Archive for the ‘Generalized Anxiety Disorder Panic Attacks’ Category

Social Anxiety Disorder Depression

Social anxiety disorder is also known as social phobia. People with social anxiety disorder live in fear of interacting with other people and humiliating themselves, such that they avoid situations where they have to deal with others or put themselves in the spotlight. Living with this kind of condition is very hard, which is why the chances of developing social anxiety disorder depression are very high. If the condition is left undiagnosed or untreated, you may develop other serious conditions. Here are some things you have to know about this condition to avoid social anxiety disorder depression.

Social Anxiety Disorder Depression

Symptoms

Social anxiety disorder is a long-term condition of constant and irrational fear of any social situation. A person with this condition may be overly paranoid and think that everybody is watching him and waiting for him to humiliate himself. Because of these fears, a person may decide to go into seclusion and develop social anxiety disorder depression. Some of the symptoms you may feel with this disorder are the following:

• Fear of humiliating yourself
• Fear of interacting with people
• Severe anxiety that affects your way of living
• Difficulty expressing yourself
• Confusion
• Increase in heart rate and pulse rate
• Avoiding eye contact
• Low self-confidence
• Inability to take criticisms graciously

Risk Factors

Studies have shown several factors which may determine the chances of a person developing social anxiety disorder:

• Surroundings. This disorder usually develops in an environment where there is too much pressure and stress. An example would be a child growing up with very strict and controlling parents.
• Experiences. A bad experience may cause social anxiety disorder. Rejection, humiliation and being bullied may lead to this condition.
• Pressure and stress. Just like any anxiety disorder, stress and life demands may be the reason for having this disorder.

Complications

The effects of social anxiety disorder are very serious. It will prevent you from living your life the way that you’re supposed to. It will prevent you from creating meaningful relationships with the people around you. You will not be able to reach your full potential as you try so hard not to do anything to put yourself in a situation where you might fail or be embarrassed. People with this condition who don’t get themselves treated eventually resort to substance and alcohol abuse and develop social anxiety disorder depression. There are even cases wherein people with this disorder commit suicide.

Treatments

Psychotherapies are common treatments for social anxiety disorder. Cognitive behavioral therapy is the type of therapy given to people with this condition. This type of therapy helps people control their thoughts so they can behave correctly.  Medications may also be given to control the symptoms of this condition. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most common drugs prescribed for this disorder.

There are effective treatments for this condition. There is no reason for you not to contact your health care provider and ask for the treatments available for you. Asking help is the first step to avoiding social anxiety disorder depression.

Social Anxiety Disorder Depression

Coping With Panic Attacks

Panic attacks depression occurs when you do not know how to properly cope with your panic attacks. If you are experiencing panic attacks frequently, you may have a chronic condition known as panic disorder. Being knowledgeable about the symptoms and treatments for panic attacks would help you lessen your risk of developing panic attacks depression. Here are some things you have to know about panic attacks.

A panic attack is a sudden surge of uncontrollable fear that happens for no reason. The attack is so severe that it has several physical manifestations. A person experiencing a panic attack may feel like he is not in control of the situation or that he is about to die.

Symptoms

You may feel various physical symptoms during a panic attack. Here are some of the symptoms that you may experience.

• Increased heart rate
• Sweating
• Difficulty breathing and shortness of breath
• Hot flushes
• Nausea
• Chills
• Trembling
• Dysphagia
• Tightness in your chest and throat
• Hyperventilation
• A feeling that something bad is about to happen

There are no warning signs for panic attacks. It can happen anytime and anywhere. This is one of the reasons why people who have panic disorders may also experience panic attacks depression. Because of the frequency of these episodes, they are always worried about when the next one will happen.

Panic attacks depression can be avoided by knowing the possible treatments you can get for your condition. By choosing the right treatment, you can be sure that even if you can’t stop panic attacks from occurring, you’ll know how to deal with an attack when it happens. Getting the right treatment would also help prevent you from developing complications that are associated with panic attacks.

You may develop any of the following conditions if you don’t get any treatment for your panic attacks.

• Phobias. The most common phobia connected with panic attacks is agoraphobia or fear of leaving home. You may develop this phobia when you think that there is no safe place for you to go to avoid panic attacks.
• Without proper treatment, you will eventually avoid certain situations where you think an attack may occur.
• There is also a great risk of suicide among people with panic disorders.
• People who do not go into therapy for their condition may resort to alcohol and drug abuse as an escape from their problems.

Therapy and Medication

Panic attacks may be treated in two ways. You may undergo therapy or you may be given some medications. Most of the time, people with panic attacks are advised to go to therapy and drink some medicines. By combining these 2 methods, there will be faster improvements in your condition.

The purpose of treatment is to get rid of the symptoms you feel and to handle any stressful conditions properly so as to avoid any chances of getting a panic attack. By undergoing therapy and  taking medications, chances of panic attacks depression are lessened as you eventually learn how to handle your symptoms and understand your condition.

