Don’t Let Your Anxiety to Become A Disorder

Anxiety Disorders Can Turn A Person’s Life Upside Down

Anxiety is present in everyone’s life. But ‘how much’ is the question that decides whether it can turn out to be a disorder. All of us feel anxious at some point in life and this is normal. We may feel anxious before an exam, before the results or before a job interview and this is temporary. In the case of a person with anxiety disorder, this temporary feeling lingers and becomes a nightmare over time. It interferes in the person’s day-to-day activities such as office work, relationships, etc. Anxiety disorders are a group of mental illnesses and distress that can prevent a person from performing his/her normal life activities. These people live in constant fear and sometimes, suffer from depression too.

Disorder Categories

Panic disorders, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder and specific phobias are the various categories of disorder that fall under the big umbrella called ‘anxiety disorder’.

Panic Disorder

Terror strikes you randomly and you experience periods of intense fear that includes sweating, palpitations, pounding heart, trembling, accelerated heart rate, breathlessness and feeling of having a heart attack. Major symptoms of a panic disorder include:

• Constant feeling of intense fear
• Helplessness during a panic attack
• Expecting the next attack and worrying about it all the time
• Staying away from places where the panic attack has happened previously

Panic disorder mostly begins in adulthood (above 20 years of age), but children can also become victims to this disorder sometimes and experience panic-like symptoms.

Social Anxiety Disorder

People with this disorder hate being in a crowd or among a group of people. Also known as social phobia, people with this disorder are at a constant fear of being judged, rejected or embarrassed by other people. They are burdened with worry and are self-conscious about any social situation every day. Symptoms include:

• Anxious being with other people and hesitant to talk with them.
• Feeling self-conscious in the presence of others and always worried about being embarrassed, humiliated, rejected or judged.
• Trying to be away from places where people are present.
• Sweating, blushing or trembling in front of people.
• Worrying for days together before an event or social gathering.
• Finding difficulty in maintaining friends or even trying to find one.

These feelings leave the person ashamed, powerless and isolated. It should not be mistaken for shyness but must be brought to the notice of the healthcare provider.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

GAD is characterized by constant and inordinate worry for prolonged time periods with little or no reason. People with GAD are over cautious about money, health, family, work or other issues. Symptoms of this disorder include:

• Irritability
• Restlessness
• Difficulty concentrating on a task
• Constant worry
• Extremely low energy levels
• Muscle tension
• Sleep problems such as restless sleep, difficulty falling asleep or unsatisfying sleep

A person is said to be diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder when he/she is not able to control worry for a continuous period of not under six months and has three or more of the above symptoms. People with GAD can’t find ways to stop their worry and feel that constantly worrying over any issue can solve the problem. They even experience stomach aches or headaches sometimes.

Deal with the Disorder

A physician is the best person to deal with the disorder. Health conditions such as an overactive thyroid, low blood sugar or taking certain medications can worsen the disorder sometimes. A registered dietitian nutritionist at www.firsteatright.com can help you control overactive thyroid hormones with a modified diet plan suiting thyroid conditions. The doctor should examine the mental health of the person in and out, as these disorders often occur along with other conditions, such as depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder.