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Anxiety is when you feel fearful and tense. In addition you may also have one or more unpleasant physical symptoms. If you have panic, you may feel the following symptoms: a fast heart rate, palpitations, feeling sick, shaking (tremor), sweating, dry mouth, chest pain, headaches, fast breathing. The physical symptoms are partly caused by the brain which sends lots of messages down nerves to various parts of the body when we are anxious. The nerve messages tend to make the heart, lungs and other parts of the body work faster. In addition, you release stress hormones (such as adrenaline) into the bloodstream when you are anxious. These can also act on the heart, muscles and other parts of the body to cause symptoms.
Anxiety is normal in stressful situations and can even be helpful. For example, most people will be anxious when threatened by an aggressive person. The burst of adrenaline and nerve impulses which we have in response to stressful situations can encourage a 'fight, flight' or 'freeze' response. Some people are more prone to normal anxieties. For example, some people are more anxious than others before examinations. Anxiety is abnormal if it:
· Is out of proportion to the stressful situation; or
· Persists when a stressful situation has gone; or the stress is minor; or
· Appears for no apparent reason when there is no stressful situation.
There are various conditions (disorders) where anxiety is a main symptom. One such experience is generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). There are other types of anxiety disorders (such as panic disorder,phobias, acute reaction to stress, post-traumatic stress disorder, etc). All of which can be treated. In this section we will look at GAD.
What is generalized anxiety disorder?
If you have GAD you have a lot of anxiety (feeling fearful, worried and tense) on most days. The condition persists long-term. Some of the physical symptoms of anxiety (detailed above) may come and go. Your anxiety tends to be about various stresses at home or work, often about quite minor things. Sometimes you do not know why you are anxious.
It can be difficult to tell the difference between normal mild anxiety in someone with an anxious personality and someone with GAD. As a rule, symptoms of GAD cause you distress and affect your day-to-day activities. In addition, you will usually have some of the following symptoms:
· Difficulty concentrating and your mind going blank quite often.
· Poor sleep (insomnia). Usually it is difficulty in getting off to sleep.
. You do not have GAD if your anxiety is about one specific thing. For example, if your anxiety is usually caused by fear of one thing then you are more likely to have a phobia.
· Feeling restless, on edge, irritable or keyed up much of the time. Tiring easily.
Who gets generalized anxiety disorder?
GAD develops in about 1 in 50 people at some stage in life. Twice as many women as men are affected. It usually first develops in your 20s but is frequently being recognized in older people.
What causes generalized anxiety disorder?
The cause is not clear. The condition often develops for no apparent reason. Various factors may play a part. For example:
· Your genetic 'makeup' may be important (the material inherited from your parents which controls various aspects of your body). Some people have a tendency to have an anxious personality, which can run in families.
· Childhood traumas such as abuse or death of a parent, may make you more prone to anxiety when you become older.
· A major stress in life may trigger the condition. For example, a family crisis or a major civilian trauma such as a toxic chemical spill. But the symptoms then persist when any trigger has gone. Common minor stresses in life, which you may otherwise have easily coped with, may then keep the symptoms going once the condition has been triggered.
Some people who have other mental health problems such as depression or schizophrenia may also develop GAD.
How is generalized anxiety disorder diagnosed? The typical symptoms develop and persist then a doctor can usually be confident that you have GAD. At the moment, guidelines suggest the diagnosis should be made if you have had your symptoms for six months but new guidelines are about to be published (DSM-5) which suggest that the diagnosis should be made if you have had your symptoms for a month. It is sometimes difficult to tell if you have GAD, panic disorder, depression, or a mixture of these conditions. Some of the physical symptoms of anxiety can be caused by physical problems which can be confused with anxiety. So, sometimes other conditions may need to be ruled out. For example:
Drinking a lot of caffeine (in tea, coffee and cola).
The side-effect of some prescribed medicines. For example, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants.
An overactive thyroid gland.
Taking some street drugs.
Certain heart conditions which cause palpitations (uncommon).
Low blood sugar level (rare).
Tumours which make too much adrenaline and other similar hormones (very rare).
What is the outlook (prognosis)?
Although GAD gets better in some people, in others it tends to come and go. Some people need to take medicines for a long time but are otherwise able to lead perfectly normal lives.
Symptoms may flare up and become worse for a while during periods of major life stresses. For example, if you lose your job or split up with your partner.
People with GAD are more likely than average to smoke heavily, drink too much alcohol, and take street drugs. Each of these things may ease anxiety symptoms in the short term. However, addiction to nicotine, alcohol or drugs makes things worse in the long term, and can greatly affect your general health and well-being.
