Anxiety is a common and natural emotion. But when it occurs in disproportionate levels, then one must consult a doctor. It manifests in the form of feelings of tension, troubling thoughts, and an increase in blood pressure.
One must be prudent about distinguishing normal anxiety versus one that needs medical attention. In the presence of erratic behavior, an individual should seek anxiety treatment. Depending on the type of anxiety disorder, they will choose a reasonable treatment course.
Anxiety treatment consists of many steps and evaluations. Some of their common recommendations are therapy, exercising, yoga stress management, plant extracts (such as Kava; read Kava Guides to know more), and medications.
WHAT CAUSES ANXIETY?
Multiple factors can trigger anxiety. The fast-paced contemporary lives have opened more doors to stress and tension.
Other causes include money, family life, health, and other crucial issues that require people’s undivided attention. During an anxiety attack, people assume a fight or flight mode. Happenings like a big event can induce panic. It can trigger feelings of anxiety.
SYMPTOMS
The different manifestations that constitute anxiety disorders are:
1) Restlessness, and constantly feeling on edge.
2) Unmanageable feelings of tension.
3) Amplified annoyance.
4) Difficulty in concentrating.
5) Difficulty in sleeping. Falling or staying asleep.
6) Fatigue, sweating, nausea, palpitations, trembling.
TYPES OF ANXIETY DISORDERS
Anxiety disorders include the following diagnoses:
1) Generalized anxiety disorder: It is a more chronic disorder that involves excessive, enduring worries about random events in life. GAD is highly commonplace. Sufferers are often unable to discern the cause of the trigger.
2) Panic disorder: These are momentary attacks that invite an intense sense of panic and cause apprehension among people. They are more susceptible to shaking, nausea, dizziness, confusion, and breathing difficulties. Panic attacks may start small and transcend rapidly within 10 minutes. Feelings of palpitations are pervasive.
They are triggered after the occurrence of frightening experiences of impending stress. They can likewise transpire in the absence of a trigger. Victims might mistake it for a life-threatening disease.
3) Specific phobia: This is encumbered by an irrational set of fears experienced by the person. They may steer clear of certain activities or situations. The victim may recognize their fears to be irrational and futile but continue to maintain them. Many situations, animals, objects, and activities can set people off.
4) Agoraphobia: Sufferers experience fear and avoid places, events, or situations that are tough to escape. It can often be misunderstood as the phobia of outside spaces and outdoors in general. People suffering from this disorder like to be home and in confined spaces. Elevators and public transport intimidate them.
5) Selective mutism: Experienced by children, this type of anxiety might not allow them to speak in some places or contexts. Such as school. Despite having a good command over language and being surrounded by well-known faces, they may not speak. It is an advanced form of social phobia.
6) Social anxiety disorder, social phobia: People experiencing this disorder are afraid of judgment from others in a social setting. They are highly terrified of public embarrassment. Emotions like stage fright, fear of intimacy, and anxiety around humiliation and rejection are prevalent for them.
7) Separation anxiety disorder: Experiencing high anxiety levels after being separated from a loved one, or familiar place that provides security. It may also lead to panic attacks at times.
TREATMENT
The anxiety treatment plan can vary according to the diagnosis. People are taught stress management that helps them cope with deadlines, pressures, and make work seem more doable. Relaxation techniques like yoga, long baths, resting in the dark are advisable.
They also recommend exercises that can replace anxiety, such as writing it down or creating a mental image of conquering these fears. Physical exercise also prompts more optimistic feelings.
Counseling is a great way for people to overcome their fears. It allows an honest flow of thoughts without any judgment. Several medications like antidepressants and many others are prescribed to inhibit negative emotions from arising.
CONCLUSION
There is very little that one can do to avoid panic attacks. They are involuntary manifestations that befall people. People must take this natural emotion seriously if it occurs in exaggerated amounts and becomes self-consuming.
Treatment plans are profoundly effective as some of these disorders can impair social life and mar relationships. Some individuals may resort to alcohol dependence which must be avoided.
It is essential to unearth the reason behind these manifestations so they can be dealt with more effectively. Having a great support system may also prove instrumental as it provokes more self-acceptance. CBT is also a type of psychotherapy that can alter harmful thought patterns.