The Whats of Generalized Anxiety Disorder Panic Attacks

It’s natural for every person to feel a sort of panic in highly stressful or fearful situations.  A lot of people go through panic attacks when they feel an intense fear and impending doom during these times.  It may feel like a heart attack or even the feeling of going crazy.

Basically, anxiety disorders such as panic attacks affect over 40 million adults from the ages of 18 and older.  They feel surrounded by a feeling of fear and uncertainty.  Most panic disorders end in a few hours and even faster with the use of relaxation techniques.  The most severe anxiety disorders, however, last for months and can even get worse if not treated.  These disorders happen from any kind of mental or physical illness or even the use of alcohol and other substances.  One class of anxiety disorder is generalized anxiety disorder panic attacks.

People who suffer from generalized anxiety disorder panic attacks go through a whole day full of tension, worry and fear in exaggerated terms.  This happens even without anything happening to provoke it.  Essentially, in generalized anxiety disorder panic attacks, the sufferers anticipate a disaster or are overly concerned about the various issues they might be going through in life; like money, health, work, or family.  This means that the panic attack or anxiety they feel is driven by sheer anticipation.  People who suffer from this kind of anxiety disorder usually think of things under the light of what could happen.

When a person worries too much about a number of everyday problems for a span of six months at the least, generalized anxiety disorder is diagnosed.  People suffering from this disorder can’t seem to get rid of any concerns they might have with daily life.  Even with the realization that they’re giving the situation too much credit by being too anxious, they still can’t shake the feeling of panic.  Sufferers of generalized anxiety disorder panic attacks can’t relax, are easily startled and have difficulty concentrating.  These people are generally people who have insomnia, too.  They have problems falling asleep or staying asleep.

Physically, they get tired easily, have headaches, muscle tension, and muscle aches.  They’re prone to twitching, sweating, trembling, having a feeling of nausea, lightheadedness, being out of breath, or having to go to the bathroom frequently.  The generalized anxiety disorder panic attacks that some people have can have a mild anxiety level and thus, they can still function socially and keep a job.  The ones who suffer a more severe kind have difficulty carrying out daily activities even if it’s just a simple one.

There are more women than men that are affected by this kind of anxiety disorder.  It can begin at any point in the life of a person and it develops gradually.  Studies have shown that the years of highest risk for this kind of anxiety disorder are between childhood and middle age.  It also has been found that generalized anxiety disorder can also be due to genes.  It also comes with depression, substance abuse and other such conditions.

Implications of Panic Disorder Social Phobia

Panic disorder social phobia is a type of anxiety disorder that involves a series of severe panic attacks. It also involves a month’s worth of behavioural change in the individual that is characterized by extreme worry about experiencing an attack. Sweatiness, weakness, palpitations, and dizziness usually accompany panic attacks.

Panic disorder social phobia is often associated with heart attacks because some people who experience panic attacks may feel that they are having a heart attack. This misconception makes some people think that they are losing their minds. They often check themselves into hospitals, thinking that they are having a heart attack. Panic disorder, in extreme cases, can be a life threatening illness as studies show that 20% of panic disorder deaths are caused by suicide.

Panic attacks can occur even in one’s sleep; they can peak in ten minutes, but the symptoms that come before that can last for a longer time. Studies show that panic attacks are more common in women than in men. The symptoms of panic attacks may appear in as early as adolescent teenagers, though experiencing a panic attack does not always mean that the person has a panic disorder. There are people who experience panic attacks once or twice in their lives without the symptoms appearing again. They may have experienced this due to extreme stress or extreme paranoia about impending events.

People with panic disorder social phobia may end up developing extreme fear of certain places where they have experienced a panic attack. For example, a person who has had a panic attack in a small room may potentially be claustrophobic after the attack. People with panic disorder should seek professional treatment at the earliest possible stage of their illness as it could become worse and may potentially lead to death caused by several reasons.

Panic disorder social phobia can restrict people from going on about their daily activities. In fact, some people become so apprehensive when they leave the house that they tend to just stay at home. Their relationships can also greatly suffer as some of them have developed the fear of being around people lest they get caught in another panic attack. It is for this reason that panic attacks have become associated with Agoraphobia, although they are two completely different conditions. However, some people who suffer from Agoraphobia have panic disorders due to their fear of being in public places.

Early treatment of panic disorder social phobia can prevent the condition from escalating; however, some people do not realize early on that they are suffering from panic disorder, so they go from one doctor to another, often being given the wrong diagnosis for their illness. This may lead to worse cases of panic attacks in the future. People who suffer from panic disorder have the tendency to develop other problems such as drug and alcohol abuse and major depression. These conditions would have to be treated separately and might divert the attention from treating panic disorder first. People who experience panic disorder have a high risk of committing suicide as most of them feel that they have lost their minds, especially for those who don’t even know that they are suffering from such a condition.

