Anxiety | Hawaii Psychiatric

Signs and Symptoms of Anxiety Disorders

There is no single one anxiety disorder, but rather anxiety disorders fall into a few different categories depending on their causes and their symptoms. Because of this, it is possible for them to feel and look very different when being experienced from one person to the next. A single individual could suffer from very intense anxiety attacks that seem to strike without warning, and then someone else could feel panicky at the mere thought of going to a party and being around strangers. Another person may struggle greatly with a fear of driving, or may struggle with intrusive and uncontrollable thoughts. Another person all together may live in what is essentially a constant state of fear and tension, constantly worrying about absolutely everything and anything under the sun.

Despite all of the different forms that an anxiety disorder can take on, all of these disorders do share a single major symptom which is a persistent or a severe worry or fear in a situation or situations where normal people would not feel threatened. There are both emotional and physical symptoms of anxiety disorders. Emotional symptoms include apprehensive and dreading feelings, difficulty concentrating, tense and jumpy feelings, always anticipating the worst, feeling irritable and restless, always worrying about danger and feeling like your mind is blank.

Anxiety is more than just an emotional feeling, because the body uses fight or flight to respond to anxiety, and that is where these physical symptoms come into play. Because there are so many different symptoms of anxiety, many people with anxiety disorders are misdiagnosed as having a medical condition before they get the real diagnosis and can begin getting help.

Filed Under: Health, Mental Health Tagged With: anxiety, Anxiety disorder, Worry

Do You Have an Anxiety Disorder?

It is completely normal for you to feel worried, tense or afraid when you are under pressure, or when you are facing a really stressful situation. The feeling of anxiety is a completely normal reaction that your body has when danger exists. Anxiety is a natural response that acts like an alarm, going off any time that we are feeling threatened. Although this type of anxiety may be an unpleasant feeling, it is not necessarily a bad thing for us.

Anxiety can help us to feel alert as well as focused, it can spur us into action and it can motivate us so that we can solve our problems. When anxiety becomes overwhelming or constant however, or when it interferes with your daily life, then you may have crossed from normal anxiety into an anxiety disorder.

Symptoms of Anxiety Disorders: feeling worried, tense or on edge constantly, anxiety interfering with school, feeling plagued by worries or fears that are obviously irrational and yet cannot be shaken, believing that something bad is going to happen if you do not do certain things in a certain way, feeling like you have to avoid certain everyday activities and situations because they make you feel more anxious, experiencing sudden and unexpected panic attacks with palpitations and a pounding heart.

If you are feeling these symptoms and they seem to be having an impact on your ability to live and enjoy your life, then the odds are good that you are suffering from an anxiety disorder. There is help out there if you are struggling with this type of problem, so reach out for help while you can, and keep your anxiety in check before allowing it to overwhelm you.

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Symptoms of Anxiety Attacks

Anxiety attacks are also known as panic attacks, and they are episodes of either intense panic or intense fear. These anxiety attacks typically occur completely suddenly and with little to no warning. For some people there is an obvious trigger behind the panic attack, such as getting stuck or trapped in an elevator, or thinking about something anxiety-inducing like a big speech that you have to give in a couple of hours, but for other people and other situations these panic and anxiety attacks come completely out of the blue with no warning at all.

Anxiety attacks typically peak within a period of ten minutes, and they very rarely last for longer than a half hour. During this short period of time, however, the level of terror and fear can be so ridiculously severe that the sufferer feels as if they are going to lose complete control or even die. The physical symptoms of the panic attack alone are so frightening that many people having this type of attack become convinced that they are having a heart attack rather than an anxiety attack. Once the anxiety attack has ended, people find themselves dreading that another may occur, especially in public places where getting out, or getting help, could be impossible.

Some of the signs and symptoms of anxiety attacks include a surge of completely overwhelming panic, a feeling of going crazy or losing control, chest pain, heart palpitations, feeling faint, difficulty breathing, feeling like choking, hyperventilation, chills, hot flashes, shaking or trembling, stomach cramps, nausea and feeling unreal or detached from the world around you. Not every symptom is felt during every panic attack, but they often hit in groups such as this.

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Types of Anxiety Disorders

There are six different types of major anxiety disorders, and each is going to have its own distinct profile of symptoms. These are obsessive compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, phobia and social anxiety disorder.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. This disorder is characterized by completely unwanted behaviors or thoughts that seem completely impossible to control or stop. You might be troubled with a variety of obsessions, such as a recurring fear that you did not turn the oven off, or that you may be capable of hurting someone. Uncontrollable compulsions are often common, such as tapping, counting, “checking” and obsessive hand washing.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder. This type of disorder often involves constant fears or worries that distract you from your normal activities, or a troubling and persistent feeling that something bad might happen. People that have this disorder worry constantly and feel anxiety all the time without ever really knowing why.

