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Posts Tagged ‘Anxiety Disorder’

Anxiety is a state of mind or a mental condition inherent in all humans, but exaggerated in some as anxiety disorder. This disorder is generally experienced by individuals under prolonged stress or deep agony, to later graduate into anxiety attacks. However, it is not too difficult to overcome anxiety if you follow a healthy lifestyle and subjugate the factors responsible for triggering anxiety.

One of the first things you require, to overcome your anxiety is in creating a mental state that is immune to stress and anxiety. While healthy body can be acquired through regular exercise, jogging and healthy diet, you can rely on meditation, music and professional relaxing techniques for a healthy mind.

Overcoming Anxiety Attacks

Anxiety attack is one of the grim effects of intense stress and anxiety disorder, which not only disrupts normal and healthy environment, but can also have harmful consequences. Thereby, it is extremely important to curb the cause that triggers anxiety in the very initial stage with proven methods like cognitive-behavioral therapy, exposure therapy and medication as well.

Medication or prescription therapy to overcome anxiety is recommended as the ultimate choice in case other natural procedures to overcome anxiety do not succeed. However, medications have its own side-effects and cannot be considered a long-term option.

One of the most important aspects that need to be mastered, to overcome anxiety attacks are to keep your mind under control. Moreover, since the circumstances that trigger anxiety attacks may vary from person to another; you may seek the assistance of therapist to undermine the root cause of your anxiety.

Simple Practical Ways To Overcome Anxiety Attacks

Trace the anxiety cause: Diagnosing the follow up of events leading to anxiety attacks is considered beneficial to help overcome anxiety. Therefore, it is suggested that you maintain a record of the incidents that is happening enroute to anxiety attacks for future therapy. You never know, what subconsciously triggers your anxiety attacks.

Breathing: An increased rate of breathing experienced during an anxiety attack, also considered its first symptoms can evolve into a vicious cycle if not treated on time. You can practice the right breathing technique practiced to overcome anxiety attacks slow inhalation for a count of four, hold your breath for a count of seven and slow exhalation through your mouth.

Air and Water therapy: The calming effect of fresh air, beautiful surroundings and tranquil water is considered to have an immediate impact in overcoming anxiety attacks. Brace yourself to fresh air or a cool shower or a drink, as soon as you are near to experiencing anxiety attacks.

Focus on Anxiety: Anxiety is an absolute intricate state of mind, therefore it is essential to exercise full control of your mind power, focus on anxiety and free yourself from being controlled or overpowered by it. You can even reiterate to yourself and even say out verbally of not allowing giving in to stress and anxiety.

Muscle relaxation: Anxiety also takes a toll on your body. Practice muscle relaxation (clench and release) starting from your feet and gradually moving up involving every part of your body to the head, until you overcome your anxiety.

Music for Relaxation: Music therapy is a popular, proven and perhaps the oldest procedure for the treatment of stress, panic and anxiety attacks. Music is said to sooth your senses and diverts your focus from the cause of anxiety. It is an excellent stress buster.

Stress and anxiety may be dubbed as inseparable part of our lives; but it is up to you to overcome your anxiety and prevent it from causing irreparable damage to your personal and professional lives.

Anxiety and Related Disorders

If you’re sitting in a tornado shelter feeling apprehension about a tornado warning on the radio, then you probably have a normal fear response to your circumstances. If you’re sitting in there on a clear day, trembling, sweating and feeling doomed, then you probably have an anxiety disorder. Webster’s Dictionary defines anxiety as “An abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear with physiological signs such as shortness of breath, a rapid pulse, or chest pain.” Anxiety Disorders are one of the most common psychiatric conditions, affecting fifteen to twenty per cent of the general population.

The first order of business for a physician evaluating anxiety is to determine as accurately as possible the patient’s complete state of health. At least one-third of patients with an underlying organic disorder present with anxiety symptoms. These could include too much thyroid hormone, problems with the adrenal glands, an unrecognized heart disorder, or diabetes. Treatment of the underlying medical problem thereby becomes the primary treatment for the anxiety.

The second order of business is to determine if a patient is putting something into their body which is causing the anxiety. This could include alcohol, which is a frequent cause of a cycle of anxiety. Other substances which could cause anxiety would be stimulants like diet pills, amphetamines or cocaine. Finally, some prescription drugs do not mix well together, especially when they are broken down by the same enzymes in the liver, and may cause severe anxiety. There are certain herbal remedies such as yohimbine (a purported male enhancer), which in some individuals, can cause anxiety. Elimination of these substances is the treatment for this type of anxiety, so a patient needs to be forthright about all substances and prescriptions which he is taking.

A type of primary anxiety disorder is the panic attack. This is usually unexpected, peaks in about ten minutes and usually lasts less than an hour. It is characterized by a feeling of losing control or going crazy, trembling or shaking, profuse sweating or chills or hot flashes, rapid heart rate, and a sense of not being able to catch one’s breath. It may be associated with agoraphobia, which is a fear of being trapped or unable to escape. (Agoraphobia can occur by itself, and thus be considered as another form of primary anxiety.)

