Abuse May Cause Anxiety Disorders

Narcissistic abuse refers to the mental and physical harm inflicted by severely self-centered people .

Accordingly, studies have confirmed a strong link between abuse in adulthood like domestic violence and abuse from a narcissistic partner and the presence of many physical and mental health issues, as well as anxiety .

But what about narcissistic abuse from childhood?

Recent studies indicate that narcissistic abuse from childhood could contribute to the formation of anxiety disorders, both in youth and later in life. After all, narcissistic abuse experienced in ones childhood can have detrimental effects on ones physical and mental health, in both the short-term and long-term. Indeed, bullying behavior and systematic abuse of power such as verbal abuse and threats from narcissistic parents or traumatic physical abuse – can make the child internalize and externalize their hurt feelings .

Mentally, the child may develop low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and PTSD, both in the short term and in adulthood. . Physically, the child may also act out, developing delinquent behavior, substance abuse, anxiety, and aggression , both in their youth and later in life .

In other words, narcissistic abuse in both childhood and adulthood may contribute to the development and exacerbation of anxiety disorders!