Tag: Demystifying Medicine

So you know this video is about anxiety but what exactly are anxiety disorders? These are disorders that share features of excessive fear and anxiety and related behavioral disturbances. Although both fear and anxiety are close, related fear elicits an immediate fight-or-flight response to a real threat that has already presented itself. For instance an encounter with a wild animal. In comparison, anxiety is more of a hyper-vigilant state where an individual is extremely sensitive to detect potential threats that may never occur. For instance, an individual may be anxious about public speaking because they anticipate that they will embarrass themselves. Like most mental health problems, anxiety disorders appear to be caused by a combination of biological, factors, psychological factors, and challenging life experiences. all anxiety disorders have irrational and excessive fears apprehensive intense feelings and difficulty managing daily tasks. Other symptoms include anxious thoughts, predictions, and beliefs, avoidance of feared situations, subtle avoidances such as talking more when anxious to describe oneself, safety behaviors like having a cellphone on hand for help, and physiological responses such as increased heart rate. There are many types of anxiety disorders including generalized anxiety disorder which is one of the most common types of anxiety disorders in older adults. It affects 2-5% of the population with more women affected than men. Over an individual’s lifetime chances of developing generalized anxiety disorder are as high as 9%. With respect to ethnicity, people of European descent are more likely to be affected than people of non-European descent and anxiety disorders occur more frequently in developed countries than non-developed countries. Generalized anxiety disorder is characterized by excessive uncontrollable worry about everyday things including social situations. This excessive worry occurs for at least six months and often interferes with one’s daily life. This worrying can be manifested in physical symptoms including restlessness, fatigue, irritability, muscle tension, and difficulty concentrating and sleeping. The severity of the generalized anxiety disorder can vary with those having the mild to the moderate form being able to function socially with treatment and those who have severe generalized anxiety disorder finding it difficult to perform simple daily tasks. Although anxiety can be daunting, there are many ways to cope with it. First and foremost, it is important to realize that you can’t control everything. You must avoid placing pressure on yourself to be perfect in everything you do. Additionally, try replacing negative thoughts with positive ones most importantly identify what triggers your anxiety and focus on tackling this issue. A helpful tip you can do is by writing in a journal when feeling anxious and then look back on your journal entries to identify a pattern. There are some small lifestyle changes you can enforce to help cope with anxiety these include: exercising daily, getting at least eight hours of sleep per night, eating a well-balanced meal three times a day, and limiting alcohol and caffeine. To cope with an immediate panic attack it can be helpful to relax your muscles and focus on slowing your breathing by taking deep and slow breaths. Take control of your thoughts and remind yourself of the times you had overcome your anxiety. Although they’re helpful, these tips are often not enough. Do not be afraid to seek professional help via psychiatrist, therapist, counselor, and other mental health professionals. Here are links to some resources that can connect you with professionals…