Panic Disorder. This disorder is characterized with repeated and unexpected panic attacks and a great feel of experiencing more episodes. Panic disorder is also often accompanied by agoraphobia, which involves a fear of being in any place where an escape or getting help would be difficult if the person had a panic attack. People that have agoraphobia tend to avoid large, crowded public places and confined spaces.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This is an anxiety disorder that generally occurs in the aftermath of some life-threatening or traumatic event. Symptoms can include nightmares and flashbacks, hyper vigilance, easily startling, withdrawing from other people and avoiding any situation that may trigger memories of the event.

Social Anxiety Disorder. Social anxiety involves a debilitating fear of being seen the wrong way by people and of being humiliated in public. This is also known as a social phobia and entails being extremely shy and potentially avoiding all social situations all together in some severe cases.

Filed Under: Health, Mental Health Tagged With: anxiety, Posttraumatic stress disorder, Social anxiety disorder

Self Help for Anxiety Disorders

Not everyone that experiences worry actually has an anxiety disorder, even when they seem to worry a lot. You may be experiencing anxiousness for a reason, such as lack of sleep, lack of exercise, home pressure, pressure at work, an overly demanding schedule or even simply because you drink too much coffee. Consider that the bottom line here is that if you have an unhealthy or a stressful lifestyle, then it is going to be normal for you to feel anxious, regardless of whether or not you have an anxiety disorder. If you feel that you are worrying too much, then you are going to want to take the time to truly evaluate just how well you are caring for yourself.

Do you give yourself time every day for some relaxation and some fun?

Are you ensuring that you get all of the emotional support that you need?

Are you ensuring that your entire body is being taken care of?

Are you feeling overloaded with responsibilities?

Are you willing to ask for help in situations where you need it?

If your levels of stress are feeling through the roof, then you are going to want to think about the various ways that you can really begin to bring your life back into a sense of balance. Are there any responsibilities that you can reasonably give up or turn down, or possibly even delegate to other people? If you are feeling unsupported or isolated, then you should find somebody that you can trust and confide in them appropriately. Sometimes simply talking about the worries on your mind is going to allow them to feel less frightening to you. Take steps to alleviate your anxiety and see how things change for you.

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Mindfulness Meditation

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Mindfulness is a practice for improving mental health that is becoming more and more common. It is related to the Buddhist practice of meditation and awareness, but this form of meditation focuses more on being aware while in the present. It also involves having a non-judgmental attitude while holding your attention and concentration on the moment. This results in becoming more accepting of events in one’s life, thereby reducing the stress and anxiety that may result.

Mindfulness can be practiced by anybody, at any age. And, regularly practicing it has shown remarkable benefits in the reduction of stress, anxiety and even depression. By meditating and focusing on the moment one can slowly change the pattern of negative thought and even harmful behaviors.

Actually practicing mindfulness is simple, and begins in a quiet and comfortable place. Simple sit on the floor or in a chair and breathe regularly. With your eyes closed, try to set aside all thoughts of the past and future, and concentrate only on the present, the moment you are in at that time. This can be done by focusing on your breathing, on the sensation of air flowing through your body. Concentrate on your breath to the exclusion of all else. If thoughts to threaten to break your concentration simply acknowledge them but don’t think about them, just focus once again on your breathing. After a few moments get up and resume your activities.
A key element to successful mindfulness meditation is to not judge yourself if you fail, or if your concentration is broken. This practice takes a while to master and you need to be forgiving of yourself in the duration.

While more scientific studies need to be completed in order to catalog the benefits of this form of meditation, one thing is certain: no harm comes from it and it does result in a sense of inner peace which can only bolster one’s mental health.

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Coping with Anxiety

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Many people find themselves from time to time, dealing with anxiety. For those with anxiety disorder, they suffer from constant, recurring anxiety. Anxiety that is present on a daily basis can have a negative impact.

People with debilitating anxiety should seek professional help, but for those with naturally occurring and short lived anxiety, can learn to cope and overcome its affects. When first recognizing the signs of anxiety such as trembling, sweating or the nauseous feeling in the stomach, it is important to recognize that you’re dealing with anxiety and then implement some of the following strategies to deal with it.

Breathe

When in the grasp of anxiety, the best thing to do to shorten its course is to breathe. Breathing deeply through the nose and out through the mouth, concentrating on each breath, is the simplest and most effective thing you can do. Focusing on regulating your breath will slow your heart rate and calm your nerves. Once you have your breathing under control you can be objective about your situation.

Objectivity

When you’ve attained a measure of calm, you can begin to analyze your situation and be objective about it. You need to recognize the problem or issue and then form a plan in order to rectify the situation. Sometimes all that means is leaving the room or moving on to another task.

Consideration

Once you’ve removed the source and symptoms of your anxiety, consider what caused it in the first place. It is important to fully understand your reaction from start to finish so that you can learn to more quickly recognize the onset of anxiety and so that you can resolve the situation more quickly.

