Generalized Anxiety Disorder Treatment
People who have GAD must learn ways to cope with anxiety and worry. Your doctor can help you form a plan and develop skills to do so. The plan may include counseling, medicine, or both. Counseling can help you figure out whats making you so tense. Your doctor may prescribe medicine to help you feel less anxious. Your doctor will recommend the treatment thats right for you.
Dealing With The Symptoms Quickly And Effectively
The best way to reduce the symptoms of anxiety quickly is to calm yourself with the aid of a . You can listen to the soothing voice of a professional hypnotherapist in the comfort of your own home.
Best of all, each time you listen, you not only reduce the symptoms right away, but you build on its success bringing you one step closer to recovery.
At the same time, challenge yourself to continue to take steps out of your comfort zone in the morning, afternoon and evening.
Ways To Enlist The Help Of Your Spouse Or Partner
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First Find A Way To Develop Your Self
Before you can snap yourself out of The Anxiety Stare, you need to know that youre doing it in the first place.
And that means you need to develop self-awareness.
One way to do this is to practice mindfulness meditation.
Its a form of meditation that focuses on becoming more mindful of your bodys experience in the present moment.
When you develop self-awareness, you start to realize when youre not there.
You start to notice when youre lost in your thoughts.
Or lost in The Anxiety Stare.
What You Need To Understand First
The first thing we need to know is this: Anxiety is a built-in response and its here to keep us safe. For a very good reason, evolution has developed the human brain so that it can trigger stress and anxiety at any moment we feel threatened it keeps us alive.
Unfortunately, this innate reaction can go wrong. And thats exactly what happens when we become anxious out of the blue. It can be triggered by a thought that pops into our head, a suppressed memory or by a combination of small stressors that come together to trigger anxiety. We might not notice them at all but our subconscious doesnt care. It can still pick them up and set off our innate danger alert.
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Do I Have An Anxiety Disorder
If you identify with any of the following seven signs and symptoms, and they just wont go away, you may be suffering from an anxiety disorder:
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Types Of Anxiety Disorders:
Generalized Anxiety Disorder is characterized by chronic and exaggerated worry and tension, much more than the typical anxiety that most people experience in their daily lives. People may have trembling, twitching, muscle tension, nausea, irritability, poor concentration, depression, fatigue, headaches, light-headedness, breathlessness or hot flashes.
Panic Disorder: People with panic disorder have panic attacks with feelings of terror that strike suddenly and repeatedly with no warning. During the attacks, individuals may feel like they can’t breathe, have lost control, are having a heart attack or even that they are dying. Physical symptoms may include chest pain, dizziness, nausea, sweating, tingling or numbness, and a racing heartbeat. Some people will have one isolated attack, while others will develop a long term panic disorder either way, there is often high anxiety between attacks because there is no way of knowing when the next one will occur. Panic disorders often begin early in adulthood. Many people with panic disorder also suffer from agoraphobia . See more on Panic Attacks.
Phobias are irrational fears. Individuals with phobias realize their fears are irrational, but thinking about or facing the feared object or situation can bring on a panic attck or severe anxiety.
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What Is Seasonal Affective Disorder
SAD affects about 5 percent of American adults and lasts around 40 percent of the year for them, typically occurring during the months of fall and winter, when days are shortest and the weather tends to be colder, darker and wetter. Its more common in women than men.
But dont we all get a little down during the winter? Sure, but the winter blues or cabin fever are not the same thing as SAD. And despite having disorder as part of its name, SAD technically isnt its own separate diagnosis, but rather is identified as a type of depression.
Kinsey McManus, director of client services at National Alliance on Mental Illness NYC Metro, explains that people with other diagnoses can see their symptoms worsen in a seasonal pattern, meaning it must have occurred for at least two years in a row and not be related to personal life changes, like seasonal unemployment or being on a school schedule.
The seasonal pattern addition means that a person experiences the onset of depressive episodes around the same time of year, McManus says. In addition, the person experiences the subsequent ending of depression around the same time of year. For example, over the years, a person notices that they usually start to feel depressed in the fall and generally start to feel better in the spring.
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Good to know, but what about people who buck the trend and feel worse during the spring and summer months?
What To Do During A Panic Attack
There are strategies that you can learn to help you to cope with an unexpected panic attack, including the following:
- As you are likely to hyperventilate during a panic attack, stop whatever you are doing when you feel one coming on , close your eyes and focus on your breathing. During these moments, breathe in for three seconds, hold the breath for two seconds and then breathe out again for three seconds, taking deeper breaths than usual. Getting back in control of your breathing can help you to stop the panic attack from intensifying or lasting longer.
- Learn and use positive mantras such as this is just my anxiety and these feelings will pass to stop your panic cycle. Panic attacks can cause you to think that you are going to collapse, have a heart attack or that you are going to lose control, which can result in you panicking even further. Having positive, factual and simple mantras to hand can help you to address and challenge your anxious thoughts so that you can alleviate the panic attack.
