Anxiety Meaning
Anxiety is a health disorder that develops symptoms of uneasiness & discomfort caused by some internal factors like stress & depression and external factors like going social or exams. These symptoms interfere with one’s daily routine making him uncomfortable, tense, and uneasy about handling the situations. People with anxiety issues may need medical help and some natural therapy to cure it.
What is Anxiety Disorder
During a lifetime, everyone experiences several anxiety symptoms in situations like fear of exams/job interviews, facing a crowd or even going socially felt by shy people.
Anxiety disorder is the development of long-term anxiety symptoms with or without any specific reasons and causes.
According to a survey, anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults (19.1% of the population) age 18 and older every year.
Anxiety disorder also causes sudden anxiety attacks with multiple symptoms in the body like rapid or short breathiness, fear & worry, and the great extent of anxiety.
Anxiety Symptoms
Anxiety generally starts with one or two symptoms that gradually increase to multiple symptoms over time. These symptoms may be different in person and there may be a big possibility of experiencing multiple symptoms.
Symptoms of Anxiety
- Feelings of fear & panic
- Excessive Nervousness
- Shortness or rapid breathing
- Heaviness in Chest
- Irregular Bowel Movement
- Excessive Sweating
- Trembling or Shaking
- Headaches
- Sleeping Disorders
- Dizziness
- Weaknesses and Excessive tiredness
These anxiety symptoms can change from time to time, in most cases someone will feel shortness of breath and nervousness in the first initial months, which gets converted to severe headaches after a few weeks.
Early Signs of Anxiety
During the initial days of anxiety, one can experience certain symptoms like clueless worrying, heaviness in the chest, and nervousness. These symptoms may increase with the addition of some more symptoms like short or rapid breathiness, dizziness, and a sense of danger and panic. People also start experiencing anxiety attacks, which is the worst effect of anxiety.
What is an Anxiety Attack
An anxiety attack is a sudden outbreak of certain bodily symptoms like excessive nervousness, worrying, and rapid breathiness which develops within a few minutes and requires medical help to control. It comes to a peak within a few minutes and the person compares this to a heart attack which again increases his symptoms.
Anxiety attack symptoms are the same as observed in normal anxiety but they feel at their peak level that surges within a few minutes leaving no space to control naturally. Only emergency medicines prescribed by one’s doctor and immediate medical help will help out.
Anxiety Attack Symptoms
- Excessive nervousness
- Sweating
- Fast breathing
- Immediate severe headaches
- Feeling dizziness
- Trembling
- High heart rate
What is a Panic Attack
A panic attack is a sudden physical change in the body such as an increase in heartbeat, shortness of breath, and trembling in which the body prepares for fight-or-flight. These symptoms are similar to those of anxiety but can’t be considered an anxiety disorder.
A panic attack is a sudden rush of adrenal hormones in the body that creates a fight-or-flight situation for the protection of oneself. The Symptoms of these attacks become normal, once the situation comes under control. The duration will be from a few minutes to 30-45 minutes.
Panic Attack Symptoms
- Sweating
- Fast breathing
- Nervousness
- Dizziness
- Trembling
- High heart rate
- Anxiousness
Panic Attack Vs Anxiety Attack
Let’s see the major differences between panic attacks and anxiety attack
| Panic Attack | Anxiety Attack |
| 1. Panic attacks are a general way for our body to fight dangerous and life-threatening situations in which our body shows some temporary symptoms of anxiety. 2. Panic attacks can be observed only once or twice in a lifetime.3. Any dangerous life-threatening situations like earthquakes, accidents, or sudden fights cause these attacks.4. When the dangerous situation comes under control then panic attacks also become normal.5. The duration of these attacks can vary from a few minutes to 30-45 minutes.6. Some temporary medication may be required to control the panic attack in some rare cases.7. Panic attacks require no regular medicinal course or therapy. | 1. Anxiety attacks are part of anxiety disorder in which one can experience a high degree of symptoms.2. Anxiety attacks can be experienced daily or till the systematic control of anxiety.3. Anxiety attacks are the result of a severe anxiety disorder.4. Anxiety attacks require prescribed medication or medical help to control.5. The duration of these attacks could be longer and require some prescribed medicine to control.6.To overcome these attacks regular medicine course or therapy is required.7. For the control of these attacks, a regular course of medicine and certain therapies are required. |
Types of Anxiety Disorders
There are different types of anxiety depending upon their symptoms and root causes. The type of anxiety gives a clear view to medical experts to recommend medications and therapies.
