There are numerous misconceptions about anxiety, its causes, and treatment. In addition, other individuals who may seek anxiety treatment without medication may also be unaware of crucial health information about the disorder. However, despite this seeming lack of understanding of anxiety disorder, it is one of the most common mental health concerns in the United States. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, about 48 million people suffer from anxiety disorders, or around 19.1% annual prevalence among US adults. Anxiety disorders and depression also cost a $1 trillion loss in the global economy’s productivity.
Anxiety is common, particularly when things make us worried or distressed, such as public speaking, being late due to a traffic jam, never-ending deadlines at school or work, and the like. However, anxiety disorders are medical conditions with varying or unique symptoms. Common among these groups of related conditions is that there is that persistent, excessive fear or feeling of worry in situations when normally, one should not.
What Does Anxiety Feel Like?
Anxiety is that feeling of fear, worry, or distress. Anxiousness or anxiety are quite common when big events are about to occur or activities or things of extreme importance are drawing near. Some situations may help motivate us and encourage us to do better; however, they may also serve as stressors that activate anxiety.
Since these feelings are just a part of life, it is quite common to experience them. However, when the fears and worries prevent us from functioning normally and persistently stop us from doing our jobs and daily tasks, this can be categorized as anxiety disorders.
Anxiety may manifest not just emotional or psychological symptoms but also physical symptoms. Here are some of the typical emotional symptoms people with anxiety experience:
- Feeling tense or irritable
- Easily startled or quite jumpy
- Apprehensive or feeling dreadful
- Feeling restless
- Excessive obsession with possible dangers
- Always expecting the worst
On the other hand, anxiety also has physical manifestations or symptoms such as:
- Shortness of breath
- Tremors and twitching
- Indigestion or constipation
- Excessive sweating
- Quick or raced heartbeats and chest pains
- Nausea
- Diarrhea
- Frequent urination
Anxiety may result from both nature and nurture; thus, some scientists believe that genetics may be part of it, but a stressful event or trauma is also linked to cases of anxiety disorders.
How To Deal With Anxiety?
There are various types of anxiety; therefore, there are also different ways to deal with it. Some of these types include:
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder or GAD. This is a type of anxiety wherein people worry excessively about their daily lives. Since GAD is a chronic type of anxiousness, it consumes a person’s time and may make a person experience difficulties finishing tasks and other daily activities. Tension, headaches, and nausea are some physical symptoms of GAD.
- Panic Disorder is a type of anxiety that makes a person experience panic attacks and abrupt feelings of terror or fear. Panic attacks sometimes come and go without warning; that is why individuals suffering from them seek ways to stop an anxiety attack. Since the physical symptoms of panic disorder include chest pains, shortness of breath, and heart palpitations, some associate the attacks with cardiac arrest.
- Social Anxiety Disorder is characterized by an intense fear of socializing or social situations. Often, this is caused by worries related to being embarrassed or humiliated, which results in avoiding conversations or discussions and social interactions altogether.
- Phobias create or evoke robust and irrational fear and distress from a person. Most people may be afraid of something, someplace, or someone. However, people with phobias sometimes tend to be controlled by their own fear. These things that trigger a person’s phobias may result in strong reactions and panic. Thus, one tends to avoid situations or places that might spark strong, fearful reactions.
Anxiety disorders vary, and so does anxiety treatment. Here are some ways on how it is treated:
- Medication – with the help of benzodiazepines or anti-anxiety sedatives, both the body and mind are relaxed, and this calming effect creates some euphoric feeling by acting on the GABA receptors of the brain.
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Therapy or TMS – if you are looking for the best anxiety treatments without medication, TMS is one of those. This type of treatment accesses a person’s limbic system by making the amygdala, responsible for feelings of fear or distress, less hyperactive. This is a great option for people suffering from anxiety disorders. It brings back the levels of neurons in the brain to relieve feelings of apprehension, stress, and overall anxiety.
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing or EMDR – another anxiety treatment without medication is EMDR. This is a form of psychotherapy that requires the active participation of the person receiving it. Usually, the person undergoing EMDR treatment has PTSD or needs to overcome trauma. Under the therapist’s guidance, this form of anxiety therapy helps people overcome their trauma by performing certain eye movements and desensitizing them from the traumatic experience.
How To Help Someone With Anxiety?
Mental health education can be one of the ways to help someone suffering from anxiety. As a peer or a member of a support group, you can help a friend or family member with an anxiety disorder by learning more about it, the causes, and the different ways to address it.
On the other hand, apart from learning more about anxiety disorders, being present as a peer or support is already a huge help. Asking how to stop an anxiety attack can get you vague answers but you may seek aid from mental health helplines and treatment centers offering anxiety treatment or therapy.
Millions of people suffer from anxiety disorders. There are different types of anxiety disorders and unique symptoms or causes. Thus, the range of treatments available is vast.
Help someone with anxiety disorder. Help then reach anxiety treatment centers like Roots TMS. Contact us at info@rootstms.com or call (562) 268-5813 for more information.