Anxiety Disorder - Symptoms, Risk factors and Treatment

Anxiety is a natural feeling of anxiousness and fear in response to stress. We all feel it in different stages of our life, but it is temporary. Sometimes it can become worse that it hastily affects your life. 

In anxiety disorder, fear and restlessness are not temporary. It gets worse by the time and affects the person’s health so much that they become home-bound, or even they do not come out from their rooms. Those who suffer from anxiety attacks find it so difficult to deal with them. But along with supportive and symptomatic treatment, one can control the symptoms of anxiety.

Symptoms 

Common symptoms of an anxiety disorder include;

• Apprehension

• Motor tension

• Lightheadedness

• Sweating

• Abnormally high heart pulse

• Abnormally high breathing rate

• Pain in the upper abdomen

• Dizziness 

• Dry mouth

• Not being able to calm down 

• Inability to concentrate

• Can not stop thinking and worrying about the same thing

• Cold hands and feet

• Unable to fall asleep 

• Avoiding things extremely which causes you to fear.

If you have suffered from any of the anxiety symptoms, you must visit your doctor first, but along with medications, another supportive treatment is necessary. The more sedentary you stay, the more anxiety will attack you. Anxiety symptoms themselves, exacerbate anxiety and deteriorates the quality of life. Therefore you must keep yourself physically active. 

Types of Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders can be described as;

Generalized Anxiety Disorder- a disorder in which you feel worried and tense for no reason.

Panic attack- a feeling of intense fear that brings anxiety. It is often accompanied by palpitations, sweating, chest pain and you may feel like choking. 

Social anxiety disorder- when you constantly or overly worry about what others think of you. You feel excessive about others judging or ridiculing you. 

Specific phobias- a feeling of fear or anxiety from any certain thing. It can be high height, traveling in a plane or ship, or anything else that can extend up to a certain extent that you may develop phobias in activities related to daily life. 

Agoraphobia- a feeling of fear to escape from a place if any emergency occurs. It can be a shopping mall, a crowded bus or train or standing in a queue. 

Separation anxiety- a feeling of fear of losing your loved ones. It occurs when you get overly attached to someone like your parents or kids. The thought of separation from them bothers you up to the extent that it causes anxiety. 

Selective mutism- a condition in which the person does not speak in front of the public while they speak normally in front of their family. It is a type of social anxiety due to which people (especially kids) are reluctant to speak in front of others. 

Medication-induced anxiety disorder- Using illegal drugs or other certain legal drugs for a long time can provoke anxiety. Sometimes drug withdrawal can also lead to anxiety. Therefore when you stop using any medicine you have been taking for a long term, always consult with your healthcare provider.

Tips to Get Rid of Anxiety

Engage Yourself in Different Activities

Do not let negative thoughts or the ones that bother you engage your mind. Instead, you can engage yourself in different interesting activities like painting, drawing, or pottery. These kinds of activities help you to connect with yourself and refresh your mind. They let your brain get rid of negative thoughts going on in your mind. List down the activities that you enjoy and incorporate them into your routine. Doing that will lift your mood, help get rid of anxiety, and eventually let you feel better. 

Talk to Someone

Pouring your heart out is essential to get rid of the thoughts that are bothering you. Speak to someone in your family or friend whom you trust. Tell them about the thing that is making you feel bad. A heart-to-heart conversation with a loved one can help in finding out solutions to your problems. Moreover, if you are upset with someone you love, talk to them. Do not avoid talking due to the fear of losing that person. Lack of communication can be dangerous for any relationship. Therefore connecting is essential. 

Get A Good Night Sleep

Sleeping is an essential component of keeping yourself healthy. If you want to stay fit, both physically and mentally, you must take a proper good night's sleep. When you do not sleep well at night, you constantly feel agitated in the daytime. Furthermore, when you sleep in the night, your body repairs and heals itself, which helps you get rid of many diseases as well as feeling low. 

Treatment 

Your healthcare provider will prescribe the treatment depending upon the severity of the anxiety. They may prescribe antidepressants, anxiolytics, and psychotherapy to cope with anxiety disorders. 

Conclusion 

Anxiety is a feeling of apprehension and nervousness that may occur due to various reasons. It can make your life troublesome because you are unable to cope with daily life activities. If you have an anxiety disorder, you should visit a healthcare provider.