By Dr. Stephen Antony, MD (Psychiatry)
It’s a normal human phenomenon to worry about things that we are uncertain about, we tend feel stressed or fearful when under pressure or facing a difficult situation. Anxiety is a natural response to danger, an automatic alarm that goes off in our body when we feel threatened.
It is designed by nature to alert us to threat and danger and make us take evasive action, it helps us to stay alert and focused, jump to action, and motivates us to overcome problems.
What is Anxiety Disorder?
In some people the above mentioned natural alarm mechanism tends to go off for no real reason, the anxiety becomes constant or overwhelming even when there is no real threat or problem and it interferes with their relationships and activities – such a situation causes great distress and uncertainty in the person’s life and is known as anxiety disorder.
In some people anxiety disorders manifest in the form of consistent and worry that cannot be controlled with self discipline and it interferes with their normal functioning, in other patients the anxiety disorder may manifest in the form of sever panic.
Panic can be very uncomfortable, it usually starts off with a feeling of uneasiness and can escalate into shallow and troubled breathing, sweating and uncontrollable panic.
People with anxiety disorders suffer from worry or anxiety and a number of physical and psychological symptoms. These symptoms include:
Symptoms of the body:Excessive physiologic arousal
Symptoms of the mind:Distorted cognitive processes
Poor coping strategies
| Symptoms of panic: (Seen is people suffering from panic attacks)
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If you are suffering from Panic/Anxiety attacks, Agorophobia or OCD, Watch this video
Treatment for anxiety disorders:
Treatment options for anxiety disorders include treatment through therapy or treatment through medication or both.
In therapy the patient meets with a therapist/ psychologist and the therapist works with the patient over 10-12 sessions and helps them identify the major issues in their life and devises strategies to overcome the problems.
The most effective form of therapy for anxiety disorders is cognitive behavior therapy, here the patient is taught to identify their negative thoughts and take control over them.
Anxiety can often be helped by the doctor prescribing an anti-anxiety drug to help with the symptoms. This is very valuable while the patient is going through therapy.
If you want to know what is anxiety disorder? and would like to take control of your anxiety without medications, then take a minute and check the various famous treatments available.
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