Anxiety is a normal and healthy feeling. If you experience disproportionate anxiety levels, it can lead to a medical disorder. Anxiety disorders cause extreme nervousness, fear, and worry, altering how you process emotions and behave. About forty million people are affected by anxiety disorders in the United States, and the country’s leading mental illness condition. You should be able to differentiate between usual and unusual Howell anxiety to help you seek medical attention. Restlessness, increased irritability, sleeping difficulties, uncontrollable feelings, and inattentiveness are common symptoms of anxiety disorder. Severe anxiety can alter your daily activities and overall functioning.
Causes of anxiety disorders
Environmental stressors: Work, relationships, or family issues can lead to anxiety. Life events can contribute to anxiety disorders such as child abuse, the death of a loved one, and seeing violence.
Genetics: If you have a family member with an anxiety disorder, you are at higher risk of experiencing the condition.
Medical factors: Symptoms of different illnesses, effects of certain medications, or stress from an intensive surgery can lead to anxiety. You can get pressure from chronic diseases such as; chronic back pain, diabetes, or stroke leading to anxiety.
Brain chemistry: You may experience issues with hormones and electrical signals in your brain.
Drug abuse: Withdrawing from illegal drugs can cause severe side effects causing anxiety.
Treatments of anxiety disorders
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT): This psychotherapy focuses on recognizing and changing harmful thought patterns that lead to anxious and troublesome feelings. Your CBT specialist limits how you react to objects or situations that trigger anxiety.
Medications: Various medications can help control anxiety symptoms, including:
Benzodiazepines: Your doctor may prescribe these drugs to patients with specific anxiety disorders, but they can be highly addictive. Benzodiazepines have fewer side effects. Diazepam and valium are the commonly used benzodiazepines.
Tricyclics: These medications treat many anxiety disorders. You may experience side effects like drowsiness, dizziness, dry mouth, and weight gain after use. Imipramine and clomipramine are some of the known tricyclics.
Beta-blockers: These medications are used by high blood pressure patients and can help improve your symptoms like racing heart, trembling, or shaking. Beta-blockers help you relax when you have an acute anxiety attack.
Anticonvulsants: These drugs prevent seizures if you have epilepsy. Anticonvulsants can also relieve specific anxiety disorder symptoms.
Bupropion: This is a common antidepressant mainly used to treat chronic anxiety.
Self-treatment: You can combine medical techniques with self-treatment, including:
Stress management: You can learn to manage stress to help limit potential triggers. Ensure you complete your tasks in time to avoid anxiety.
Relaxation techniques: Certain activities can help ease mental and physical anxiety symptoms. The common methods include; meditation, deep breathing, long baths, and yoga.
Exercises: Physical activities can improve self-esteem and stimulate the release of brain chemicals that trigger positive feelings.
Support network: Talking to people who can support you, like family members and friends, can help avoid negative thoughts contributing to anxiety. You can also join support groups in your local area or online. Ultimately, they will help learn how to get rid of anxiety completely and go back to normal life. If not, seek help as early as possible, such as getting help from anxiety therapists, as it can help a lot to get treated early.
