Anxiety, Phobias and Post
Traumatic Stress:
An Introduction to different Anxiety Disorders
Everyone experiences nervousness or worries at some time in
stressful situations. For some people, anxiety can take on a
different dimension, including outright fear and panic, or a
disabling daily condition, which is affecting your capacity to live
the life you want to.
Some of the main types of Anxiety Disorder are given below:
- Anxiety Disorder caused by a Medical Condition: Sometimes
a physical problem or condition such as a hormonal imbalance,
breathing or heart problems can cause an anxiety condition;
- Phobias: If you have a phobia then you experience fear in
situations where there is actually little or no danger.You might for
example have a specific fear of flying, or of spiders, or of closed
spaces, or of bridges. One of the main types of phobia is social
phobia, which involves a fear of embarrassing yourself in
social situations or at particular kinds of event such as parties,
presentations or meetings;
- Panic Disorder: As the name implies, this involves having
panic attacks unexpectedly or
repeatedly for no apparent rational reason. Panic attacks are not
life threatening but when they are experienced you may feel as if
you are about to die or have a heart attack;
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: If you have experienced or
witnessed a traumatic event such as a serious car accident, a bomb,
a natural disaster or a personal trauma such as sexual or physical
assault, it can lead to a range of symptoms including recurring
nightmares, irritability, concentration difficulties, severe anxiety
or fear that the event might recur;
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Someone who has experienced
6 months or more of severe worry and tension which is either not
warranted by their situation or is much more than the levels of
anxiety which most people would feel in the situation may be
suffering from Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Most commonly the
anxiety might be about health, work, financial or family issues;
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: This involves experiencing
unwanted thoughts or compulsive behaviours which seem impossible to
control and which are either senseless, harmful or socially
unacceptable.
- Substance Induced Anxiety Disorder: Drugs such as alcohol,
cocaine, amphetamines and sedatives can alter a person's mood and
make them feel anxious or worried.
Simple
things that you can do if you suffer from any of the above
include:
- Learning a method of relaxation to practise regularly,
such as breathing in a relaxed, slow way from the diaphragm,
focusing on breaths and counting them down from say 30 or 40;
- Focusing on essential activities that you have to achieve
in the day and eliminating unnecessary activities that might produce
excessive stress;
- Identifying the negative thoughts that tend to run through
your mind when you are getting anxious and preparing
coping statements which you can say to yourself when the
situation presents, to remind yourself of what is happening and help
you. For example, if you have a panic attack you may find it helpful
to remind yourself that anxiety and panic attacks are not
life-threatening, just uncomfortable, or if you are experiencing
symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder, because of a past event,
you might remind themself that the event is in the past and that you
are safe now;
Appropriate support from a life coach, counsellor, social worker
or health professional with appropriate experience in dealing
with anxiety disorders can also be invaluable in helping a person to
devise more specific strategies.
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