Mental Illness Anxiety Disorders

A normal reaction to stress is known as anxiety. Normal levels of anxiety can be beneficial in specific situations. It can warn us of dangers and help us pay attention and prepare. Normal anxiety is different from anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders start from normal feelings of anxiousness and then cause excessive anxiety or fear.

 

Mental illness anxiety disorders are among the most common mental disorders. They affect about 30% of adults once in their lives. However, anxiety disorders can be treated with a number of psycho-therapeutic treatments. Treatment helps most people lead their lives in a productive and normal way.

Anxiety indicates the outlook of a future concern and is more linked with avoidance behavior and muscle tension.

 

Fear is an emotional response to a quick threat and is more associated with a fight or a flight reaction by either staying to fight or quitting to escape danger.

 

Anxiety disorders cause people to try to avoid situations that worsen or  trigger their symptoms. Personal relationships, job performance and schoolwork can be affected. In general, for people to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, the anxiety or fear must:

 

• Be age-inappropriate to the situation

• Inhibit their ability to function normally

 

There are many types of anxiety disorders such as separation anxiety disorder, specific phobias,  generalized anxiety disorder, selective mutism, agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder, and panic disorder with or without agoraphobia.

 

Who can get anxiety disorders and how common are they?

In the U.S, anxiety disorders are the most common psychological conditions. They affect around 40 million Americans. They occur to nearly 30% of adults once in their lives. Anxiety disorders most commonly begin in childhood, adolescence or early adulthood. Women are more likely than men to face anxiety disorders.

 

Types of mental illness anxiety disorders

 Following are types of mental illness anxiety disorder:

 

Agoraphobia (Ag-uh-rug-FOE-be-uh) is a kind of anxiety disorder in which you fear and often avoid situations or places that might bring you to panic and make you feel helpless, trapped, or embarrassed.

 

Anxiety disorder due to certain medical condition includes symptoms of extreme panic or anxiety that are directly caused due to a physical health problem.

 

Generalized anxiety disorder includes excessive and persistent worry and anxiety about events or activities— even ordinary, routine issues. The anxiety is out of proportion to the real circumstance, is tough to control and affects how you feel physically. It usually occurs along with depression or other anxiety disorders.

 

Panic disorder involves persisted episodes of sudden feelings of intense fear or anxiety and terror that reach a peak in minutes (panic attacks). You may have feelings of chest pain, impending doom, shortness of breath, or a rapid, pounding or fluttering heart (heart palpitations). These panic attacks generally lead to avoiding circumstances in which they’ve occurred and worrying about them happening again.

 

Selective mutism is a continuous failure of children to speak in specific situations, like school, even when they can speak in other situations, like at home or with close friends . This can interfere with work, school, and social functioning.

 

Separation mental illness anxiety disorder is a childhood disorder classified by anxiety that’s excessive for the developmental level of a child and related to separation from parents or other people who have parental roles.

 

Social anxiety disorder (social phobia) usually involves high levels of fear, anxiety, and avoidance of social situations because of self-consciousness, feelings of embarrassment, and concern about being viewed or judged negatively by others.

 

Specific phobias are commonly characterized by the major anxiety when you are susceptible to a specific situation or object and a desire to avoid it. Phobias lead to panic attacks in a few people.

 

Substance-induced anxiety disorder is portrayed by symptoms of severe anxiety or panic that are a direct result of taking medications, misusing drugs, withdrawal from drugs or being exposed to a toxic substance.

 

Other specified anxiety disorder and unspecified anxiety disorder are the terms for phobias or anxiety that don’t meet the accurate criteria for any other anxiety disorders but are noticeably enough to be disruptive and distressing.

 

Mental health anxiety disorder causes

Anxiety disorders are like other types of mental illness. They don’t come from character flaws, personal weakness, or problems with upbringing. But studies don’t know exactly what causes mental illness anxiety disorders. They suspect a mixture of factors plays a role:

 

Chemical imbalance: severe or long-lasting stress can alter the chemical balance which controls your mood. Experiencing a lot of stress over a long period commonly leads to an anxiety disorder.

