When faced with stress or difficulty, it can be normal to feel anxious, fear, worry or anticipation. This is the body’s natural response to alert us of possible impending danger, and prepares our bodies to fight or escape from dangerous situations.However, when the feelings becomes persistent, uncontrollable or excessive, it can be very debilitating and impair daily functioning, and may be signs of anxiety disorder.
Anxiety disorders are one of the most common mental health problems and affects many people worldwide. There are many different types of anxiety disorders, including generalised anxiety disorder, panic disorder, specific phobias, agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder and separation anxiety disorder.
The causes of anxiety can be multifactorial, including biological factors, genetics, environmental factors, family history of anxiety and psychological factors.
Excessive anxiety and worry, and difficulty controlling these feelings. Anxiety is also associated with other symptoms including
- Restlessness, feeling keyed up or on edge
- Being easily fatigued
- Difficulty concentrating or mind going blank
- Irritability
- Muscle tension
- Sleep disturbance
People with anxiety may also have physical symptoms like headaches, muscle tension, fast or thumping heartbeat, chest discomfort, pins and needles, nausea or stomach churning, dizziness or lightheadedness, sweating or hot flashes, etc.
The anxiety, worry or apprehension can occur in everyday life, for example involving chores, work, relationships, etc. This causes significant distress or impairment to social, occupational or other important areas of functioning.
Those with panic disorder will have recurrent panic attacks with intense physical and psychological distress. A panic attack may manifest as a combination of symptoms: pounding heart, sweating, trembling, shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness, choking, numbness, hot flashes, detached, fear of losing control and fear of dying.
The symptoms of panic attack are so severe that they feel like they have a life-threatening illness.
Specific phobia is excessive and persistent fear of a specific situation, object or activity that is usually not harmful. For example, fear of flying, spiders, heights, etc.
Agoraphobia is the fear of being in situations where it is difficult or embarrassing to escape. The fear is out of proportion to the situation and can greatly impair daily functioning. They may experience fear in:
- Using public transportation
- Being in open spaces
- Being in enclosed places
- Standing in line or being in a crowd
- Being outside the home alone
The symptoms of agoraphobia can become so serious that a person cannot leave the house.
Those with social anxiety disorder feel excessive fear and anxiety in social situations, for example being embarrassed or humiliated during social interactions. The fear is out of proportion to the actual threat of the situation, and leads to avoidance of social situations. Social anxiety can be very debilitating and affect their work and relationships with those around them. They may feel self-conscious or embarrassed in front of others, having difficulty talking to new people and public speaking, and fear of being judged. Physical symptoms of social anxiety may include fast heartbeat, blushing, sweating, feeling short of breath, lightheadedness, trembling and upset stomach.
Separation anxiety disorder involves feeling excessively fearful about separation with those with whom they are attached to. The feeling of separation anxiety is persistent and impairs daily functioning. For example, excessive fear of abandonment, losing those closest to them, reluctant to go out or spend time away from that person, or having nightmares about separation.
It is important to see a doctor to make sure there are no other physical problems causing the symptoms.
Treatment of anxiety involves psychotherapy and medications. Lifestyle management and learning coping strategies, stress management techniques can also be useful.Support groups for anxiety may be helpful. Lifestyle changes include maintaining a health exercise, diet and sleep schedule, as well as avoiding caffeine.
