Posts Tagged ‘ Generalized Anxiety Disorder ’

When facing anxiety disorders a person can have all of its activities, both social and individual, affected in a negative way. And if no treatment is undertaken such disorders usually tend to become even more severe.

Anxiety disorders are usually associated with the feeling of uncertainty and uncontrollable fear, experienced by adults beyond the age of 18. Of course, feeling a bit worried or nervous every now and then is what most of us have to deal with, and that’s OK. Clinical anxiety disorders are characterized by their recurrent nature, inability of the person to control their emotions and dominance of manifestation. If you have more days in the week having experienced anxiety than those without it for at least half a year then you definitely have a clinical anxiety disorder that requires immediate treatment. In most cases anxiety disorders take place along with other psychological or physiological issues, such as mental illnesses, depression, substance abuse or other similar conditions. Different anxiety disorders have different symptoms through which they are classified, however all disorders share a dominant trait – illogical and uncontrollable fear.

The most commonly treated types of anxiety disorders include separation and social anxiety, panic disorders, selective mutism, posttraumatic stress disorder (PST), generalized anxiety disorder, and specific phobia.

Separation anxiety is the feeling of fear and agitation caused by separating oneself from a certain place or people you are related to. The most common symptoms of this anxiety disorder is the strong fear of being away from a person or object your are strongly attached to, and may be manifested through physical conditions such as headache, chest pain, and nausea.

Social anxiety (or social phobia) is characterized by strong and recurrent fear connected to social activities. People suffering from this disorder have a constant fear of being observed and evaluated by other people, and thus making them feel embarrassed. The feeling of dread and fear can manifest itself days before the actual situation is supposed to happen, affecting all other activities of the person.

Panic disorder can have the same physical symptoms as separation anxiety, only that there is usually no cause or external factor initiating fear. The condition can be triggered without any sign and at any moment.

Selective mutism is the inability to speak in certain situations while being able to communicate perfectly in other circumstances. Many specialists make a link between selective mutism and social anxiety, believing they are closely related.

PTS is usually associated with a traumatic event that the person had gone through. This type of anxiety disorder is characterized by recurrent thoughts and memories about the tragic event and being emotionally cold even with the closest persons. PTS disorder may take up to three months after the actual event before showing any signs.

Most anxiety disorders are treatable and controllable, as there are medications like Xanax that can help relieve symptoms of most types of such disorders. However, don’t haste to buy Xanax or any other anti-anxiety medication on your own, because such substances require professional supervision and dosage adjustment. The earlier you go to a doctor the better, for if you will refuse to undergo treatment at an earlier stage it may turn out that no generic Xanax will help you and you will require more serious measures to relieve the condition.

Anxiety can be a very debilitating disorder.  For some, it can be so crippling that a person cannot even leave the house.  For many others, Generalized Anxiety Disorder just prevents us from doing the things we want in life.  The little things that every person does in the course of a week from grocery shopping, to going to work, going out for drinks with friends, or going to a family barbeque can become causes for heightened anxiety and worry.  For those out there not afflicted with anxiety, it’s hard to understand how a person with anxiety can worry about something so mundane as shopping at the grocery store.  But, for someone with anxiety a myriad of things can pop up that can paralyze.  Dozens of things can go wrong at the market from getting into a car crash on the way there to doing something foolish while there and embarrassing ourselves.  It may seem illogical or even silly to most people, but to those people with anxiety, these fears are quite real and quite debilitating… and it is not their fault.

There is hope for those of us out there afflicted with generalized anxiety disorder.  One form of treatment that has helped many with mild to moderate anxiety is exercise.  Exercise such as brisk walking, jogging, and biking have been shown to release hormones and increase your level of endorphins, or “feel-good chemicals”, which boost your mood.  This alone can help those with anxiety feel better, but that is just the beginning.

Regular, moderate exercise has been shown to have a dramatic effect on your mood and your ability to handle stress.  The increased flow of blood and oxygen through your circulatory system and to your brain helps to naturally relieve stress and tension.  In addition, regular exercise will improve your overall health and the way you look.  This may have an even greater effect since looking and feeling better often leads to an improved self-image, which makes the stress and anxiety easier to attack and deal with.  Just remember to start slow and if you haven’t exercised in a long time, seeing your doctor first is a good idea.  By making exercise a regular activity, you are also creating new a new, healthier habit.  As you exercise more and more and see the gains you are making, that just adds to your self-esteem.

Exercise can take many forms, but it doesn’t have to be some intense workout.  Just going for a simple brisk walk can have unbelievable benefits, especially if you walk outside.  Those suffering with mild general anxiety often feel quite isolated due to the disorder itself and that it always seems that no one else knows or could understand what they are going through, since the fears themselves seem so irrational.  But, by walking outside, you not only get the benefits of the exercise itself, it brings you out into the world, to experience some of nature or your natural surroundings.  A park with a jogging track or a path is perfect for this.  You can just grab your iPod and hit the path and walk.  You not only got some good exercise, but you got out of the house and into the world for awhile!

Once you get confident with your physical fitness, you may want to advance to trying out a sport like tennis.  A game like tennis provides not only physical exercise, but a social component as well which may serve to increase your well-being even more.  The important thing is just to get out there and try it.  Start with a nice walk in the park.  You will be surprised how such a little thing as a brisk walk can totally turn around your mood!