What is an Anxiety Disorder?
“Anxiety disorder” is a term that covers many
different types of nervous conditions that cause
anxiousness, feelings of fear or other unwanted,
counterproductive or irrational feelings. These
feelings of anxiety can be due to a particular
phobia, to a particular event or happening earlier
in life, or may be due to pathological (medical)
uneasiness. There may be no warning of the onset of
your anxiety disorders. They can be sudden, or
develop gradually over many years and such events
are likely to cause profound disturbance of the
sufferer’s normal daily routine. In the 21st
Century, the occurrence of anxiety disorders is
assuming alarming proportions. They afflict more
than forty million American adults. Many
adolescents, and even children, also develop these
disorders. Most patients are seriously affected,
with the disorder(s) affecting them for several
months, or even years. You may suffer frequent bouts
of fear, concern, or apprehension of some worrying
event.
Why Do People Get Anxiety Disorders?
Many factors may contribute to the occurrence of
anxiety disorders. There is not just one cause for
all anxiety disorders. They may occur as the result
of a combination of many different factors.
Those factors may include:
Childhood events:
Disturbing and traumatic events in childhood, such
as child abuse, loss of parents, separation from
family, accident or illness, can leave a lasting
effect on the mind. Even having been bullied,
embarrassed, or made fun of at school can produce
lasting anxieties that manifest into a serious
anxiety disorder later in life.
Genetic:
Parents with anxiety disorder can pass it on to, or
cause their children to be more likely to suffer
from this type of condition, because of genetic
factors or the environment that they provide in the
family home.
Stress and Trauma:
Stressful, traumatic events can contribute to
anxiety disorders. Domestic violence, rape (or other
forms of sexual molestation), physical assault,
death of a family member or loss due to natural
disasters like floods or earthquakes, leaves a
person feeling helpless. This feeling of
powerlessness leads to fear and resultant
anxiousness.
Substance abuse:
Alcoholism and drug addiction may contribute to
anxiety disorders in some people. And, not
surprisingly, most alcoholics and drug addicts had
some sort of disorder before they became addicted.
The addictive substance was a coping mechanism for a
time against the anxious, out of control feelings.
Medical ailments:
Certain disorders, like eating or sleeping
disorders, depression and other nervous ailments,
may contribute to more anxiety disorders, and
possible medical problems. These disorders do not
allow the body to function normally. Without proper
sleep or nutrition, anyone is likely to become very
anxious.
Personality:
Whether a person is born with low self-esteem or
develops it in later life, they are likely to become
anxious.
Social and Economic Issues:
Believe it or not, the rich are not immune to
anxiety, peer pressure and stress. Life is
stressful at all levels of human society. Being poor
gives you may put more
pressure on you – just to survive and try to improve
your situation for yourself and your family.
Brain abnormalities:
Medications prescribed to alleviate symptoms of some
ailments can sometimes affect the chemical balance
in the brain and cause an anxiety disorder. Allergic
reactions to certain medicines might also lead to an
anxiety disorder.
Treatments
There are innumerable therapies and treatments
available for anxiety disorders. Certain drugs may
help to provide some relief or even the possibility
of a complete cure in some cases.
Some patients have had good results when the advice
of their personal medical doctor was combined with
various cognitive therapies (forms of psychotherapy
that are based on the belief that the way we think
may have a positive or negative effect on they way
we feel and deal with our life experiences.) You can
become a stronger and more effective person by
developing an optimistic attitude and learning to
accept the tragedies of life. Additional knowledge
can be gathered from many different sources, like
the Internet, books, magazines and journals.
Increasing your knowledge about your condition can
be a very important factor in keeping most anxiety
disorders at bay.
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