What Is Anxiety Disorder? 

Anxiety attacks are a specific aspect of the human experience. However, those suffering from anxiety disorders often experience extreme and uncontrollable anxiety about even the most common circumstances. Recurrent bouts of severe stress, dread, or terror that peak within minutes are a hallmark of anxiety disorders (panic attacks).

These anxious and panicky states are disruptive to everyday life, hard to overcome, disproportionate to the real threat, and may linger for a long time. You may try to avoid specific locations or activities to lessen the intensity of these emotions. These symptoms may first appear in early infancy or throughout adolescence and persist until maturity.

There are many different kinds of anxiety disorders, such as GAD, social anxiety disorder (often known as “social phobia”), particular phobias, and separation anxiety disorder. Therefore, multiple anxiety disorders are possible. In addition, sometimes anxiety arises from a medical problem that requires therapy.

Therapy may assist no matter what kind of anxiety you’re dealing with.

Anxiety Disorder Symptoms

Anxiety disorders are characterized by excessive dread or concern. Breathing, sleeping, staying still, and concentrating may all become problematic for those with anxiety disorders. Depending on the sort of anxiety illness you have, you may experience a wide range of symptoms.

Anxiety disorder symptoms that are quite a common include:

  • Anxiety, worry, and panic
  • Fear, dread, or a sense of impending peril
  • Disrupted sleep is a common condition.
  • Being unable to maintain a state of serenity
  • Hands and feet that are cold, sweaty, numb, or tingly
  • Discomfort in breathing
  • Taking shorter, more rapid breaths than usual (hyperventilation)
  • Irregular heartbeat
  • Chapped lips
  • Nausea
  • Pulling back the muscles
  • Dizziness
  • Having trouble stopping one’s mind from racing around an issue (rumination)
  • Failing to focus
  • Avoiding things or places that you are really terrified of

Anxiety Disorder Treatments

Like any other medical condition, anxiety disorders must be addressed with professional care. The problem cannot be solved by sheer force of will. It has nothing to do with mental fortitude or lack thereof. In the past several decades, researchers have made significant strides in improving the diagnosis and treatment of mental health issues. You may expect a personalized approach to care from your doctor. Medication and talk therapy may be a part of your strategy.

How Can Medications Cure Anxiety Disorders?

Anxiety disorders cannot be treated medically. However, they may reduce discomfort and increase efficiency. Common anxiety disorder treatments medications include:

  1. You may relieve your anxiety, panic attacks, and worries by using anti-anxiety drugs like benzodiazepines. They have an instant effect, although tolerance might develop over time. As a result, their usefulness gradually declines. Your doctor may prescribe an anti-anxiety drug and gradually reduce your dosage or combine it with an antidepressant.
  2. Anxiety problems also respond well to antidepressants. They adjust the balance of chemicals in the brain to make you feel better and have less stress. Sometimes antidepressants take longer to kick in, so please be patient with yourself. Get your doctor’s approval before you stop taking antidepressants, even if you feel ready to do so on your own.
  3. Some physiological manifestations of anxiety disorders may be alleviated by taking beta-blockers, which are often used for hypertension. They are calm, trembling, shivering, and have a fast heart rate.

With the help of your doctor, you can determine the optimal dose and mix of medications for your condition. However, do not alter your dosage without discussing it with your healthcare professional. They will keep an eye on you to ensure the medications have the desired impact without any unwanted side effects.

Anxiety Disorder Causes

As with other mental illnesses, anxiety disorders have commonalities. They have nothing to do with a lack of strength of will, defects in character, or difficulties in upbringing. However, the root causes of anxiety disorders remain unknown. They think several variables are anxiety disorder causes, including:

  • Long-term or intense stress might alter the chemical balance that helps you maintain a cheerful disposition. Anxiety disorders may develop from chronic exposure to high levels of stress.
  • Trauma may be a precipitating event for those predisposed to developing an anxiety disorder due to genetics.
  • Anxiety problems are genetic and tend to run in families. Characteristics such as eye color might be passed down from one or both of your parents.

Is Self-treatment Possible for Anxiety Disorder?

Anxiety disorders are treatable at home without medical supervision in certain situations. However, it’s possible that this won’t work for those with severe or chronic anxiety problems.

Exercise and other measures may assist people with milder, more targeted, or shorter-term anxiety disorders deal with their condition.

  • Lessening the effects of stress:

One way to reduce exposure to triggers is to learn stress management. Make a plan for how to handle future stressors and deadlines, create to-do lists to break down overwhelming chores, and plan to relax and recharge away from your routine.

  • Methods of unwinding:

Anxiety symptoms may be eased in mind and the body with straightforward actions. These practices include yoga, meditation, deep breathing exercises, darkened resting, and long baths.

  • Rethinking exercises:

Please write down the anxious ideas that may be running through your head, and then make another list next to it with good, reasonable thoughts to replace the negative ones. Visualizing yourself confronting and overcoming your fear might be helpful if your anxiety is related to a particular reason, such as a phobia.

  • Helping hand:

Communicate with individuals you know who will be encouraging, including family and friends. Various in-person and virtual support group options may be accessible in your region.

  • Exercise:

Exercising boosts confidence and happiness-inducing endorphins in the brain.

Wrapping Up

There is nothing pathological about the feeling of anxiety; instead, it serves an essential purpose at times of peril and is thus not a mental disorder.

Exaggerated or disproportionate responses to anxiety triggers are characteristic of anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders come in various forms, from phobias to social anxiety. Self-help strategies are integrated into a treatment plan that includes multiple forms of talk therapy, medication, and counseling.