A medical expert will review your symptoms and try to evaluate the root causes to classify a particular type of anxiety.
General Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
General Anxiety Disorder is a kind of consistent and excessive worry that interferes with daily routine. The worry and tension together with other symptoms like nervousness, muscle tension, or lack of sleep make the person unable to concentrate on daily tasks and activities. So, the person needs medical help to treat the anxiety symptoms to enjoy a normal life.
Panic Disorder
As the name, this is an anxiety or panic attack that grows rapidly within a few minutes with multiple symptoms like rapid heart rate, excessive nervousness, and difficulty breathing. These symptoms become so intense that a person compares this to a heart attack that requires immediate medical help or medicines prescribed for immediate effect. People feel the following symptoms during these attacks.
- Palpitations and rapid heart rate
- Excessive Sweating
- Trembling
- Shortness of breath
- Heaviness in Chest
- Dizziness
- Feeling of choking
Phobia
Phobia is a syndrome in which people develop a fear of something or activity generally which is not harmful. However, the person feels that an object or activity will be highly harmful to him/her. People start developing anxiety symptoms when they come closer to such objects. General examples of phobias are fear of water or height and fear of going in public or crowded places.
Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is a fear of being in situations where escape is difficult or help could not be available in such situations. Agoraphobia can be caused by the following types of situations:
- While using public transport
- Being in closed places like auditoriums
- Being in extremely crowded places
Social Anxiety
Social anxiety is a type of anxiety disorder in which people develop a fear of going social and fear that people will humiliate and insult them. Being in social situations, people start developing anxiety symptoms so they avoid social exposure. Social phobias cause people to avoid social exposures and they close them indoors.
Social Anxiety is a chronic mental condition, but psychotherapy helps to cope with social situations along with medication to improve conditions to face social situations and interactions with strange people.
Some symptoms of Social Anxiety
- Blushing
- Rapid heartbeat
- Trembling
- Excessive Sweating
- Upset bowel moment
- Heavy Breathing
- Dizziness
- Feeling of blank mind
Separation Anxiety
Separation Anxiety is a fear of getting separated from loved ones. A person with separation anxiety is always worried about losing the person with him/her closest to him/her. The affected person does not want to stay away from their loved ones and in fact, they fear sleeping.
They assume that, during their sleep, their beloved person will go away from them. This thought gives him nightmares just about the thought of the same. Children are easy targets of this type of anxiety disorder.
Some examples of separation anxiety:
- Fear in children of losing their parent in any illness or accident
- Fear of losing one’s beloved person
- Fear of getting kidnapped and separated
A person with separation anxiety shows the following behavioral changes:
- clinging to parents
- extreme and severe crying
- refusal to do things that require separation
- physical illness, such as headaches or vomiting
- violent, emotional temper tantrums
- refusal to go to school
- poor school performance
- failure to interact healthily with other children
- refusing to sleep alone
- nightmares
Anxiety Treatment
Anxiety treatment requires a combination of medications, and therapies and also requires consultation with multiple medical professionals. Anxiety cannot be treated by a single medication or therapy. One needs to take medication along with therapy or practices like yoga or exercise. We suggest you combine medications with any therapy prescribed by your doctor and as per your interest.
Consult A General Physician
As anxiety symptoms are mainly related to the heart & chest area, so one needs to rule out the other body issues first. A general physician does a detailed review of your condition and rules out some diseases like asthma having the same symptoms. He may also require some tests to rule out other issues related to the symptoms.
He can refer you to a specialist to perform these tests. They may further suggest some tests to rule out concerns related to other health conditions.
After getting a clean chit from the physician, you can start anxiety treatment with the healthcare specialist.
Anxiety Medication
Anxiety is treated with different types of medications depending on the symptoms, causes of anxiety, and type of anxiety. A combination of antidepressants and anti-anxiety medicines are used to cure different symptoms and their root causes. An anxiety medication can only be taken on your doctor’s advice.
- Buspirone: This is an anti-anxiety medicine used to treat anxiety. It takes weeks to effectively cure the anxiety.
