It is very natural to have anxiety. When confronted with a difficult or challenging circumstance, we feel anxiety. When attempting to meet an unachievable deadline, we have a tendency to experience anxiety. During final examinations, we cram.
Anxiety, like other emotions such as fear, anger, sorrow, and happiness, is a natural response that aids in coping with the current circumstances. It is widespread and plays an important part in a person’s capacity to adapt and survive.
However, anxiety becomes a problem when it develops into an unreasonable dread of or concern about ordinary tasks.
There are a variety of emotional and psychological issues, as listed below:
Generalized Fear Disorder is defined by a person’s inflated perception of a particular event, which results in unreasonable anxiety or unwarranted concern that becomes frighteningly habitual. A woman who overestimates her family’s financial and health issues may become a nervous wreck. Or a worker who is highly worried about workplace issues.
Panic Disorder is described as a quick onset of fear accompanied by fast heartbeats, perspiration, weakness, fainting, or vertigo. A manic episode is characterised by a sense of impending doom and a lack of control. Even when sleeping, panic episodes are possible at any moment. In most circumstances, a person’s return to reality occurs within 10 minutes, however, in rare instances, it may take longer. Not all individuals who have panic episodes will acquire panic disorder.
Social Anxiety Disorder, often known as social phobia, is a disorder characterised by excessive self-consciousness in ordinary social interactions, which results in acute anxiety. There is an irrational fear of being seen and evaluated by others, as well as the worry of doing something that would disgrace them. It becomes persistent and chronic, lasting days or weeks before a feared event. This dread may grow so intense that it interferes with work, school, and other everyday activities and makes it difficult to develop and maintain friendships.
According to the Anxiety Disorders Association of America, “Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), or social phobia, is defined by an excessive dread of being assessed poorly by others in social or performance circumstances. Some individuals with SAD feel actually “sick with anxiety” in circumstances that seem to be harmless, such as ordering food at a restaurant, signing one’s name in public, or making a phone call. Although they realise that their worry is excessive and irrational, individuals with SAD feel helpless over it. They are scared that they will behave in an unpleasant or humiliating manner. The anxiety may considerably impair daily routines, job performance, and social interactions. It might make it difficult to finish education, participate in job interviews and acquire employment, as well as form and maintain friendships and love relationships.
In some circumstances, a person’s Social Anxiety Disorder may manifest exclusively during a specific social activity, such as making a phone call, speaking with clients, or delivering a speech, yet the individual may feel completely at ease in other social activities. In such circumstances, SAD is selective. A more broad version of SAD involves feeling anxiety attacks during a number of ordinary activities when one’s actions or conduct may be evaluated, such as business meetings, class activities, speaking with strangers, or attending parties.
Phobia is an irrational and excessive dread of a stimulus that poses little or no actual harm or danger. The most prevalent particular phobias are a fear of heights, enclosed spaces, water, flying, dogs, snakes, and blood-related injuries. This is not merely excessive dread, but an unreasonable fear of a certain object. The majority of adult patients recognise that their worries are irrational, yet find that confronting the feared item or scenario triggers a dreaded anxiety attack.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is persistent and characterised by disturbing thoughts (obsessions) and the utilisation of routines (compulsions). Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterised by intrusive, distressing thoughts (obsessions) and the use of rituals (compulsions) to regulate the discomfort produced by these thoughts. The majority of the time, the rituals dominate them.
Normal, healthy individuals also have routines, such as double-checking the stove before leaving the home. People with OCD tend to overdo their routines to the point that it interferes with their everyday lives and they find the pattern to be excruciating. The majority of individuals, particularly children, may not comprehend that their conduct is abnormal, however, others may recognise that what they are doing is absurd.
When a catastrophic incident involving physical damage or the possibility of physical harm occurs, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develops. The injury may have occurred to the one with PTSD or to a loved one, or the individual may have seen a sad scenario involving close ones or strangers.
PTSD was first brought to public attention in relation to war veterans, but it can be caused by a variety of traumatic events, including robbery, rape, torture, kidnapping or being held captive, child abuse, car accidents, train wrecks, plane crashes, bombings, or natural disasters such as floods or earthquakes.
Therapy for Anxiety Disorders
Generally, anxiety disorders are treated with medication, certain forms of psychotherapy, or both. Treatment is determined by the severity of the condition and the individual’s preferences. Before beginning therapy, ensure that a doctor has been contacted to determine the source of the anxiety illness. Sometimes alcoholism, depression, or other coexisting illnesses have such a profound impact on the person that anxiety disorder treatment must be delayed until the coexisting conditions are under control.