 

Environmental factors: Experiencing a trauma might worsen or  trigger an anxiety disorder, particularly in someone who has inherited a greater risk to start.

 

Heredity: Anxiety disorders run in families. You may inherit them like eye color from one or both parents.

 

Anxiety disorder symptoms

Symptoms vary depending on the kind of anxiety disorder you have. General anxiety disorder symptoms include:

 

Physical symptoms:

• Sweaty or cold hands

• Nausea

• Tingling or numbness in hands or feet

• Muscle tension

• Dry mouth

• Heart palpitations

• Shortness of breath

 

Mental symptoms:

• Feeling panic, uneasiness and fear

• Nightmares

• Repeated flashbacks or thoughts of traumatic experiences

• Obsessive, uncontrollable, thoughts

 

Behavioral symptoms:

• Inability to be calm and still

• Ritualistic behaviors, like washing hands repeatedly.

• Trouble sleeping

 

Risk factors for mental illness anxiety disorder

Some things make you more likely to have an anxiety disorder. These are known as risk factors.  You are unable to alter some risk factors, but others you can.

 

Risk factors for anxiety disorders may include:

 

• History of mental health disorder: Having another psychological disorder, such as depression, raises your risk for developing anxiety disorder.

 

• Childhood sexual abuse: Emotional, physical, and neglect or sexual abuse during childhood is associated to anxiety disorders later in life.

 

• Chronic health condition or severe illness: Caring for someone who is sick, or constant worry regarding your health or the health of a loved one can cause you to feel anxious and overwhelmed.

 

• Substance abuse: The use of illegal drugs and alcohol makes you more likely to face an anxiety disorder. Some people also consume these substances to ease or hide anxiety symptoms.

 

• Trauma: Facing traumatic event increases the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which may cause panic attacks.

 

• Negative life events: Negative or stressful life events, such as losing a parent in early childhood, increase your risk for developing anxiety disorder.

 

• Being shy as a child: Withdrawal and shyness from unfamiliar places and people during childhood is related to social anxiety in teens and adults.

 

• Low self-esteem: Negative perceptions regarding yourself can lead to social anxiety disorder.

Anxiety mental health diagnosis

If you have symptoms, your doctor will ask questions and examine you about your medical history. They may run tests to find out other psychological conditions that might be causing your symptoms. No lab tests can particularly diagnose anxiety disorders.

 

If your physician doesn’t find any physical reason for how you are feeling, for an anxiety mental health diagnosis they may send you to a psychologist, psychiatrist or another mental health specialist. Those doctors will ask you questions and use testing and tools to rule out if you may have a mental illness anxiety disorder.

 

Your doctors will consider how long you have had symptoms and how severe they are  when diagnosing you. It’s important to let your counselors or doctors know if your anxiety makes it hard to complete or enjoy everyday tasks at home, school, or work.

 

The United States Preventive Service Task Force suggests anxiety screening in children and adolescents in adolescents ages 12 to 18 years.

 

Anxiety disorder treatments

There are a lot of treatments to reduce and manage symptoms of anxiety disorder. Commonly, people with this disorder take medicine and go to counseling.

 

Treatments for anxiety disorder generally may include:

 

Medication

Various kinds of drugs are used for treating anxiety disorders. Talk to your psychiatrist or doctor about the pros and cons of each medicine to decide which medicine is best for you.

 

• Antidepressants. Modern antidepressants (SSRIs and SNRIs) are commonly the first drugs prescribed to people with an anxiety disorder.  Examples of SSRIs are fluoxetine (Prozac) and escitalopram (Lexapro). SNRIs usually include duloxetine (Cymbalta) and venlafaxine (Effexor).

 

• Bupropion: This is another kind of antidepressant typically used to treat chronic anxiety. It works differently than SNRIs and SSRIs.

 

• Other antidepressants: These include monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) and tricyclics. They are less commonly prescribed because side effects, such as urinary retention, dry mouth, drops in blood pressure and blurry vision, can be unsafe or unpleasant for some people.

