What is Anxiety?
American Psychological Association (APA) define anxiety as "an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure". it is the feeling of worrisome, tension, and fear incurred due to some of the unprecedented life experiences or situations. It is just the natural response that one may give in the situation of threat and fear. The situation of utter nervousness and insecurity in the behavior is the part of anxiety.
Types of anxiety disorders
There are different types of anxiety that people may suffer from. If one’s experiences meet certain criteria then the doctor might diagnose that person with a specific anxiety disorder. Some of these disorders that are diagnosed commonly are:
1. Generalized anxiety disorder
This type of anxiety disorder is accompanied by a variety of regular and uncontrollable worries. It might happen due to a variety of things and thoughts about the things happening in daily life.
2. Social anxiety disorder
This disorder is diagnosed when one experiences an extreme amount of fear and worry that is triggered by the social surroundings of the patients. It can be concluded as social phobia.
3. Panic disorder
This disorder is experienced by the people having severe and regular panic attacks without any clear or specific reason for the attack. The fear of having another panic attack could also be the reason for experiencing anxiety.
The phobia is a situation of extreme fear that one may suffer from. This is a kind of anxiety triggered by a particular situation or thing.
What are the symptoms of Anxiety?
Some of the common symptoms that the patients suffering from anxiety shows are listed below. This list is not an exhaustive list of all the symptoms but are some of the common symptoms.
- A churn feeling in the stomach
- Feeling of pins and needles on the body
- Faster breathing
- Irregular heartbeats
- Headaches, backaches, and other body pains
- Sleeping problems
- Panic attacks
What are the Causes of Anxiety?
The causes are not similar in all cases but vary according to the conditions and a lot of other factors. Here is the list of some of the common causes of anxiety:-
1. Past or childhood experiences
The most common cause is the past childhood or adulthood experiences that the person goes through. Some of the common past experiences that cause anxiety are physical or emotional abuse, neglect, losing a parent, and being bullied or being socially excluded.
2. Current life situation
Current happenings in one's life like exhaustion or a build-up of stress, long working hours, being out of work, feeling under pressure while studying or in work, having money problems, homelessness or housing problems, losing someone close, feeling lonely or isolated, and being bullied, harassed or abused.
3. Physical and mental health problems
The ongoing mental or physical health issues are a common cause of triggering problems like anxiety.
4. Drugs and medication
The drugs and medications prescribed by the doctors for the various mental and physical illnesses can also be a common cause of mental issues like anxiety.
Self-assessment Anxiety test
One can undertake a variety of tests to ascertain the anxiety level. various websites like ‘Psychology Today’ can be used to undertake a 10 minutes test by the help of which it can be ascertained if a person is suffering from anxiety or not. Further, a person can go and consult a doctor for advice and consultation.
One can suffer mental health problems like anxiety when something unexpected happens or apprehension about the future can also be the times when anxiety attacks happen. Every case that the doctors encounter is completely and entirely different so no common time or situation of attack can be figured out but the feeling of fear and worry accompanied by some physical symptoms are the common anxiety attack situations.
What are the treatments available for anxiety?
There are a variety of treatments that are available in the market to cure that mental disorder called Anxiety. Some of those aids are given as follows:
1. Self-help resources
The primary and the safest option that the doctors recommend on the primary stage of the disorder. The best tools used to deliver this treatment are workbooks and a computer-based program.
2. Talking treatments
In this type of treatment, the doctor tries to draw results and get the solutions out of a person’s behavior. The doctors also try to relax muscles to calm the body during anxiety.
If self-help and talking therapies are not showing any improvements than medication can be taken on the prescription by a specialist.
According to the statistics, anxiety is one of the most common mental disorders that is found in approximately a total of 7.6 percent of the population in India. The feeling of intense, excessive and persistent worry and fear about everyday situations are the common causes of this disorder. Fast heart rate, rapid breathing, sweating and feeling tired may also occur making the sufferer feel uneasy and anxious. But this disease can be easily cured if the patient is under the guidance of a good doctor and the family support is mandatory.
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