Are Your Worries Overwhelming You? A Guide to Treating Anxiety Disorders
When anxious thoughts are making you feel too much stress or fear, it’s time to get help. Find out how making lifestyle changes, seeking counselling, or taking medications might help you manage your symptoms.
Anxiety is a normal human response; we all feel it at different times and in stressful situations. Tense situations can include giving presentations in front of an audience or waiting for test results. When you’re stressed out or scared, it’s healthy and normal for your body to make you feel worried, tense, or anxious. But anxiety disorders are caused by unhealthy responses to stress or fear, and most people need therapy or treatment to get rid of their symptoms and make them easier to deal with.
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health disorder worldwide. Nearly 20% of people have an anxiety disorder, and the symptoms usually start before they turn 21.
How Can I Recognize If I Have an Anxiety Disorder?
People often avoid things when anxious, which can hurt their relationships, careers, or academic performance. Therefore, avoiding situations that might make one anxious or afraid is a major behavioural symptom. Other typical signs of anxiety disorders include the following:
- Apprehension or foreboding
- Apprehension
- Irritability
- Restlessness
- A belief that the worst will occur
- Dwelling on negative thoughts or events that went wrong
Physical symptoms can also result from anxious thoughts. These may consist of:
- Headache
- Backache
- Upset stomach, nausea
- Diarrhoea
- Sweating
- Racing heart
- Sleeplessness
- Mind going blank
- Tense muscles
What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Anxiety Disorder?
The main signs and symptoms are having trouble controlling anxious thoughts and having physical symptoms that make it hard to function socially, at work, or in other important areas. Make sure to speak with your doctor to rule out any additional causes, such as substance abuse, medication side effects, or hormonal imbalance.
Are There Different Types of Anxiety Disorders?
Yes, these disorders range in severity from mild to severe and range from generalized anxiety disorders to extremely narrow syndromes, like phobias. Even though the different anxiety disorders share some symptoms, they are fundamentally different.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
People with generalized anxiety disorder worry too much about simple things for a long time. This worry-driven preoccupation can make it difficult to focus and carry out daily tasks.
Social Anxiety Disorder
The symptoms of social anxiety disorder go beyond shyness, self-consciousness, or introversion. Anxiety about embarrassment or humiliation is a common source of social anxiety. The outcome is social withdrawal and isolation. When you can’t avoid being in a stressful social situation, your fear can lead to a panic attack.
Panic Disorder
Panic attacks or sudden feelings of terror are symptoms of panic disorder. These assaults may occur suddenly and for no apparent reason. People often compare the physical response to signs of a heart attack, such as tightness in the chest, shortness of breath, a racing heart rate, and feeling dizzy. People who have experienced panic attacks tend to isolate themselves to avoid having one in public or potentially hazardous situations, such as driving, because they often come on suddenly and without apparent cause.
Phobias
Phobias are irrational fears associated with a specific circumstance, event, object, or location. Fears of snakes, rats, spiders, elevators, heights, flying, and confined spaces are common phobias. People with phobias may go to great lengths to avoid coming into contact with the thing they are afraid of.
Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is the fear of being stuck in a situation you can’t escape, which could cause a panic attack. The fear is excessive compared to the circumstances and interferes with daily functioning. A severe case of agoraphobia may cause a person even to fear leaving their home.
Separation Anxiety Disorder
Separation anxiety is the fear of being separated from someone important to a person, such as a family member. One sign of separation anxiety disorder is worrying about losing a loved one or not being able to do anything without that person. For example, a person with a separation anxiety disorder might not let the person they are close to leaving the house without them.
How Can I Reduce the Symptoms of an Anxiety Disorder?
Start by thinking about your daily habits and routines like any health issue. Do you regularly work out? Take a good nap? Consume wholesome food? Maintain the regular schedule? These are all efficient methods for lowering stress and anxiety. Limiting the amount of alcohol, caffeine, and other drugs can also make a big difference.
What are the Treatments for Anxiety Disorders?
Doctors and therapists often talk to patients about their symptoms to determine if they have anxiety. Psychologists also use diagnostic screening tools like questionnaires or scales to focus on certain symptoms more closely. If you have an anxiety disorder, you may be offered one or more of the following treatments:
Talk therapy (Psychotherapy)
During their training, psychologists learn many therapies that help patients manage or cope with their symptoms. These include dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT), mindfulness practises, cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), and others.
Medications
Antidepressants and anxiety medications are frequently prescribed to treat symptoms.
Supplemental Therapies
Yoga, meditation and relaxation exercisescan help with symptoms.
What is the Average Length of Time for Treating Anxiety Disorders?
How long it takes to treat an anxiety disorder depends on how many and bad the symptoms are and on other factors. The efficacy of the medications and compliance with the prescribed course of action also influence treatment length.
Some patients find relief for a while, only for symptoms to reappear later in life. As symptoms develop and disappear throughout life, therapy and treatment may be intermittent. Rehab anxiety and denial for those with addiction issues may keep them from getting help. Depending on the patient, different lengths of time are needed to treat anxiety in rehab.
How Effective Is Treatment for Anxiety?
For the treatment of anxiety disorders, mental health professionals have identified numerous evidence-based, tried-and-true treatment approaches. In other words, anxiety disorders can often be successfully treated. Talk to a therapist to find out more about evidence-based therapies and how and how these will help you in regaining control of your life and well-being.
Where Can I Go to Get Help for My Anxiety?
Effective treatment for any anxiety disorder, such as generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, or specific phobias, starts with a mental health assessment.
A qualified psychologist can perform a brief evaluation, create individualized treatment plans, and offer counselling.
You might also be told to visit a psychiatrist so they can advise you on any necessary medication or other treatments.
Hope Trust has over 25 psychologists, psychiatrists, and counsellors – all under one roof – who can help you. You can easily get cross referrals and assessments. Also, you can get online therapy from the comfort of your own home!
Call 90008 50001 or click www.hopetrustindia.com for an appointment.