What is ANXIETY ?

“What is Anxiety?”

Do you think i could get away with just putting ‘Its horrible’ and leave it there?

Anxiety is a general header for several disorders that cause fear and worrying.

It is almost the norm to feel fearful or ‘anxious’ about many daily situations for example an exam or interview but when that fear becomes a daily or continues after the initial situation this is classed as anxiety. Anxiety can range from mildly unsettling to having a serious impact on everyday life.

Symptoms of anxiety include:

  • Feeling panicky
  • Feeling nervous
  • Feeling frightened
  • Feeling down or depressed
  • Having difficulties sleeping or eating
  • Concentration problems
  • Feeling tired
  • Feeling irritable

Physically you might:

  • Have a dry mouth
  • Have palpitations
  • Have a racing heart
  • Tremble
  • Feel faint
  • Have stomach cramps

Common ANXIETY disorders

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Generalized anxiety disorder or ‘GAD’ is a disorder made up of long lasting and excessive worry about a wide range of things

For example:

  • School or work
  • Health
  • Money
  • Family
  • Friends

“I can’t keep my mind quiet… it’s driving me crazy!”

Sufferers of the anxiety disorder often can feel afraid of everything and consumed by fear.

The sufferers often worry about that much that they have trouble identifying exactly what the worry is as it seems or feels like everything.
Sufferers often worry about things that are extremely unlikely to happen and that may seem very odd to those not suffering from the disorder.For those suffering these things seem very real and those with GAD expect everything to go wrong and that failure and disaster is the only way.

Often these things can cause severe interference in daily life, relationships and social situations.

Symptoms of GAD include:

  • Constant worries going round and round
  • Feeling no control over your worries
  • Unable to tolerate uncertainty
  • Have Intrusive thoughts that come on suddenly
  • Have thoughts that you cannot stop thinking about

Physically you might:

  • Feel tense
  • Feel on edge all the time
  • Feel restless
  • Have stomach cramps

 

Panic Disorder

Panic disorder is a disorder made up of attacks of intense and sudden terror.

The symptoms of a panic attack:

  • Shaking
  • Feeling confused
  • Feeling dizzy
  • Feeling sick an nauseous
  • Difficulty breathing

The panic attack tends to arrive suddenly and can catch someone off guard. Though Panic attacks usually occur after frightening experiences they can also be random and not necessarily have a cause.

 

Social Anxiety Disorder

Social anxiety is a disorder made up of fear and dread of social situations and interactions.
The anxiety usually comes from the fear of being watched or judged by those around you.

“I wont have anything to say.. I will seem boring and stupid!”

Again it is normal to feel a little anxious or shy in social situations but with social anxiety disorder it gets in the way of everyday life and can cause huge amounts of distress.

The symptoms of Social Anxiety:

  • Feeling anxious in social situations
  • Worry that you will embarrass yourself in front of others
  • Fear that others will judge you
  • Feeling nervous for days weeks or months before a social situation
  • Avoiding social situations all together
  • Hiding in the background in social situations to not be noticed

Physically you might :

  • Shake or tremble uncontrollably
  • Have a racing heart
  • Have a tight feeling in your chest
  • Feel dizzy or faint
  • Have a red face and be blushing
  • Sweat
  • Have hot flushes
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