Uncovering Anxiety Disorders and How They Can Affect Us

We all live with some type of stress at one point or another in our lives. Whether you experience stress on the job, stress with your family, or stress of any other kind, it affects us in an adverse way if it continues on for too long. Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress. It helps us deal with a difficult and tense situation at work or at school and keeps us focused on our task so we can cope with whatever is going on.

Anxiety can become disabling in those who become irrational in their thinking about this stress. It becomes excessive, dreadful, and debilitating. There are five major kinds of anxiety disorders: generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and social anxiety disorder.

Generalized anxiety disorder includes chronic anxiety that is made much worse by worry and tension. There are times when there has been nothing to provoke this feeling but it's there anyway. People who suffer from this can't shake their concerns. They may find themselves being concerned about getting into their car and driving to work because of their fear of getting into an accident. They may worry excessively about their children's safety even though they are just fine. Physical symptoms that they may experience are fatigue, muscle tension, headaches, trembling, difficulty swallowing, twitching, sweating, and irritability. Some people have hot flashes.

Treatment for generalized anxiety disorder includes a myriad of medications, as with any disorder. Medications are fine for some but not all people want to medicate themselves at every turn. For those that prefer to go another route, psychotherapy can be beneficial. This involves talking to a mental health professional to discover what has caused an anxiety disorder and how to deal with it. Oftentimes, cognitive-behavioral therapy is used. This therapy helps one change their thinking patterns that support their fears and encourage new thoughts that create positive reactions in anxiety-provoking situations.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is accompanied by recurrent, unwanted thoughts and repetitive behaviors. Counting, cleaning, or excessive washing of your hands are some of these behaviors. Doing these things only gives temporary relief from this kind of anxiety. If one does not do these things they find themselves even more anxious. *Karen had a routine when she got dressed in the morning. If she didn't get dressed according to her routine she would have to start over. She also washed her hair three times each morning instead of once because three was a good luck number and one was not. When setting her alarm, she set it to a number that wouldn't add up to a "bad" number. All along, Karen knew her behaviors were irrational and they made her ashamed but she couldn't overcome them until she had gone through therapy. Psychotherapy works well with obsessive-compulsive disorder as any of the five major disorders.

Panic disorder is accompanied by physical symptoms that can include chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, abdominal distress, and dizziness. *Renee, a hairdresser I used to work with, used to have panic attacks. She said that during these attacks, she felt as though she was having a full-blown heart attack. Her day could be going along fine at the salon and there seemed to be no apparent reason for her panic attack. It is typical that this terror can strike suddenly and repeatedly with no warning. Renee would get sweaty, weak, and dizzy. At times she would faint. She felt like she had lost all control and could not get her breath. She felt like she was dying. Panic attacks are violent experiences. Renee has a supportive network of friends and by sharing her experiences in a support group setting, she has been able to share her problems and achievements with others. Renee also visited her doctor and is taking medication to help herself.

Post-traumatic stress disorder can develop after going through a terrifying event in which major physical harm occurred or was threatened. *Ben had an accident at work. A large piece of machinery fell on him in a freak accident, and Ben lost his leg as a result. Unless we have lost a limb, we can hardly imagine how horrific this must be. People with post-traumatic stress disorder may startle easily, become emotionally numb, be irritable, and lose interest in things they used to enjoy. Often we see this disorder in veterans of war. War time, for the soldier, brings unspeakable images and occurrences that should not be in the normal realm of someone's experiences. The soldier may be the one who was harmed. I've seen the coverage on T.V. of soldiers who are in veteran's hospitals and now missing body parts. He may have seen a harmful event that happened to someone else, even a stranger. This can cause post-traumatic stress disorder too. The support of one's family is very important in the recovery of people with this, as any anxiety disorder.

If you experience overwhelming anxiety and excessive self-consciousness in social situations, you may suffer from social phobia, or social anxiety disorder. If I have to get up in front of any number of people and speak I tend to suffer from this anxiety. Some people will experience this anytime they are around any other people. This makes it hard for them to go anywhere! Even though those with social phobia know that their fears are unreasonable they are unable to overcome them. *Gracy worries for weeks before a social outing. She worries about what she will wear and if her hair will turn out. She undoubtedly will feel sick the day of her outing, making her want to call it off. She has a fear of being judged and watched. Once she was there, even though she reminded herself that they were all just people just like her, she tended to blush, sweat, and have difficulty making conversation. It would never fail that Gracy's nerves would get the best of her and almost every time one of these social settings was going to occur she would get a cold sore either before or during the outing. This added to her self-consciousness and made the gathering even more unbearable. She felt clumsy and wanted to go home. Men are equally likely as women to develop this disorder.

There are specific phobias that we can suffer from too such as flying, close spaces, or spiders. These fears can be intense and the causes of these fears are not always well understood. Specific phobias respond well to targeted psychotherapy.

Stress management techniques and meditation can help people with anxiety disorders. Aerobic exercise, yoga, and any form of physical activity can really help calm the soul and ease anxiety. Support from loved ones is crucial. If you feel disabled from your anxiety don't rob yourself of another great day in the life of you. Seek help, do some research, and get active in your mental well-being goals.