You’ve probably felt palpitations and sweaty palms at least once in your life. Usually, these body reactions are triggered by some stressful situation or task. Anxiety is a completely natural reaction of the body to stress.
It is normal to worry when you are starting a new venture, a new job, or taking some exam. This type of anxiety is unpleasant, but you should remember that it can motivate you to perform better. Ordinary anxiety is a feeling that comes and goes, but does not interfere with your daily activities.
When a moment of anxiety comes, the feeling of fear can be with you all the time. It is intense and sometimes debilitating. This type of anxiety can cause you to stop doing the things you enjoy. In some cases, it can prevent you from getting into an elevator, crossing the street, or even leaving your home. If left untreated, anxiety will continue to get worsen.
Anxiety-related disorders are the most common form of emotional disorder and can affect anyone at any age. According to the American Psychiatric Association, women are more likely than men to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.
Nervous mental disorders differ from normal feelings of nervousness and include excessive fear or anxiety. These types of disorders are the most common and affect nearly 30% of adults at some point in their lives. They are of course treatable and there are a number of effective treatments. Treatment helps most people lead a normal productive live.
Anxiety rather refers to the anticipation of future worry and is more associated with muscle tension and escape from a particular situation behaviour.
Fear is an emotional response to an imminent threat and is more related to our reactions to how to about to flee from the danger.
Which are the most common disorders:
- Panic disorder, or the “panic attacks” we are so familiar with – where you may experience recurrent panic attacks at unexpected moments.
A person with panic disorder may live in fear of the next panic attack. You may have a panic attack when you feel sudden horror for which there is no obvious reason. The panic itself is a sudden rush of intense fear or strong discomfort that peaks within minutes. The sensation of a panic attack occurs between 5 – 20 min. And can be accompanied by many symptoms, among them: rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, dizziness and light-headedness, trembling, sweating, chills, etc.
- phobia – excessive fear of a particular object, situation or activity.
A phobia is an excessive and irrational fear reaction. If you have a phobia, you may experience a deep sense of fear or panic when you encounter the source of your fear. The fear may be of a particular place, situation, or object. Unlike the general anxiety disorders, a phobia is usually related to something specific.
People with phobias often realize that their fear is irrational, but they can’t do anything about it. Such fears can establish obstacles in work, school, and personal relationships. Genetic and environmental factors can cause phobias. Children who have a close relative with an anxiety disorder are at risk of developing a phobia. Specific events that have threatened your life in some way can lead to a phobia. For example, standing in confined spaces, extreme heights and animal or insect bites can all be sources of phobias. Often people develop phobias after cranio-brain injuries or after substance abuse and falling into depression.
- Social anxiety disorder- represents an extreme fear of being judged by others in social situations.
This type of disorder, often called social phobia, is a type of anxiety disorder that causes extreme fear in social circles. People with this disorder have trouble talking to people, meeting new people, and attending social events. They fear being judged and discussed by others. They may understand that their fears are unreasonable, but feel powerless to overcome them. Social anxiety is different from shyness. Shyness is usually short-term and does not disrupt a person’s life. Social anxiety is permanent and often debilitating. Physical symptoms are expressed in: blushing, nausea, trembling, difficulty speaking, rapid heart rate, etc. On a mental level, a person suffering from this disorder is intensely anxious in social situations; is tense for several days or weeks before an event; avoids social contacts and tries to blend into the background; worries that others will notice him when he is tense and even feels the urge for alcohol to face an audience. The causes of the social disorder are unknown, but current research believes they are a combination of environmental factors and genetics. Negative experiences such as bullying, sexual abuse and family conflict can also contribute to this disorder.
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a chronic mental condition characterized by obsessions that lead to compulsive behaviour.
People often check several times to make sure they have locked the front door or always wear good luck accessories, practice simple rituals or habits that make them feel more secure. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is characterized by repetitive, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and irrational, excessive urges to perform certain actions (compulsions). These thoughts occur several times a day and can ruin the daily life.
- Illness anxiety disorder – represents anxiety about your health (called hypochondria).
Health anxiety is a compulsive worry about having a serious medical illness, or more commonly known as hypochondria. This condition is marked by a person’s imagination of physical symptoms of illness. Or in other cases, it is a person’s misinterpretation of minor or normal bodily sensations as serious symptoms of illness, despite medical professionals’ assurance that they have no such illness. Experts are unsure of the exact causes of health concerns, but believe the following factors may be involved:
- An inadequate understanding of bodily sensations, illness, or both. You may think a serious illness is causing your body sensations. This causes you to look for evidence that confirms that you do indeed have a serious illness.
- You may have a family member or members who worry excessively about their health or your health.
- You may have had past experiences of dealing with really serious illnesses in childhood. So as an adult, the physical sensations you experience scare you.
- Post-traumatic stress disorder – is a mental health disorder that starts after a traumatic event.
This event may involve a real or perceived threat of injury or death (natural disaster, physical or sexual abuse, accident). People with PTSD experience a heightened sense of danger. Their natural fight-or-flight response changes, causing them to feel stressed or frightened even when they are safe. It can disrupt their normal activities. Words, sounds or situations that remind you of trauma can trigger the symptoms. Symptoms are of course individual, with the standouts being: flashbacks in which you feel as if you are reliving the event; nightmares; mental distress when you think of it; avoidance of the places that triggered the emotion; irritability and difficulty to concentrate; negative thoughts about yourself; feelings of guilt and reduced interest in activities you used to enjoy.
Anxiety-related disorders can be treated with medication, psychotherapy or a combination of both. Some people who have a mild form or fear of something they can easily avoid decide to live with the condition and not seek treatment.
It is important to understand that anxiety disorders can be treated, even in severe cases. Although anxiety do not usually go away, you can learn to manage it and live a happy, healthy life.