Naturally, you have occasional anxiety as a response to a dangerous situation. However, not everyone reacts the same way. Anxiety disorders cause one to have excessive, persistent, and intense fear and worry about normal situations and may cause episodes of panic attacks. Such feelings of anxiety can interfere with daily activities and may last a long time since they are difficult to control.
The Woodlands general psychiatry offers personalized treatments to help you control your anxiety so you can enjoy a normal life. Meanwhile, you can read the following discussion to understand how the four types of anxiety affect you.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Characterized by ongoing worry and anxiety that you cannot control and interfere with daily living, a generalized anxiety disorder may occur alongside other mood disorders. You may find yourself persistently worrying about things that are not proportional to the impact of events and overthinking solutions to possible worst-case outcomes.
You may also tend to perceive situations as threatening even when they are not, always fearing making the wrong decision, inability to relax, cannot let go of worry, and having difficulty concentrating. Furthermore, you may develop physical symptoms, including fatigue, trouble sleeping, muscle tension, trembling, sweating, and nausea.
Social Anxiety Disorder
Social anxiety disorder causes everyday social interactions and causes anxiety and self-consciousness because you fear negative judgment by others. You may easily avoid social events because they cause fear and anxiety, and as a result, your relationship, school work, and daily activities may be affected. Your symptoms may include intense fear of interactions, avoidance of situations that put you at the center of attention, and fear of blushing and trembling.
Panic Disorder
Recurrent and unexpected panic attacks are signs that you have a panic disorder. You may spend a long time worrying and fearing another attack for no apparent reason. During a panic attack, you may experience a racing heartbeat, chest pain, shortness of breath, faintness, trembling, and dread, among several other symptoms.
You will likely fear panic attacks so much that you tend to avoid situations that can trigger one. Although a panic attack may be threatening, it is not dangerous. However, a panic attack may feel like a heart attack, so you may need an evaluation to rule out a possible one.
Phobias
A phobia causes an irrational and uncontrollable fear of certain situations and objects so much that you can go to great lengths to avoid the object of fear. In response, you may have a panic attack. You can have a specific phobia where you fear a situation or object that is not harmful.
Agoraphobia, on the other hand, involves fearing having a panic attack in a situation that may be hard to escape. Agoraphobia can include fear of being alone at home, in a crowd, and traveling in a vehicle.
Anxiety disorders may make a normal day seem stressful and difficult enough to wonder if you will get through it. Anxiety symptoms are disturbing and can include panic, fear, intense worry, and nervousness. Alongside your emotional symptoms, you may have physical symptoms like sweating, trembling, hyperventilation, a rapid heartbeat, and fatigue.
Often, your worry may consume you too much, even when there is no apparent reason. You can get help with several treatment options to help you manage your symptoms and continue a normal life.
