Anxiety
Disorders
That first date, an important
job interview, the big speech, a critical test... times when most
people feel a little anxious. Sweaty palms and "butterflies"
in the stomach during challenging situations are normal. Anxiety
disorders, however, differ dramatically from ordinary feelings
of nervousness. The symptoms of these disorders can be overwhelming
and make the simplest of life's routines a source of nearly unbearable
discomfort.
What Are Anxiety
Disorders?
Anxiety disorders are the most common of emotional disorders,
annually affecting more than 20million
Americans (approximately one in nine). There are several different
types of disorders.
GENERALIZED ANXIETY
DISORDERS (GAD)
Excessive anxiety and worry that is difficult to control, along
with feelings of restlessness, difficulty concentrating, irritability,
muscle tension, sleep disturbance (difficulty falling or staying
asleep), or being easily fatigued. .
PHOBIAS
Excessive or unreasonable fear of certain objects or situations
that are avoided or endured with intense distress. Examples: Specific
phobias, such as fear of snakes; Social phobias, such as fear
of meeting new people; and Agoraphobia, such as being afraid to
go outside alone.
PANIC DISORDER
An intense period of fear or discomfort, characterized by accelerated
heart rate, sweating, trembling or shaking, shortness of breath,
chest pain, dizziness, numbness, and/or a fear of losing control
or dying, is followed by persistent worries about further panic
attacks and their implications.
OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER
Involuntary, repeated, unwanted thoughts, impulses, or images
are experienced (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors or mental
acts (compulsions) are devised to attempt to control or neutralize
them. Obsessions are persistent, sometimes disturbing or senseless
ideas, such as continually worrying about germs or chronic doubting.
Examples of compulsions include repetitive cleaning, checking,
or counting.
POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD)
May occur in individuals who have survived or witnessed a severe
or terrifying physical or emotional event, such as combat, violent
personal attack (e.g., rape), or a natural disaster. The event
is re-experienced through recurrent nightmares or memories, flashbacks,
and extreme emotional, mental, and physical distress when exposed
to situations similar to the trauma. The person may feel detached
from others, lose interest in significant activities, have difficulty
concentrating or falling (or staying) asleep, become hypervigilant
or develop an exaggerated startle response.
Symptoms
of Anxiety
- Worry or fear that something bad will happen
- Trembling, twitching, or feeling shaky
- Fatigue or restlessness
- Muscle tension or jitteriness
- Feeling dizzy or lightheaded
- Fast heartbeat or breathing rate
- Sweating, or cold or clammy hands
- Dry mouth, nausea, or diarrhea
- Irritability, impatience, easily distracted
Some of these symptoms
may occur in anyone experiencing a difficult situation. The line
between such "normal" anxiety and an anxiety disorder
is crossed if overwhelming tension occurs even when there is no
real danger. People with an anxiety disorder may go to extreme
measures to avoid the source of their anxiety.
What Causes Anxiety Disorder ?
Causes of anxiety disorders are complex and can involve biological,
psychological, and cognitive factors.
-
Anxiety disorders run in families. For example, if one identical
twin has an anxiety disorder, the second twin is likely to have
an anxiety disorder as well, which suggests that genetics—possibly
in combination with life experiences—makes some people more
susceptible to these illnesses.
- Brain chemistry: Symptoms are often relieved by medications
that alter levels of chemicals in the brain.
- Psychological: Anxiety can reflect psychic conflict between
unacceptable thoughts, feelings, wishes, desires and impulses,
possibly aggressive or sexual, and internal prohibition against
such thoughts and feelings.
- Behavioral: An everyday event or object starts to become scary
after it is repeatedly associated with a frightening experience.
- Cognitive factors: The way people interpret or think about stressful
events can have a strong effect on anxiety.
Deciding to Seek
Help
Anxiety disorders often interfere with jobs, family, and social
responsibilities. For example, people with agoraphobia may drop
out of school because they are too afraid to leave their homes.
Completing compulsive rituals can leave someone with no time for
homework or friends. People with PTSD may have nightmares and
get very little sleep, leaving them too tired to play with their
children or work. Someone might refuse a job in a high-rise building
due to a fear of elevators.
Professional psychological and medical treatment can help reduce
and eliminate the symptoms of anxiety disorders. Enrolled students
at EMU can receive free counseling at Counseling Services. Call
734.487.1118 for an appointment.
