Anxiety

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Anxiety disorders are serious illnesses and differ from the normal feelings of nervousness. Anxiety is the fear of something that happened, or what we think happened and dread happening again. Although most people experience a relatively mild form of anxiety when facing particularly stressful situations, such as a presentation or speech, anxiety disorders are severe and can affect the day-to-day life of a sufferer.

If left untreated, those with the illness will avoid situations where they fear their symptoms may be triggered and this may lead to their career and personal relationships being affected. Anxiety is the general term given to a number of specific disorders:

Types of anxiety disorders:

Generalised Anxiety Disorder

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Panic Disorders

Agoraphobia

Phobias

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Symptoms:

Breathlessness

Rapid pulse

A feeling of tightness in the chest and throat

Sweaty palms

Weakness

Nausea

Diarrhoea

Insomnia

Fatigue

Headaches

Loss of appetite

Reduced attention span

Poor performance

Dizziness and light headedness

Muscle tension

Loss of sexual interest

Causes:

Scientists believe there are a variety of influences that contribute to the cause of anxiety disorders. However each person is unique and reacts differently to pressures, so determining the exact cause of the disorder may prove difficult. However, there are some common factors that are thought to contribute to anxiety disorders:

Brain chemistry

Individuals suffering from anxiety disorders are often prescribed medication that appears to relieve some symptoms by altering chemical imbalances in their brain. Therefore some people believe these chemical imbalances may account for the disorder.

Heredity

Evidence has suggested that anxiety disorders run in families, thus more than one person in a single family is usually affected. Evidence is not clear however, as to whether genetic factors account for the disorder or whether similar environments and life experiences contribute to its cause.

Personality

Evidence has also suggested that personality differences may affect the development of an anxiety disorder. Low self esteem, low confidence and poor coping skills may make an individual more prone to developing an anxiety disorder.

Life experiences

Long-term exposure to abuse, poverty or violence is believed to have a strong relationship with the development of anxiety disorders. Drugs may also account for contributing to the disorder.

It is most probable that a combination of factors, physical and environmental, play a part in the cause of anxiety disorders.

Treatment:

In general, anxiety disorders can be treated by a combination of approaches. Medication, behavioural therapy and cognitive-behavioural therapy are the variety of treatments applied.

Generalised Anxiety Disorder is usually treated with medication and cognitive-behavioural therapy; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is treated with medication and behavioural therapy (most commonly a specific type of psychotherapy called "exposure and response prevention" is used); Panic Disorder is treated with cognitive-behavioural therapy and, in some cases, medication; Phobias are commonly treated with cognitive-behavioural therapy, and finally, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is treated with cognitive-behavioural therapy and medications that help ease the symptoms.

Anxiety Statistics: More Statistics >>

The Office for National Statistics estimates that 4.7 per cent of adults experience generalised anxiety disorders not including depression, at any one time. This is in line with other studies showing a prevalence of between 2 per cent and 5 per cent of the population. [3] The study shows that a further 9.2 per cent have mixed anxiety and depression and that anxiety is far more common in women than in men. The prevalence of mixed anxiety and depression is 11.2 per cent in women as compared to 7.2 per cent in men.

Panic disorders are related to anxiety. According to the ONS study 7 people per 1,000 develop a panic disorder and this appears to be the same across all age groups and roughly the same for men and women, with a female to male ratio of 7:8.

(Statistics from Mind.org.uk)

Useful Resources:

Anxiety Panic Disorders - This site provides information on anxiety & panic disorders, different phobias, and more.

Further Info & Advice

Panic Attacks

Anxiety Disorders

Understanding anxiety from CBT perspective

Anxiety ~ is it spoiling your life

Anxiety

Emotions 2: Fear/Anxiety

Panic Attacks

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