Anxiety
Tuesday, May 16th, 2006Generalized anxiety
Generalized anxiety disorder occurs when you feel worried and stressed about many everyday events and activities. This type of worry disrupts your life most days. Everyone gets worried or anxious sometimes. But people diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder experience more than normal everyday worries.
Living with generalized anxiety disorder can be a long-term challenge. Making lifestyle changes, learning coping skills, using relaxation techniques, psychotherapy or medications can be effective forms of generalized anxiety disorder treatment, check out this plant medicine info.
Panic
Panic attacks and anxiety attacks can have similar symptoms, but they are not the same thing. Understanding the differences between naturally occurring anxiety, worry and panic can help you better understand and your feelings and treatment options available.
A panic attack is a sudden, intense fear or anxiety that may make you short of breath, dizzy or make your heart pound. You may feel out of control, and some people believe that they are having a heart attack. A panic attack usually lasts from 5 to 20 minutes. But it may last longer, up to a few hours. You have the most anxiety about 10 minutes after the attack starts. If these attacks happen often, they are called a panic disorder.
Panic attacks can be scary and can get in the way of your daily activities. Treatment can help most people have fewer symptoms or even stop the attacks.
More women than men get panic attacks.
Phobias
Having a phobia means you are extremely afraid of a specific object, situation or activity. Having a phobia is very different from everyday worry or stress. For example, most people feel worry and stress at some time, such as when speaking in front of a large group of people. People with phobias have so much fear that it’s hard to do normal activities, such as going to work.
Having a phobia includes feeling stressed about being near the object, being in the situation or doing the activity. It also includes being afraid of the object, situation or activity itself. People with phobias avoid what they are afraid of so they won’t feel worried and stressed.
Symptoms of anxiety
Symptoms of anxiety disorders may differ from person to person. People with anxiety disorders may experience irritability, muscle tension, fatigue and insomnia (trouble sleeping), feeling “on edge” or tense, intrusive thoughts, compulsive behaviors, trouble letting go of past traumatic events or difficulty concentrating. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, it might be a good idea to schedule an appointment with one of our primary care doctors. Our primary care doctors are experts in diagnosing hundreds of conditions and can help connect you to one of our anxiety specialists if needed.
Anytime you have new or unusual symptoms that you are concerned about or are worsening, it’s best to call and we can help you decide on next steps.
Anxiety causes
A mix of genetic and environmental factors can raise a person’s risk for developing anxiety. You may be at higher risk if you:
Experienced stressful or traumatic events in early childhood or adulthood
Have a family history of anxiety or other mental health conditions
Suffer from certain physical conditions, like thyroid problems or unusual heart rhythms