Treatments for Anxiety
The goal of psychological therapy for anxiety disorders is to
resolve any emotional conflicts that may have led to the disorder,
to express feelings, and to permit confronting, slowly, the feared
situations or objects. As fears are gradually confronted, the
symptoms of anxiety are reduced.
Three types of psychotherapy have been used successfully to address
the symptoms of anxiety disorders.
- Behavior therapy uses relaxation techniques
and exposure to the feared object or situation in a carefully
planned, gradual manner so that the individual experiences a
reduction in anxious responses.
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy helps people understand their
patterns of thinking so that they can react differently to situations
that cause anxiety.
- Psychodynamic psychotherapy helps people understand the unconscious
and developmental origins of their anxiety, thereby reducing
the need for symptoms.
For
some anxiety disorders, medication may be helpful in conjunction
with talk therapy.
What you can do
now to relieve symptoms:
Relaxation and breathing exercises can help in treating anxiety
and the hyperventilation that occurs with high levels of anxiety.
When your body is completely relaxed, it is nearly impossible
to feel anxious. The steps below can help you learn these techniques
at home.
Breathing Exercise
This breathing exercise has been found to be effective in
reducing anxiety, depression, irritability, muscle tension, fatigue,
and daily life stress.
While diaphragmatic breathing can be learned in a few minutes
with immediate benefits, persistent practice will produce maximum
results.
1.
Make yourself as comfortable as possible in your favorite chair,
on the floor, in bed or wherever you feel comfortable. Loosen
tight clothing, uncross legs and arms, and close your eyes.
2. Bring attention to your breathing and place one hand over your
stomach and one hand over your chest.
3. Inhale through your nose and exhale from your mouth.
4. Concentrate on taking long, slow, deep breaths that raise and
lower your abdomen, but not your chest. Focus on the sound of
your breathing as you feel yourself becoming more relaxed.
5. Continue deep breathing and count to four on the next inhalation.
Count to four as you exhale.
6. Repeat this procedure of four counts in and four counts out
until you have completed this process four times for four complete
sets.
7. Keep your breathing slow and steady
8. Be patient with yourself if you are having a hard time achieving
deep breathing—it gets easier with practice!
Progressive Muscle
Relaxation
Before doing this exercise, consider any injuries you might
have. You may want to avoid stressing sore or injured muscle groups.
Persons with chronic headaches may want to avoid the tension portion
of this exercise and only do the relaxation portion.
1. Make yourself as comfortable as possible
in your favorite chair, on the floor, in bed or wherever you
feel comfortable. Loosen tight clothing, uncross legs and arms,
and close your eyes.
2. Take a deep breath, hold it, and then let it out very slowly.
Continue to breathe deeply and slowly throughout this procedure.
3. Extend your arms along your sides and make a tight fist.
Do this for 10 seconds while thinking about how tense your hands
are.
4. Unclench your fists and let your arms fall limply to your
lap. Relax for 15 seconds, breathing deeply and noticing how
comfortable, warm, and pleasant your hands feel.
5. Now open and flex your hands as much as possible (the opposite
of making a fist). Hold this for 10 seconds and think about
how tense your hands are.
6. Let your arms fall back into your lap again and relax for
15 seconds, breathing deeply. Notice how comfortable, warm,
and pleasant your hands feel.
7. Repeat this procedure, tensing and relaxing individual sets
of muscles, then the opposing set of muscles. After the hands,
you may want to try biceps - triceps, mouth open - mouth closed,
eyes open – eyes closed, shoulders forward – shoulders
back, and so on. Cover the entire body, then enjoy a period
of quiet relaxation, breathing deeply and slowly.
8. Emerge from progressive relaxation gradually, starting by
wiggling your fingers and toes, then smile and enjoy the moment.
For more information
on anxiety disorders:
Anxiety
Disorders: The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) provides
information on coping, seeking help, and current research in this
field.
Health Information from
the Cleveland Clinic Health System: Detailed
instructions on the Diaphragmatic Breathing technique outlined
above, from a physical health perspective.
Obsessive-Compulsive
Disorder. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) provides
information on coping, seeking help, and current research in this
field.
Social
Phobia/Social Anxiety Association. A non-profit organization
seeking to educate the public about social phobia, the most common
anxiety disorder.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Center for PTSD.
Coping with PTSD and recommended lifestyle changes
Counseling Services
Eastern Michigan University
Snow Health Center, Top Floor
734. 487.1118
|