- Distract yourself from your negative thoughts by shifting your focus from your panic attack onto your surroundings. Concentrate on one thing that is in your eye line, whether that is a vase, a plant, or a building. Allowing yourself to think about its colour, texture, shape and size can help you to calm your mind and relieve you from your panicked thoughts.
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What Causes Anxiety Disorders
Experts don’t know exactly what causes anxiety disorders. Several things seem to play a role, including genetics, brain biochemistry, an overactive fight-flight response, stressful life circumstances, and learned behavior.
Someone with a family member who has an anxiety disorder has a greater chance of developing one, too. This may be related to genes that can affect brain chemistry and the regulation of chemicals called neurotransmitters. But not everyone with a family member who has an anxiety disorder will develop problems with anxiety.
Things that happen in a person’s life can also set the stage for anxiety disorders. Frightening traumatic events that can lead to PTSD are a good example.
Growing up in a family where others are fearful or anxious can “teach” a child to view the world as a dangerous place. Likewise, someone who grows up in an environment that is actually dangerous may learn to be fearful or expect the worst.
Although everyone experiences normal anxiety in certain situations, most people even those who experience traumatic situations don’t develop anxiety disorders. And people who develop anxiety disorders can get relief with proper treatment and care. They can learn ways to manage anxiety and to feel more relaxed and at peace.
Page Five
What Is The Anxiety Stare
Sometimes, a picture is more helpful than words. This is what Im talking about:
Look familiar?
The Anxiety Stare can happen at any time, in any location.
It can happen when youre in a meeting or when youre sitting on your couch watching TV. It can even happen when youre hanging out with your friends.
Anxiety doesnt doesnt show up when its convenient.
It pops into your life on its own terms not yours.
Anxiety is the friend that wont give you enough space.
Even worse, anxiety is the friend that moves into your house without asking and stays for three years instead of three days.
For me, The Anxiety Stare happens when Im overwhelmed. I may not realize that Im overwhelmed, but my brain does.
It knows that there is too much stuff swimming in there.
So it disconnects for a bit and makes me do The Anxiety Stare.
Im supposed to be doing something productive, but my brain wants to check out.
Im supposed to be present in a conversation, but my brain decides to time-travel into the future.
Sometimes I catch myself picking or scratching my skin while Im doing The Anxiety Stare.
Sometimes I catch myself with my mouth half-open, like Im drooling over a gourmet meal about to be served.
But its just The Anxiety Stare.
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Possible Medical Reasons For Anxiety
A useful mnemonic device, THINC MED, developed by Georgetown University psychiatrist Robert Hedeya, MD, helps doctors determine potential medical causes of anxiety:
T : Brain tumors cause a wide range of psychological symptoms, including anxiety, personality changes and hallucinations, along with physical symptoms. Adrenal gland tumors produce excess adrenaline, which can trigger anxiety, along with headache.
H : Thyroid problems are among the most common medical causes of anxiety, either because the gland is overactive or underactive . Parathyroid and adrenal gland conditions can trigger anxiety, too. The female hormone estrogen can also prompt anxiety when the menstrual cycle fluctuates and during menopause.
I :Lyme disease from tick bite infections can trigger anxiety and other psychological symptoms. Untreated Strep infections can cause the neurological tics sometimes seen with anxiety disorders. Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that can follow a viral infection, may trigger anxiety as well .
N : The symptoms of vitamin deficiency/overload, malabsorption and poor nutrition can mimic emotional disorders. For example, anxiety may be the first symptom of B12 deficiency.
C : Head trauma, even when mild, can trigger anxiety and other psychological symptoms. Anxiety is also seen with chronic or progressive neurological conditions, such as Alzheimers, myasthenia gravis and Guillain-Barre.
Phobias And Irrational Fears
A phobia is an unrealistic or exaggerated fear of a specific object, activity, or situation that in reality presents little to no danger. Common phobias include fear of animals , fear of flying, and fear of needles. In the case of a severe phobia, you might go to extreme lengths to avoid the object of your fear. Unfortunately, avoidance only strengthens the phobia.
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Youre Caught In The Worry Cycle
It can be an incredibly frustrating, overwhelming, and even paralyzing experience. My clients who have this problem will often tell me that the anxiety seems untriggered and random or that they are just always anxious about pretty much anything.
While the anxiety youre feeling may seem untriggered and random, there IS a clear trigger: uncertainty.
Are Random Shivers A Sign Of Anxiety
You might think chills or hot flashes only come from illnesses like the common cold or flu, but that isn’t always the case. Anxiety can cause them as well. According to the Mayo Clinic, panic attacks can cause you to experience chills and hot flashes similar to those you might experience if you have a fever.
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Why Do I Get Random Shivers When Im Not Cold
When you shiver, but you dont feel cold, it could be a sign that your body is starting to fight off a viral or bacterial infection. Just as shivering is your bodys way of warming up on a chilly day, shivering can also heat up your body enough to kill a bacteria or virus that has invaded your system.
Common Signs And Symptoms Of Anxiety
Sufferers often
Anyone suffering from anxiety is, in my eyes, courageous they have nothing to be ashamed of.
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