Overview
Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress or preparation for important events. But when anxiety becomes persistent and uncontrollable from irrational fears about everyday situations, it indicates anxiety disorder, according to the Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA). There are various kinds of anxiety disorder, all of them treatable. But only one-third of the 40 million adult Americans with anxiety disorders receive treatment, the ADAA says.
Theories/Speculation
Anxiety disorder may stem from biological factors, much like other diseases, according to the ADAA. Risk factors may include genetics, brain chemistry, personality or life experiences. Many people with anxiety disorders suffer from other disorders, such as alcohol or substance abuse. These abuses can occur as a way to deal with anxiety or can make the disorder worse, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) says.
Types
Anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety disorder, in which an affected individual is filled with exaggerated worries and tension, even though there is nothing real to provoke the anxiety, the NIMH notes. Panic disorder can bring on sudden feelings of terror, impending doom or loss of control. Obsessive-compulsive disorder causes upsetting thoughts or obsessions and daily rituals or compulsions to control them. Post-traumatic stress disorder develops in someone who has had a terrifying ordeal involving the person or a loved one. Social phobia stops a person from functioning in everyday situations because of anxiety about being watched or judged. Specific phobias include irrational fear of flying or fear of elevators.
Effects
People with generalized anxiety disorder worry constantly for reasons that are unexplained, and have fears that the worst is going to happen, the ADAA says. People with social phobia may avoid situations or events for fear of being judged or humiliated. People with specific phobias often readjust their lives, including refusing to live or work in buildings where there are elevators or eliminating travel by plane. Panic attacks happen suddenly, causing imagined fears and physical symptoms that include shortness of breath, heart pounding, weakness, dizziness, chest pain and nausea. People suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder go through repeated routines, such as cleaning, checking and rearranging objects to make sure everything is always in order. Post-traumatic stress disorder causes a person to have flashbacks or fears from an event that happened months or years earlier.
Prevention/Solution
Cognitive-behavioral therapy helps people with an anxiety disorder to change their thinking patterns, the NIMH explains. They learn to turn fears of anxiety-provoking situations into positive thoughts. An individual suffering from panic attacks can understand that terrible things are not going to happen in certain situations. Someone with a social phobia may learn that others are not always watching him. Exposure therapy exposes people to their fears gradually over time so that they can eventually desensitize their fears. Therapists will support them as they confront situations that cause the fears.
Considerations
Medication is not a cure for anxiety disorder, but it can keep symptoms under control for some people undergoing therapy, according to the NIMH. Antidepressants may alter brain chemistry to help symptoms fade. The drugs may have to be taken for several weeks. Anti-anxiety drugs help to deal with symptoms, but can have addictive effects and need to be tapered off. Anxiety may return when the medication is stopped. Beta-blockers used to treat heart conditions help reduce physical symptoms experienced with panic disorders and social phobia. Medication may be used when a person is not yet ready for therapy because of an inability to focus full attention on the problem. Medication is also used during counseling sessions.
About this Author
Jerry Shaw has spent more than 35 years in newspapers, magazines and book publishing. He has written on a variety of topics for various websites, magazines and newspapers, including “Florida Today,” “Daytona Beach News-Journal” and “Today in PT,” an online magazine for physical therapists. He lives in Florida.
