Anxiety and Panic Disorders

What are anxiety disorders?

I know every one of you has felt anxious once if not twice in their lives.  It’s normal to feel that way. However, anxiety disorders are very different, they transform your normal way of life. 

Individuals who are mentally disturbed with this usually experience fear and are constantly overwhelmed. Nevertheless, treatment can help several people manage these feelings and get back to their normal way of life. These feelings are not easy to control and are likely to last a long time.  For you to prevent these feelings, you will be required to avoid certain places or situations. Symptoms of anxiety disorders are progressive, they might begin from childhood or teen years and progress to adulthood and there is a possibility of a person possessing more than one anxiety disorder. 

There are distinct types of anxiety disorder as described below:

Specific phobias. Circumstances or situations make you fearful. The fear goes beyond the ordinary and you are likely to avoid specific places or situations. These might be fear of heights or flying.  You always have a desire to avoid certain situations after being exposed to them. Panic attacks are always provoked by phobia in some individuals. 

Social phobia also is known as a social anxiety disorder. This is the fear of being judged and embarrassed.  Avoiding social situations or gatherings because you fear being negatively viewed by others. People who have this type of anxiety disorder are usually worried and are very self-conscious about any social gathering.  They always feel like people will discriminate and look down upon them. 

A medical condition. It Involves symptoms of strong anxiety or fear that is caused directly by a health problem.  This can be treated with time and most especially when realized early. It is essential to note that health conditions such as diabetes are likely to make someone anxious, the victim just has to embrace this fact and seek medical attention immediately before it worsens.

An anxiety disorder that has been induced. This involves the usage of drugs. As a result of drug misuse, and being withdrawn from drugs or being exposed to toxic substances, intense anxiety or panic is achieved. 

Panic disorder. This is an anxiety disorder that occurs when one encounters an attack just from nowhere. It comprises repeated episodes of specific feelings. These include chest pain, sweating, shortness of breath, and irregular heartbeats. These panic attacks are likely to disturb someone such that, they will avoid circumstances in which they have occurred or even worry about such things happening again. 

Symptoms of anxiety disorders

• Trembling
• Sweating
• Diversion of attention to other things other than the current problem
• Worrying uncontrollably
• Breathing heavily
• Increased heart rate
• Feeling restless, nervous and tensed
• Not being able to sleep
• Always feeling like avoiding things that catalyze anxiety
• Having frequent gastrointestinal problems

What causes anxiety disorder is not well-known, however, there are certain things you can do to reduce the above symptoms from interfering with your everyday life. If you are anxious:

Be active. 

Do things that make you happy and those that make you feel good about yourself. Join people during social gatherings and interact with them. These will lessen your worries. 

Do not use drugs. 

Drugs and alcohol are likely to worsen or cause anxiety. Avoiding these things can make you anxious especially if you are addicted to them. If you are unable to quit on your own, seek medical attention. 

Get helped early.

 If can be harder to treat anxiety if you wait, it’s just like any other mental health conditions. 

Concluding thoughts

If you think you have an anxiety disorder, the first step is to seek medical attention, let your doctor examine you to make sure there is no physical problem causing the symptoms. After it has been diagnosed, a mental health professional will work with on the best treatment.  We all should learn to accept the fact that anxiety is a mental problem and without the victims accepting that they have it, it will continue to disturb several individuals. Therefore, the first step to healing should be acceptance.