 

• Beta-blockers: This kind  of high blood pressure drug is used off-label and helps you feel better if you’re experiencing physical symptoms of anxiety, like trembling, a racing heart, or shaking.  A beta-blocker can help you relax during an acute anxiety attack.

 

• Anticonvulsants: These medicines are used to prevent seizures in individuals facing epilepsy, anticonvulsants are sometimes used off-label to treat a particular mental illness anxiety disorder symptoms.

 

• Antipsychotics: Low doses of these medicines can be added in an off-label use to assist make other treatments work better.

 

• Buspirone (BuSpar):This anti-anxiety drug is used for treating chronic anxiety. You will need to take it for a few weeks before seeing relief in full symptoms.

 

Psychotherapy

This is a kind of counselling that helps you learn how your emotions affect your behaviors. It is sometimes known as talk therapy. A  psychologist generally listens and talks to you regarding your feelings and thoughts and suggests some ways to understand and cope with your mental illness anxiety disorder.

 

• Cognitive behavioral therapy(CBT): This type of psychotherapy teaches you how to turn panic-causing, or negative thoughts and behaviors into positive ones. You will also learn ways to carefully approach and manage worrisome or fearful situations without anxiety. Some places also offer family cognitive behavioral therapy sessions.

 

Managing Mental Illness Anxiety Disorder Symptoms

These tips can help you lessen or control your symptoms:

 

Learn about your disorder

The more you know about your illness, the better prepared you will be to manage your symptoms and roadblocks along the way. Do not be afraid to ask your psychologist any questions you might have. Keep in mind, you are the main of your health care team.

 

Stick to your treatment plan

Suddenly stopping your medications may cause unpleasant side effects and can even worsen anxiety symptoms.

 

Cut down on foods or drinks that contain caffeine

Food such as chocolates, cola, coffee, tea, and energy drinks contain caffeine. Caffeine is a mood-altering drug, and it can make symptoms of anxiety disorders worse.

 

Don’t use recreational street drugs and alcohol

Substance abuse generally increases your risk of anxiety disorders.

 

Get better sleep

Anxiety disorder and sleep issues often go hand in hand. Make getting proper rest a priority. Follow a relaxing night routine. Talk to your doctor if you still have sleeping issues.

 

Learn to relax

Stress management is a necessary part of your treatment plan for anxiety disorder. Things like mindfulness, or meditation, can help you relax after a stressful day and may make your treatment work better.

 

Eat right and exercise

Brisk aerobic exercises such as biking and  jogging help release brain chemicals that can cut stress and improve your mood.

 

Keep a journal

Writing down your thoughts and emotions before the day is down can help you unwind so you’re not turning and tossing with anxious thoughts all night.

 

Manage your negative thoughts

Thinking of positive thoughts instead of worrisome and negative ones can help reduce anxiety. This can be difficult if you have specific types of anxiety, however. Cognitive behavioral therapy generally teaches you how to redirect your thoughts.

 

Get together with friends

Whether it is in person, on the computer, or the phone, social connections help people bloom and stay healthy. People who have a close group of friends that chat and support them have less levels of social anxiety.

 

Seek support

Some individuals find it uplifting and helpful to talk to others who are facing the same symptoms and emotions. Support groups or self-help let you share your achievements and concerns with others who are or who have been there.

 

Ask your pharmacist or doctor before taking any over-the-counter medicines or herbal remedies. Many of them have chemicals that can make anxiety symptoms worse.

 

Summary

It can be frustrating and challenging to live with mental illness anxiety disorder. The continuous worry and fear can make you feel scared and tired. If you’ve talked to a doctor regarding your symptoms, then you’ve already taken the first step toward letting go of the worry.

 

It may take some time to find the right treatment that works best for you. If you are experiencing more than one anxiety disorder, you may need various kinds of treatment. For most people with anxiety disorders, a combination of counseling and medicine is best. With proper treatment and care, you can learn how to manage your symptoms and live a normal life.