WHAT ARE ANXIETY DISORDERS?
Anxiety is a part of our everyday lives. Who is not nervous on the first day of school or a new job, speaking in public or walking down a dark street alone at night? In such situations, anxiety is helpful. It can make us more alert, and help us prepare – it can work for us. On the other hand, anxiety can also become overwhelming and interfere with our lives. It can cut down on productivity and damage relationships with family, friends and co-workers. When anxiety reaches this level, it may be a symptom of an anxiety disorder.
TYPES OF ANXIETY DISORDERS
- General Anxiety Disorder: Is characterized by recurring fears or worries that keep us from concentrating on tasks.
- Panic Disorder: Is characterized by sudden attacks of terror, usually accompanied by a pounding heart, sweatiness, weakness, faintness, or dizziness. During these attacks, people with panic disorder may flush or feel chilled; their hands may tingle or feel numb; and they may experience nausea, chest pain, or smothering sensations. Panic attacks usually produce a sense of unreality, a fear of impending doom, or a fear of losing control. A fear of one’s own unexplained physical symptoms is also a symptom of panic disorder. People having panic attacks sometimes believe they are having heart attacks, losing their minds, or on the verge of death. They can’t predict when or where an attack will occur, and between episodes many worry intensely and dread the next attack. Panic attacks can occur at any time, even during sleep. An attack usually peaks within 10 minutes, but some symptoms may last much longer. Panic disorder is one of the most treatable of all the anxiety disorders, responding in most cases to certain kinds of cognitive psychotherapy, which help change thinking patterns that lead to fear and anxiety and/or medications.
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Is characterized by an on-going, out of control and unwanted feelings or thoughts (obsessions) and routines or rituals used to try to rid ourselves of these thoughts (compulsions). People with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have persistent, upsetting thoughts (obsessions) and use rituals (compulsions) to control the anxiety these thoughts produce. Most of the time, the rituals end up controlling them. At best, it produces temporary relief from the anxiety created by obsessive thoughts. OCD usually responds well to exposure-based psychotherapy, in which people face situations that cause fear or anxiety and become less sensitive (desensitized) to them.
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Is characterized by a re-experiencing trauma, crime or natural disaster through nightmares, flashbacks or other reminders months or even years after the event. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develops after a terrifying ordeal that involved physical harm or the threat of physical harm. People with PTSD may startle easily, become emotionally numb, lose interest in things they used to enjoy, have trouble feeling affectionate, be irritable, or become more aggressive. Symptoms usually begin within 3 months of the incident but occasionally emerge years afterward.
- Social Anxiety Disorder: Is diagnosed when people become overwhelmingly anxious and excessively self-conscious in everyday social situations. People with social anxiety disorder have an intense, persistent, and chronic fear of being watched and judged by others and of doing things that will embarrass them. They can worry for days or weeks before a dreaded situation. This fear may become so severe that it interferes with work, school, and other ordinary activities, and can make it hard to make and keep friends. Even if they manage to confront their fears and be around others, they are usually very anxious beforehand, are intensely uncomfortable throughout the encounter, and worry about how they were judged for hours afterward. Physical symptoms that often accompany social anxiety disorder include blushing, profuse sweating, trembling, nausea, and difficulty talking.
- Specific Phobia: Is characterized by an intense, irrational fear of something that poses little or no actual danger. Some of the more common specific phobias are centered around closed-in places, heights, escalators, tunnels, highway driving, water, flying, dogs, and injuries involving blood.
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): A person with GAD may go through the day filled with exaggerated worry and tension, even though there is little or nothing to provoke it. They anticipate disaster and are overly concerned about health issues, money, family problems, or difficulties at work. GAD is diagnosed when a person worries excessively about a variety of everyday problems. People with GAD can’t seem to get rid of their concerns, they can’t relax, startle easily, and have difficulty concentrating. Often they have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. Physical symptoms that often accompany the anxiety include fatigue, headaches, muscle tension, muscle aches, difficulty swallowing, trembling, twitching, irritability, sweating, nausea, lightheadedness, feeling out of breath, and hot flashes.
TREATMENT FOR ANXIETY DISORDERS
Anxiety disorders are treated with specific types of psychotherapy, medication, or both. Before treatment begins, a Psychologist must conduct a careful diagnostic evaluation to determine whether a person’s symptoms are caused by an anxiety disorder.
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is very useful in treating anxiety disorders. The cognitive part helps people change the thinking patterns that support their fears, and the behavioral part helps people change the way they react to anxiety-provoking situations. For example, CBT can help people with panic disorder learn that their panic attacks are not really heart attacks and help people with social phobia learn how to overcome the belief that others are always watching and judging them. When people are ready to confront their fears, they are shown how to use exposure techniques to desensitize themselves to situations that trigger their anxieties. People with OCD who fear dirt and germs are encouraged to get their hands dirty and wait increasing amounts of time before washing them. The Psychologist helps the person cope with the anxiety that waiting produces; after the exercise has been repeated a number of times, the anxiety diminishes. People with social phobia may be encouraged to spend time in feared social situations without giving in to the temptation to flee and to make small social blunders and observe how people respond to them. Since the response is usually far less harsh than the person fears, these anxieties are lessened. People with PTSD may be supported through recalling their traumatic event in a safe situation, which helps reduce the fear it produces. CBT therapists also teach deep breathing and other types of exercises to relieve anxiety and encourage relaxation.
- Medication: Medication will not cure anxiety disorders, but it can keep them under control while the person receives psychotherapy. The principal medications used for anxiety disorders are antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs.