Everyone experiences feelings of anxiety. It's normal to feel anxious when you drop your son off for his first day of kindergarten, when you lose your job or when you have to give a presentation in class. For some people anxiety takes over their lives. They can't cope with feelings of stress, and the anxiety affects their ability to be successful at work and maintain healthy relationships.
Symptoms of Anxiety Disorders
The main symptoms of any anxiety disorder include overwhelming worry and fear. Feeling worried and anxious causes the other symptoms such as trouble concentrating, feeling jumpy, irritability, restlessness and dread, according to Helpguide.org. Many times, people with anxiety disorders experience physical symptoms such as sweating, nausea, dizziness, fatigue and muscle tension. These symptoms make it difficult for someone to pay attention during important business meetings and complete work and school assignments on time.
Symptoms of Anxiety Attacks
Anxiety attacks can occur without any warning, and there isn't one known specific cause for anxiety attacks. Usually, a combination of genetics, stress and neurotransmitter irregularities lead to panic attacks. Someone who has a panic attack might feel as if she's having a heart attack. All of a sudden, she'll feel panic and worry as well as a loss of control. Her heart will pound, her chest will hurt and she'll feel as if she's going to pass out. Anxiety attacks occur in short periods of time, unlike the symptoms of other anxiety disorders, which are experienced on a regular basis.
Types
There are six main types of anxiety disorders including generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, phobia, panic disorder and social anxiety disorder. They all share the basic symptoms of anxiety, but they also each have their own symptoms that distinguish the disorders. It's important to know which disorder the person suffers from in order to provide effective treatment. For instance, someone who suffers from social anxiety disorder and gets overwhelming anxious around new people will need different treatment than someone who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder due to being raped.
Professional Treatment
People who suffer from anxiety disorders have two main forms of treatment available to them: medication and therapy. Benzodiazepines, also known as anti-anxiety medications, and antidepressants are commonly prescribed to treat anxiety disorders. Most doctors prefer prescribing antidepressants, because benzodiazepines are known for being addicting; however, antidepressants can take up to four weeks before they're effective. Most benzodiazepines start working within 30 minutes of taking them.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy and exposure therapy are used to treat anxiety disorders. In cognitive-behavioral therapy, the therapist teaches the client how his thoughts affect his emotions and behaviors. Exposure therapy is commonly used to treat specific phobias.
Self-Help
Anyone who suffers from an anxiety disorder can do things on her own to decrease symptoms of anxiety. The Mayo Clinic reports that it's important to get regular exercise, eat healthfully whenever possible, practice and use relaxation techniques, get eight hours of sleep each night and avoid alcohol and illegal drugs.
