Anxiety

There are six disorders that fall under the general umbrella of anxiety disorders, but all anxiety disorders have most of these symptoms in common:

• Unrealistic worry over everything—or nothing at all.
• Shortness of breath.
• Sleep problems.
• Inability to stay still, lots of fidgeting or pacing, or feeling jittery.
• Tingling hands and feet, or sweaty, cold hands.
• Heart palpitations, chest pain.
• Nausea.
• Dry mouth.
• Dizziness.
• Tense muscles, often in one specific area, like the chest, shoulders, or neck.
• Poor concentration.
• “Dead loops”—repetitive thoughts that loop over and over, often imagining the worst possible outcome of a real or imaginary situation.

Each type of anxiety disorder has a few unique symptoms, for example:

Do you have lots of fears and worries about everyday events? People with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) have chronic worries about many simple issues, even if there’s nothing bad going on or likely to happen. Everything is a disaster about to happen for a person with GAD, which is sometimes GAD called free-floating anxiety.

People suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) have vivid, terrifying flashbacks to traumatizing events, like combat, violent assault or rape. Flashbacks may not happen every day, but stress levels for these people are high, due to their “fight, flight, or freeze” reflexes being always on high alert. People with PTSD usually suffer from poor sleep, trouble concentrating, and near constant tension.

For those with Social Anxiety Disorder, the thought of interacting with others brings lots of anxiety. Avoiding all interactions, or just specific kinds of interactions can become so important to the sufferer that they have significant trouble with day-to-day life. The central fear of someone with Social Anxiety Disorder is of humiliation and embarrassment. Don’t mix up Social Anxiety Disorder with shyness. They are not the same.

People experiencing Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) have obsessions (recurrent unwanted disturbing thoughts and fears) which cause intolerably high levels of anxiety. Compulsions are behaviors a person performs that relieve the anxiety caused by the obsessions. These behaviors are uncontrollable and serious enough to harm a person’s health or get in the way of daily activities. OCD can take over a person’s life and make living nigh unto intolerable.

Anxiety disorders are highly treatable by psychotherapy and often require no medication at all. If you or a loved one is regularly experiencing symptoms similar to those listed in this post, seek help from your local Spokane healthcare professional, Damaris Aragon. Damaris Aragon, ARNP, BC provides a full spectrum mental health care to people in Spokane, Washington and surrounding areas. She focuses on providing personalized care that adheres to current evidence- based standards. Don’t suffer alone. Reach out to Damaris through her contact page or calling 509-342-6592.

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