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Anxiety and stress related disorders
Anxiety disorders
Anxiety disorders
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Introduction
Panic attacks are sudden, short-lived surges of severe anxiety, fear, or discomfort. They may occur for no reason when you are relaxed, when you are anxious, or when you are sleeping. Although panic attacks can be scary, they are not life threatening.
What are the causes?
This condition may be caused by:
An extreme, life-threatening situation, such as war or natural disaster. In these situations anxiety is a protective mechanism that helps you react to danger.
An anxiety disorder, such as panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, or a phobia.
A mental illness, such as depression or posttraumatic stress disorder.
Certain medical conditions.
Certain prescription medicines.
Drugs of abuse, such as alcohol.
Anxiety is a monster that most people have to deal with on a daily basis. Even though anxiety is not actually a monster it still torments thousands of people every day, leaving them weak and scared. Anxiety defined means “distress or uneasiness of mind caused by fear of danger or misfortune” defined by Dictionary.com. In the epic poem of Beowulf, one could say that the townspeople had anxiety when it came to Grendel because they feared what he could do to them.
If the patient is showing any of these sign/ symptoms then they would be diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder (Comer, 2013, pp.115).
Panic disorder- sudden intense and unprovoked feelings of terror and dread. People who suffer from this disorder generally develop strong fears about when and where their next panic attack will occur, and often restrict their activities as a result.
A phobic disorder is marked by a persistent and irrational fear of an object or situation that presents no realistic danger. Agoraphobia is an intense, irrational fear or anxiety occasioned by the prospect of having to enter certain outdoor locations or open spaces. For example, busy streets, busy stores, tunnels, bridges, public transportation and cars. Traditionally agoraphobia was solely classified as a phobic disorder. However, due to recent studies it is now also viewed as a panic disorder. Panic disorders are characterised by recurrent attacks of overwhelming anxiety that usually occur suddenly and unexpectedly (Weiten, 1998).
Anxiety is a feeling of tension associated with a sense of threat of danger when the source of the danger is not known. In comparison, fear is a feeling of tension that is associated with a known source of danger. I believe it is normal for us to have some mild anxiety present in our daily lives. Everyday that I can think of I have some kind of anxiety though out that day. Anxiety warns us and enables us to get ready for the ‘fight or flight’ response. However, heightened anxiety is emotionally painful. It disrupts a person's daily functioning.
Anxiety disorder is a type of abnormal behavior characterized by unrealistic, irrational fear. These types of disorders are diagnosed two as often in women as in men. Although these disorders can be very chronic and serious, they are easily treatable. Generalized anxiety disorder is when people experience fear and worry that is not focused on one specific aspect; nevertheless, they suffer greatly with headaches, dizziness, heart palpitations, and insomnia. Obsessive-compulsive disorder, better known as OCD, involves persistent, unwanted, obsessions and irresistible urges to perform compulsions in order to relieve anxiety. Unlike other anxiety disorders, OCD consists more of anxiety and worry rather than fear itself. Many people who experience OCD are aware that there is no motive behind their actions, however their anxiety is heightened when they try to ignore the compulsions. People with such anxiety disorders often experience sensitivity to other people’s views as well as worry over their surroundings.
Panic disorder and panic attacks stem from the same seed but explain it with actual facts will help understand the medical condition which is now being recognized (Mayo Clinic) an attack is described as an intense fear that triggers several physical reactions when there is no real danger. Study now has proved that if you had recurrent, unexpected panic attacks and spent long periods in constant fear you may be diagnosed with what we call a condition panic disorder. Some descriptive characteristics per (Mayo Clinic) are Sense of impending doom or danger, rapid heart rate, trembling, chills, nausea, hyperventilation, chest pain, dizziness, tightness in your throat, shortness of breath.
A panic attack is a sudden feeling very strong fear or extreme inconvenience and discomfort that is most often described as a feeling that something terrible has happened - we have a feeling that we will die, lose control, crash or go crazy.
Fear or anxiety may be triggered by the presence or the anticipation of the specific object or situation. Most adults may logically know the fear is unreasonable, but still find it unmanageable to control the anxiety. Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder distinguished by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives the environment to be dangerous with no accessible way of leaving, which can lead to panic attacks. The causes of agoraphobia are a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Other conditions that can produce similar symptoms include separation anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, and major depressive disorder.
Agoraphobia can be a debilitating psychiatric disorder. It was originally called agoraphobia with panic attacks. Later it was renamed Panic Disorder (PD) with or without agoraphobia (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder involving intense fear of any situation where escape may be difficult or where help may not be available. Agoraphobia often entails fear of crowds, or being outside. Most individuals will develop agoraphobia after having a panic attack, which causes them to fear having another panic attack. These individuals work to avoid any sensation which reminds them of the physiological responses they felt during the panic attach. The fear of experiencing another panic attack ultimately leads them
“Nearly 3.2 million Americans (ages 18-54) suffer from agoraphobia according to the National Institute Of Mental Health” (A Guide to Agoraphobia- Facts, 2009). Agoraphobia is an irrational fear produced by having to enter a public place or a place that tends to be concurred by a big amount of people at once, leaving them exposed to humiliating themselves in that position. It is very important to specify that agoraphobia is not a fear of people but of the place or location where these tend to gather in massive amounts. For instance, public transportation, learning centers, streets, etc. are places where a person who suffers from agoraphobia could have a panic attack. Such panic attacks can be very traumatizing for the individual since they may
Panic attacks are the third kind of phobia. They can change the quality of a person’s life. Someone with a phobia this bad may be shopping at the supermarket and suddenly experience dizziness and a feeling of being out of control. At that moment, the person experiences a fear of dying, with no safe place to go. When this happens more than once, the person might think they are going crazy. Someone with panic attacks soon won’t leave the house because of fear of a panic attack happening outside the house. Soon, depression s...
Having a panic attack is different for everyone, but the one thing that is held constant is how scary they can be. These are tips and tricks that I've learned throughout my years of treatment and experience with anxiety and panic attacks. I hope they help!
Panic Disorder-It is a type of anxiety which is chartered by sudden or brief attacks.
Understating your own abilities and resources to handle that challenge or danger. In other words, when you feel anxious you are looking at what might happen and seeing it as hugely dangerous and highly likely to happen. At the same time, you are feeling that your talents, skills, and resources are small, inadequate, and not up to the challenge that you face. What you are facing looks like a huge "catastrophe" and what you have to fend it off feels like a cap gun.