There is another form of anxiety which most often begins in childhood. It is the fear of separation from an important attachment figure, for example a parent. This leads to a form of anxiety called separation anxiety which can occur at later times in life when one is faced with losing another attachment figure.

Some anxiety sufferers have an inordinate fear of humiliation in social or performance situations. Once again it is the physical symptoms which define the condition. One could be tormented by flushing (or blushing), rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, and/or a sense of doom. If it is a fear of social situations it is called Social Anxiety or phobia; fear of performance humiliation is called Performance Anxiety.

Some anxiety sufferers can have symptoms brought on by a specific object or situation. These are called the various and sundry phobias. It might be the fear of heights, fear of crossing a bridge, fear of spiders or germs. Again it is the intense emotional and physical symptoms which make this form of anxiety so disabling.

Another form of anxiety is the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. A person suffering from this may perform certain rituals to allay the anxiety. This could include excessive hand-washing, not stepping on cracks in the sidewalk, or repetitively locking and relocking a door. Jack Nicholson played an Obsessive-Compulsive in a movie a few years ago (Melvin Udall in “As Good As It Gets”), which very poignantly portrayed the interpersonal difficulties which can occur secondary to this condition. Dustin Hoffman’s “Rain Man” portrayed a Tourette’s Syndrome/Autistic patient’s extreme dependence on rituals to alleviate mounting anxiety.

If a person has six months or more of constant generalized anxiety and excessive worry with the physical and emotional repercussions of anxiety, this is called Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Sometimes this particular spectrum of symptoms can be secondary to a mood disorder such as depression or manic-depression. In this latter case treatment would be for the mood disorder.

There is an anxiety disorder which occurs after a person has endured a shocking situation in which he has faced the possibility of his own death. We see this in soldiers who have been traumatized on the battlefield. It can occur after a terrible accident or a natural disaster. The person has panic attacks and vivid nightmares. This type of anxiety is called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The VA Hospital system has developed an extensive body of knowledge about this disorder and various specific techniques for treating it. Adjustment Disorder is a much less intense form of anxiety than PTSD. In this situation, an individual develops anxiety secondary to a new situation such as a new job or a different family arrangement.

Treatment of anxiety usually involves both psychological and medical treatment. Identifying sources of anxiety and likewise identifying physical symptoms can eliminate some of the dread one has for intermittent anxiety. Sometimes with phobias there can be a supportive desensitization which can help alleviate symptoms. Medications can include anti-anxiety agents such as diazepam or clonazepam, but care has to be taken to avoid medication dependency. The SSRI antidepressants like fluoxetine have anti-anxiety properties as well. Tricyclic antidepressants like clomipramine can be used to treat anxiety but have a greater incidence of side-effects.

John Drew Laurusonis M.D.

Doctors Medical Center

Anxiety Treatment

Anxiety or panic disorder are unexpected durations of extreme anxiety, fear and also soreness. While these kinds of attacks might appear to happen with regard to absolutely no cause, they’re really your body’s reaction to exactly what it feels since the require for fight or flight.

Regardless of their causes an anxiety treamtment will help if you make it a routine when you feel one coming on.

Prepare yourself mentally. Feed yourself constructive and positive thoughts.
Don’t attempt to analyze why your having an attack,

These cycles may last for extended periods. Prickling and numbness within the extremities, dizziness, lightheadedness, head aches as well as nausea will also be frequently knowledgeable but when these people remain instant health care anxiety treatment should wanted after with regard to anxiety attacks if the common anxiety treatments do not function. These types of might seem to become arbitrary, however they’re actually the actual outcome from the physiques formulations for safety.

Heart palpitations are the result of the rapid heartbeat. Rapid breathing (hyperventilation) results in a drop in carbon dioxide levels in the lungs and blood. A feeling of lightheadedness or dizziness is a typical result for most people and in some cases even numbness. The lack of blood flow to the head is caused by the adrenaline rush through the narrowing blood vessels. Headaches and sometimes lightheadedness can also be a symptom.

The particular anxiety attack is actually attributable to an abrupt oncoming of fear. In response, the actual body produces adrenaline then increases within the center as well as breathing price as well as output of perspire (in order to control entire body heat). These types of activities put together the actual body for the activities regarding fighting or even escaping. Simply because the expected physically demanding exercise hardly ever comes after the actual panic or anxiety attack, these types of tendencies result inside physical soreness. Their own are many different anxiety treatments available about the Internet, yet the best cure as opposed to an anxiety treatment is to cut down about the typical trigger from the assault in the first location.

Some common leads to to have an assault tend to be.

biological causes

hyperventilation syndrome

medications or drugs intake

stress

This particular sudden assault can trigger dilemma as well as needless get worried that the attacked with some “terminal condition”. Be assured, anxiety attack could be quit and your not necessarily dieing. Make modifications for your way of life as well as start having a healthy diet plan. Stay clear of coffee, alcoholic beverages and also smokes, they are just about all stimulant that can result in your own anxiety attack as well as aggravate the particular symptoms.

Start doing basic workouts such as quick strolling, jogging or even biking