Phobias Anxiety Disorder

Phobias are basically an irrational fear of a situation, place, person, animal, or thing, manifested through a desire to avoid these things at all costs. Almost everyone has a phobia of some sort, but when the fear becomes so bad that it interferes with your daily life, it can then be categorized as a phobias anxiety disorder.

These disorders are brought about by different stimuli, may it be conditioned or unconditioned. An unconditioned stimulus, such as getting in a car accident, will eventually lead to a conditioned response of the person, such as being afraid of driving or riding in a car. This then results in the person developing a phobia of cars, which is called Motorphobia.

The following is a short list of the more common phobias anxiety disorders:

• Agoraphobia – the fear of places or events where escape may become impossible
• Androphobia – fear of men
• Hydrophobia – fear of water
• Arachnophobia – fear of spiders
• Xenophobia – fear/dislike of strangers
• Homophobia – fear/dislike of homosexuals
• Acrophobia – fear of heights

There are levels of anxiety that are still liveable, but there are definitely those that affect life and the person’s daily activities, such as an agoraphobic person who hasn’t left his house in years. For people with phobias anxiety disorders such as this, it is highly recommended that they seek professional help. For those that have phobias that are still manageable but wish to be rid of them, the following are a few suggestions for you:

• Face your fears on a miniscule, yet daily basis – this is especially useful for those with phobias for things that shouldn’t be feared in the first place, such as Odontophobia or the fear of teeth. Place a picture of teeth or a dental procedure in a space that you see all the time, so that you see it in a daily basis but it won’t give you enough reason to panic.
• Learn to relax – when you learn a few relaxation techniques, this will help you keep calm when you are faced with the thing that you fear.
• Be rational – talking to yourself about your fears in a rational manner also helps a lot. Such phrases like “it’s just teeth, you use it to chew,” will help you see the rational reaction that should be given to teeth.
• Talk to people about it – the more you talk about it with other people and the more that you let it out, you will be able to face your fears on a mental level. This means that the size of the problem, from seeming insurmountable, suddenly becomes smaller in gravity.
• Realize the important things in life – it is a reality that humans can never really live a life that is completely devoid of worry or anxiety. That’s why you should realize that there are enough things in life that need your attention more, so your fear of teeth shouldn’t be such a big deal as compared to worrying about your financial situation, etc.

No matter how small the problem is, though, it will never hurt to consult a therapist. This is also so that a small phobia will not develop into a full blown phobias anxiety disorder. And last but not the least, try as much as possible to make chemical medication your last option. Since phobias are in the conditioning of the mind, there are certainly other options that you can take before taking chemical medications.

Learn About Claustrophobia Panic Attacks

Claustrophobia is basically the fear of having no escape from enclosed spaces. This usually applies to places like elevators, locked rooms and cars. The more dire situations manifest even while the person is just standing in line at the grocery store. This is generally categorized as an anxiety disorder, and usually manifests in panic attacks. The general assumption is that claustrophobic people fear the small spaces themselves; but as a matter of fact, what they actually fear is the possibility of getting stuck in a certain space or situation and what would happen to them if they did. The fear also stems from an irrational notion that they will suffocate once they get stuck in these situations or spaces.

Claustrophobia panic attacks happen on different scales and vary from person to person. A method was developed in 1979 that created a scale through which therapists were able to properly diagnose if the person had claustrophobia or not; and in the event that they did have this fear, be able to determine the level of anxiety that a certain claustrophobic person has. This allowed them to be able to tell what method of therapy they needed to use with each specific case.

There are a number of methods of treatment for claustrophobia panic attacks that have already been created, which are the following:

• Cognitive therapy – this is a general therapy that is applied to people who experience anxiety attacks. This method is especially useful for claustrophobics because, as mentioned before, it targets the misconceptions that a person has that leads to the apparent fear. In the case of claustrophobics, the therapist will attempt to change the notion that they have that leads them to believe that they will suffocate once they are rooted to one place.
• In Vivo Exposure – this is the method that makes people that experience claustrophobia panic attacks face their fears in a gradual manner. The point of these exercises is to show the claustrophobic person that, if they get their mindset on correctly, they are actually panicking for no reason, and that suffocation will not occur. One study using this method actually showed that approximately 75% of the people treated in this way were able to overcome their fear.

If you think that you are capable, there are also ways that you can overcome this fear on your own. Here are a few ways on how to do this:

• Learn relaxation techniques – these will help you to calm down whenever you experience claustrophobia panic attacks. These are things like deep breathing, meditation and visualization of other scenarios.
• Target your fear triggers – whenever you feel like you are about to have a panic attack, apply the relaxation techniques that you have learned, and then try to zone in on what it is that is making you afraid. Are you afraid of the situation itself, or have you convinced yourself that something bad will happen to you? Claustrophobia is a product of the person having an irrational fear of suffocation, so determining the cause of the fear will help you face it.

If you find that the claustrophobia panic attacks that you are having are too severe to be faced on your own, do not hesitate to talk to a therapist, and they will help you out through one of the methods mentioned here, or maybe even something else entirely.