Symptoms of Anxiety:

·   Worry or fear that something bad will happen

·   Trembling, twitching or feeling shaky

·   Fatigue or restlessness

·   Muscle tension or jitteriness

·   Feeling dizzy or lightheaded

·   Fast heartbeat or breathing rate

·   Sweating, or cold or clammy hands

·   Dry mouth, nausea or diarrhea

·   Irritability, impatience, easily distracted

Some anxiety symptoms may occur in anyone experiencing a difficult situation.

The line between such "normal" anxiety and an anxiety disorder occurs if overwhelming tension happens even when there is no real danger. People with an anxiety disorder may often take extreme actions to avoid the anxiety source.

Some Anxiety Disorders:

GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER

·         This means persistent and overblown worry about two or more things, without good reason.

 PHOBIAS

·         These are unrealistic fears of certain objects or situations. Examples: Simple phobias, such as snakes; Social phobias, such as fear of meeting new people; Agoraphobia, such as being afraid to go outside alone.

PANIC DISORDERS

·        A sudden and unexpected sense of terror and feelings of approaching death characterize panic disorders. Accompanying physical signs include rapid pulse, nausea and shallow breathing.

OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDERS

·      This disorder is characterized byrepeated, unwanted thoughts or compulsive behaviors. Examples include repetitive cleaning, checking or counting. Obsessions mean persistent, senseless ideas, such as a repeated impulse to kill a loved one.

Deciding to Seek Help:

When people feel uncomfortable about a certain situation, they begin to avoid it. This avoidance can interfere with a normal and productive life.

Anxiety disorders often interfere with jobs, family and social responsibilities. For example, people with these disorders may lose their jobs because they are afraid to travel or go to business lunches; they might refuse a job in a high-rise building, fearing elevators.

The prognosis for therapy of most anxiety disorders is quite good. By learning to confront the feared situations in therapy, patients can gradually reduce their anxiety.

The goal of therapy for anxiety disorders is to resolve any emotional conflicts that may have led to the disorder, to express feelings, and to permit confronting, slowly, the feared situation or objects.

You should emerge from treatment free from anxiety-based limitations and able to function fully both with friends and at work.

David Baldwin, PhD