Overcoming Anxiety

Anxiety is normal human emotional that everyone experiences at times. It differs according to people and many people feel nervous, or anxious when faced with a problem at work, before making important decision, and before taking a test.Anxiety can cause stress that interferes with a person ‘ability to lead a normal life. It is a serious mental illness and people with anxiety disorders, fear and worry are constant and overwhelming and can be crippling.

Types of anxiety disorder

• ·         Social anxiety disorder-It is called social phobia, social anxiety disorder involves lot or worry and self- consciousness about every situation.
• ·         Specific phobia-is an intense fear for a specific object or situation such as heights, snakes flying. The level of fear will cause the person to avoid similar situation every day.
• ·         Panic disorder-people with this conditions have feelings of terror that strike suddenly  and without warning .Symptoms include chest pain,sweating,palpitations,and feeling of choking  that will make the person feel like he or she have heart attack or going crazy.
• ·         Generalized anxiety disorder- it involves excessive, unrealistic worry and tension, even if there is nothing to start the anxiety.

 What Causes of Anxiety disorder?

• ·         The exact cause of anxiety disorders is unknown.
• ·         Problem in the functioning of brain circuits that regulate fear and other emotions.
• ·         Long lasting stress can change the way nerve cells circuits transmit information from region of the brain to another.
• ·         It is inheritance from one or both parents like risk for heart disease or cancer.
• ·         The environmental factors also cause anxiety such as trauma or important event.

 What are Symptoms of an anxiety disorder?

• ·         Panic attacks
• ·         Phobia
• ·         Social anxiety
• ·         Problem sleeping
• ·         Shortness of breath
• ·         Dizziness
• ·         Inability to be still and calm
• ·         Dry mouth
• ·         Heart palpitations

Ways to reduce anxiety

• ·         Accept that you’re anxious-remind yourself that anxiety is simply an emotional reaction and start to accept it.
• ·         Realize that your brain is playing ricks on you-Calm the patient that he is not dying, that will pass and his brain is playing tricks on him.
• ·         Question your thoughts –when people are anxious their brains start coming up with all sorts of outlandish ideas and many are unrealistic and unlikely to happen.
• ·         Be an observer without judgment-give the patients cards written on it practice observing, (thoughts,feeling,emotions) without judgment
• ·         Focus on right now-even if something serious happening, focusing on the present moment will improve your ability to manage the situation.
• ·         Take a deep breath-when you are anxious breath.