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If things go wrong, don't go with them. Roger Babson |
Learning about anxiety
Fear and anxiety in our lifeAnxiety, on the other hand, is more general and complex. It is felt in anticipation of danger, and is associated with the ability to predict, prepare for, and adapt to change. Often, it lasts a long time, and its cause remains ill-defined. For example, someone uneasy about public speaking may experience a tightness in the stomach for days before a scheduled talk. Effective treatments for anxiety disorders are available, and research is yielding new, improved therapies that can help most people with anxiety disorders lead productive, fulfilling lives. If you think you have an anxiety disorder, you should seek information and treatment. Thousands of scientific studies over the past several years show that high blood pressure, ulcers, migraine headaches, strokes, alcoholism, depression, anger, fatigue, drug addiction and many other medical conditions are often due to the long-term effects of stress. Stress management techniquesMany people with anxiety disorders benefit from joining a self-help group and sharing their problems and achievements with others. Talking with trusted friends or a trusted member of the clergy can also be very helpful, although not a substitute for mental health care. Participating in an Internet chat room may also be of value in sharing concerns and decreasing a sense of isolation, but any advice received should be viewed with caution. The family is of great importance in the recovery of a person with an anxiety disorder. Ideally, the family should be supportive without helping to perpetuate the person's symptoms. If the family tends to trivialize the disorder or demand improvement without treatment, the affected person will suffer. You may wish to show this booklet to your family and enlist their help as educated allies in your fight against your anxiety disorder. Scientists about fearsUsing brain imaging technologies and neurochemical techniques, scientists are finding that a network of interacting structures is responsible for these emotions. Much research centers on the amygdala, an almond-shaped structure deep within the brain. The amygdala is believed to serve as a communications hub between the parts of the brain that process incoming sensory signals and the parts that interpret them. It can signal that a threat is present, and trigger a fear response or anxiety. It appears that emotional memories stored in the central part of the amygdala may play a role in disorders involving very distinct fears, like phobias, while different parts may be involved in other forms of anxiety. Other research focuses on the hippocampus, another brain structure that is responsible for processing threatening or traumatic stimuli. The hippocampus plays a key role in the brain by helping to encode information into memories. Studies have shown that the hippocampus appears to be smaller in people who have undergone severe stress because of child abuse or military combat. This reduced size could help explain why individuals with PTSD have flashbacks, deficits in explicit memory, and fragmented memory for details of the traumatic event. In addition, with new findings about neurogenesis (birth of new brain cells) throughout life, perhaps a method will be found to stimulate growth of new neurons in the hippocampus in people with post-traumatic stress disorder. How to get help for anxiety disordersRemember, though, that when you find a health care professional that you're satisfied with, the two of you are working together as a team. Together you will be able to develop a plan to treat your anxiety disorder that may involve medications, cognitive-behavioral or other talk therapy, or both, as appropriate. You may be concerned about paying for treatment for an anxiety disorder. If you belong to a Health Maintenance Organization or have some other kind of health insurance, the costs of your treatment may be fully or partially covered. There are also public mental health centers that charge people according to how much they are able to pay. If you are on public assistance, you may be able to get care through your state Medicaid plan. Common symptoms of anxiety disordersAlthough anxiety disorders take several distinct forms, certain general symptoms tend to appear in all of them. When discussing their condition, people with anxiety disorders often report the following: - cold/clammy hands - diarrhea - dizziness - dry mouth - fast pulse - fatigue - jitteriness - lump in the throat - muscle aches - numbness/tingling of hands, feet, or other body part - racing or pounding heart - rapid breathing - shakiness - sweating - tension - trembling - upset stomach Feelings associated with anxiety include impatience, apprehensiveness, irritability, and decreased ability to concentrate. People suffering from anxiety may also worry, for no particular reason, that something bad is going to happen to themselves or their loved ones. Individuals with anxiety disorders may make such statements as: - I always thought I was just a worrier, but I would worry about things for days, to the point where I couldn't even sleep. - I had a very strong feeling of impending doom, like I was losing control in an extreme way. - I was always worried that if I didn't do certain things, my parents were going to die. - I felt as if my heart was going to explode, and I couldn't calm down. Physical symptoms of this disorder include: trembling, twitching, muscle tension, headaches, irritability, sweating, nausea, hot flashes, light-headedness, and difficulty breathing. GAD is diagnosed when psychological and physical symptoms of anxiety last more than a month and are not accompanied by the symptoms of other anxiety disorders.
Definitions used on this pageFear Right degree as basic for whole life
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