What are the treatment options?
Cognitive behavioral therapy
Cognitive behaviorial therapy (CBT) is probably one of the most effective treatment. It probably works for over half of people with GAD to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life.
Cognitive therapy is based on the idea that certain ways of thinking can trigger or fuel certain mental health problems such as anxiety. The therapist helps you to understand your current thought patterns - in particular, to identify any harmful, unhelpful and false ideas or thoughts which you have that can make you anxious. The aim is then to change your ways of thinking to avoid these ideas. Also, to help your thought patterns to be more realistic and helpful. Therapy is usually done in weekly sessions of about 50 minutes each, for several weeks. You have to take an active part and are given homework between sessions. For example, you may be asked to keep a diary of your thoughts which occur when you become anxious or develop physical symptoms of anxiety.
Behaviorial therapy aims to change any behaviors which are harmful or not helpful. For example, with phobias your behavior or response to the feared object is harmful and the therapist aims to help you to change this. Various techniques are used, depending on the condition and circumstances. As with cognitive therapy, several sessions are needed for a course of therapy.
CBT is a mixture of the two where you may benefit from changing both thoughts and behaviors. (Note: cognitive and behaviorial therapies do not look into the events of the past. They deal with and aim to change, your current thought processes and/or behaviors.)
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (This is the technique that I use). Mindfulness cognitive therapy (or mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, MBCT) is a blend of two very different approaches —Cognitive Behavioral therapy (CBT) which focuses on changing our thoughts in order to change our behaviors, and the meditative practice of mindfulness, a process of identifying our thoughts on a moment-to-moment basis while trying not to pass judgment on them. While cognitive behavioral therapy has always emphasized the end result of change of one’s thoughts, mindfulness really looks at how a person thinks — the process of thinking — to help one be more effective in changing negative thoughts.This is a newer (1979) add-on approach to traditional cognitive behavioral therapy and has recently gained more attention as people look to simplify their lives, and more people learn of the benefits of meditation.
Counseling - See Home Page for more information
In particular, counseling that focuses on problem-solving skills may help some people.
Anxiety management courses - See Groups page
These may be an option if they are available in your area. Some people prefer to be in a group course rather than have individual therapy or counseling. The courses may include learning how to relax, problem-solving skills, coping strategies and group support.
Self-help
You can get leaflets, books, tapes, videos, etc on relaxation and combating stress. They teach simple deep-breathing techniques and other measures to relieve stress and help you to relax. They may ease anxiety symptoms. There are also websites offering self-help advice, treatment and support on the internet. - eg Fearfighter© (see Further Readings on other pages).
MEDICATION
Antidepressant medicines
These are commonly used to treat depression but also help reduce the symptoms of anxiety even if you are not depressed. Research trials suggest that antidepressants can ease symptoms in over half of people with GAD. They work by interfering with brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) such as serotonin which may be involved in causing anxiety symptoms.
Antidepressants do not work straight away. It takes 2-4 weeks before their effect builds up. A common problem is that some people stop the medicine after a week or so, as they feel that it is doing no good. You need to give them time to work.
Antidepressants are not tranquillisers and are not usually addictive. There are several types of antidepressants, each with various pros and cons. For example, they differ in their possible side-effects. However, SSRI antidepressants are the ones most commonly used for anxiety disorders.
Tranquillisers
Benzodiazepines, such as diazepam, used to be the most commonly prescribed medicines for anxiety. They usually work well to ease symptoms. The problem is, they are addictive and can lose their effect if you take them for more than a few weeks. They may also make you drowsy. Therefore, they are not used much now for persistent anxiety conditions such as GAD. A short course of up to 2-4 weeks may be an option now and then to help you over a particularly bad spell.
Buspirone
Buspirone is another option to treat GAD. It is an anti-anxiety medicine but different to the benzodiazepines. It is not clear how it works but it is known to affect serotonin, a brain chemical which may be involved in causing anxiety symptoms. It causes less drowsiness than benzodiazepines but is also addictive and it should only be used for a short time.
Beta-blockers, tend to work better in acute (short-lived) anxiety rather than in GAD. They may ease some of the physical symptoms such as trembling but do not affect the mental symptoms such as worry.
A combination of treatments
CBT plus an antidepressant medicine may work better in some cases than either treatment alone.
References & Disclaimer (info taken from Patient.co.uk)
Original Author: Dr Tim Kenny
Last Checked: 29/05/2013
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