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Anxiety

TREATMENT

Anxiety disorders including Phobias, Panic Disorders and PTSD respond well to:

  • Cognitive (thoughts) therapy - change distorted and irrational thoughts that cause anxiety

  • Behavioral (action) therapy- attempt to relieve anxiety through specific behavioral changes

  • Exploration of the manifestation of the anxiety and of the stimuli for fear

  • Learning relaxation skills and exploring individual coping strategies for maintaining equilibrium

Everyone feels anxiety, whether it is butterflies in your stomach before you ask someone out on a date or the rush of anxiety that propels you out the door when you are running late. Often these feelings are uncomfortable, but anxiety is a normal part of daily life.

However, too much anxiety can interrupt your life and make it unmanageable and unhappy. Take a look at these symptoms below and see if your life is being dictated by your fears and worries:

  • Anxiety attacks

  • Sleeplessness

  • Muscle tension

  • Poor concentration

  • Physical symptoms such as frequent upset stomach

  • Irritability

  • Fatigue

  • Excessive feelings of embarrassment in social situations

Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent forms of mental illness in the US. Nearly 25% of the population has experienced an anxiety disorder at some time in their life and more than 12% of the population experiences some form of an anxiety disorder in any given year.

Anxiety disorders are more prevalent in Females than Males.

More than 30% of the people who consult physicians because of physical ailments like heart problems, sleep issues, and substance abuse issues are suffering from severe anxiety.

Anxiety may be free floating and without obvious cause or it may be called signal anxiety, occurring in response to a fear-inducing stimulus.

PHOBIAS are the most common anxiety disorders and are marked by persistent fear of clearly defined objects or situation and can include fear of heights, fear of flying or public speaking.

PANIC ATTACKS are a discrete period of intense fear or discomfort in the absence of real danger that is accompanied by at least four somatic or cognitive symptoms, which include:

  • Palpitations

  • Sweating

  • Trembling

  • Shaking

  • Sensations of shortness of breath

  • Feeling of choking

  • Chest pain

  • Nausea

  • Abdominal distress

  • Dizziness

  • Fear of losing control

  • Fear of dying

  • Feeling of “going crazy”

  • Chills or hot flashes

Panic attacks have a sudden onset and build to a peak rapidly, usually in 10 minutes or less and are often accompanied by a feeling of impending doom and an urge to escape.

Post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD is the development of symptoms following exposure to an extreme traumatic stressor involving direct personal experience of an event. You will know you are experiencing PTSD if you experience intense fear, helplessness, or horror, re-experiencing of the traumatic event, persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma and numbing of general responsiveness, and persistent symptoms of increased arousal, and these symptoms must last for more than one month. Events can include military combat, violent personal assault, natural or manmade disasters, severe auto accidents or being diagnosed with a life threatening illness. We are very familiar with PTSD in this region, as a response to Hurricane Katrina and may know someone who has experienced all these symptoms.