- Antidepressants: Antidepressants are used to cure anxiety caused by stress and depression. These medications also take a few weeks to work effectively. This medication helps the person to cope with stress and depression which could be triggers for anxiety.
- SSRIs: Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI) increase the level of serotonin in the body. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that affects mood, sleep, appetite, and memory. This medication helps in uplifting the mood of the patient.
- MAOIs: Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs) are useful in treating social phobia. They also increase the level of neurotransmitters that regulate the mood.
- Beta-Blockers: Beta-blockers are used to treat conditions related to the brain and nervous system. They slow down the activity of certain types of cells that control blood pressure and heart rate which make this drug ideal for social anxieties.
- Benzodiazepines: These are sedatives that help in the relaxation of muscles and calm the mind. These work by increasing the effect of certain neurotransmitters that relay the messages between brain cells. Benzodiazepines are the best drugs for controlling anxiety attacks. Check the properties of benzodiazepines
Therapy for Anxiety
Therapies are a good support for treating anxiety. Anxiety medications can be also used with these therapies. These therapies help you to cure anxiety in a faster time as compared to the medication alone.
Therapies help the anxiety patient to cure the root cause of anxiety whether it is through stress and depression or some old childhood incident. They help in managing anxiety triggers.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is the most famous therapy for the treatment of anxiety. This therapy is useful in treating anxiety disorders, phobias, and panic disorders. CBT works on treating the causes of anxiety and reactions toward stressful and adverse situations. CBT has two main parts in it:
Cognitive Therapy: This therapy is about the negative thoughts of childhood, current stress conditions, and phobias which may be triggers for anxiety.
Behavior Therapy: This therapy is about your reactions towards stressful conditions, learning how to take them in your mind, and how you can change your reactions to such conditions.
Exposure Therapy
Exposure Therapy is about facing the situations and objects you fear. Therapy helps you to increase control over fearful situations by imagining such fearful conditions and developing control of your body’s reactions.
Click Here to know More About Therapy for Anxiety
How to Deal with Anxiety
There are a lot of ways through which one can deal with anxiety and these are all natural methods.
These methods give extra support to control altogether with medications and therapies. One can choose multiple options from the following as per their choices and resources.
Exercise
Exercise is one of the best methods to deal with anxiety. Cardio is the best form of exercise in controlling anxiety. If, you have an interest in exercise or are sporty by nature. Then you can add cardio to your routine to fight anxiety.
A minimum of 20 to 30 minutes of cardio exercise helps in controlling exercise. And remember the more vigorous the exercise, the more benefits it gives. You can also add some other strength training exercises to get a toned body. However, the total workout session must not be more than 45 to 60 minutes.
Yoga
Yoga is also a good method to control anxiety and stress. If you do not like physical exercise very much, then you can choose yoga for these issues. Without much physical workout, yoga can be performed in the comfort of your home. Yoga is an ancient proven technique for various health issues and fitness. You can join yoga classes for the same.
Know Your Triggers and Causes
By knowing the triggers for your anxiety and the root causes, you can start managing the anxiety on your own. This is the key factor in controlling this issue and psychotherapists also work in the same way so you can also work on these parameters.
Managing Food Habits
You can get good results just by changing your food habits. Cutting down on sugars and oily foods will give good results.
Adding some foods like banana, chamomile tea, green tea, nuts like almonds & walnuts, and eggs & salmon fish will also enhance your body’s capacity to fight anxiety.
Add Supplement Magnesium
Magnesium is one of the most abundant minerals in the body, it plays an important role in several bodily functions and has several health benefits. Study shows magnesium is a natural treatment for anxiety. It is required around 420 gm in men and 310 gm in women. So, magnesium supplementation will provide you with extra strength to fight anxiety.
Do’s and Don’ts
- Avoid smoking and alcohol will help you on this issue
- Limit your Caffeine Intake
- Take around 8 hours of deep sleep
- Go outside in nature
- Start freaking with friends
- Start listening to the music
- Have a positive attitude
Conclusion
Anyone can be a victim of anxiety from small children to old age groups. So, knowing the type of anxiety, its triggers, and root causes helps you deal with the anxiety disorder. With the help of a general physician, first rule out the other body issues having the same symptoms.
After that, with the proper anxiety medication & therapies, one