Anxiety is a mental health issue that should not be trifled with. It is serious and if left unchallenged it can become an even more dire issue. Always consult with you physician if you think that you’re experiencing more than normal anxiety.

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Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

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We all have worries. Some are trivial worries, like whether we locked the car; others are big worries like what will happen if our loved ones pass away. Most of us possess the ability to put these worries aside temporarily in order to go about our daily routine. For millions of Americans with obsessive-compulsive disorder, shelving the daily list of worries is easier said than done.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD, is a very common mental health disorder. It affects one in fifty Americans, almost the number of people who are affected by athsma. It is often portrayed as a charming quirk-think of Monk’s supernatural ability to notice crime-cracking details, or Bill Murray’s endearing anxieties in What About Bob. However, OCD is neither cute nor trivial to most of its sufferers. Their lives are governed by anxieties that must be satisfied with illogical compulsions. To make matters worse, OCD sufferers are well aware of the irrationality of their anxieties, but they are powerless to divert their thoughts.

The breadth of these obsessions is enormous. Usually pop culture focuses on features like excessive tidiness, repetitive actions, or germophobic symptoms. Other less mediagenic manifestations are nail-biting, hair-pulling, obsessions with even numbers, mind-consuming number and letter games, intrusive and unwanted fantasies, and a habit of anthropomorphizing inanimate objects and worrying about their feelings.

Doctors don’t know yet what causes OCD; there is some evidence for hereditary causes, childhood experience factors, and even a link to frequent cases of strep throat. It can be hard to diagnose, because we all have obsessions and compulsions; often a time and lifestyle hindrance factor is used to decide whether to treat disorders. If obsessions or compulsions are making life less efficient rather than more efficient, and if compulsions rob a candidate of more than an hour every day, a mental health provider typically recommends a course of treatment.

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When Everyday Anxiety Becomes A Disorder

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Is it possible for you to go for at least 24 hours without some kind of angst creeping into your conscious? Probably not. Maybe it’s just a couple of mild flare ups like running late for an appointment or deciding what to make for the kid’s dinner. You could also have other matters weighing on your mind such as financial woes, relationship turmoil or even troubles from around the world you see on the news. With many folks, these occasional bouts of anxiety are met head on and dealt with accordingly. For every flare up there is a solution and then you get back on with your day.

However, there can times when you can’t let go of those anxieties. When these thoughts begin to plague and distract you they can keep you from studying, working and even relating with your loved ones. That’s when anxiety has crossed over to become a mental health disorder. There are plenty of clinical definitions such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Panic Disorder or Social Anxiety Disorder. For the people who are in the throes of any of those kinds of anxiety attacks, the clinical definitions really don’t matter. What matters is finding a way to get better.

If your anxiety is stopping you in your tracks, then perhaps its time you take the proverbial bull by the horns and get some genuine help. That help can come in the form of therapy with a psychiatrist. Working with a qualified psychiatrist will help you identify the root causes of your anxiety. Recognizing the triggers and discovering what is in and out of your control can do a lot for alleviating your anxiety. You can even take your treatment to the next level by being prescribed anti-depressant medication. Your psychiatrist of choice will be able to help find the right dosage of medicine that can help you bring those major anxiety attacks down to a manageable level. Real help is just a phone call away.

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Obsessive Disorder

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There are some people who tend to wash their hands often. They are simply thought of as clean. Some might even joke that they are “germ freaks”. This is common enough and we all tend to roll with it. Others, we may notice, enjoy double checking if the doors are all locked. This, too, is common and so we ignore any other signs or red flags.

Since this can be hidden in social norms, the idea of checking locks and washing hands, it is easy to see that everything is as it should be. Nothing really seems “off”.

However, the reality for some of these “germ freaks” may be far more severe than we can imagine. Behind closed doors, many people suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. This means that they have anxiety about certain things, leading them to obsessively take precaution over issues that are anxious over. This can mean they count constantly, wash their hands endlessly, or turn doorknobs around the clock. Due to their fears about germs, forgetting to lock a door, or their aversion to certain numbers, the disease can hinder their everyday normalcy.

While it is not obvious or out in the open, Obsessive Comulsive Disorder is one of the top five metal disorders diagnosed. Mental health medicine practitioners can provide therapy and medication to help the person cope with their obsessive disorder, however, there is probably nothing that will completely rid the patient of this anxiety. There is no magic pill but therapy and meds can bring the person closer to their goals of a normal, worry-free lifestyle.

Doctors and patients will have to work together in order to have the kind of relationship that is productive and geared to assist a patient recover from their obsessive disorder. The recurring thoughts, negative feelings, fear about things that they cannot control but believe they might be able to, can all be brought under control with the help of speaking to their medication practioner. Mental Health advocates are working to bring together a public awareness of the disorder.

Filed Under: Health, Mental Health, Treatment Tagged With: anxiety, Mental health, Obsessive–compulsive disorder