Anxiety
Not sure if you have anxiety or if you need anxiety therapy? Anxiety is a normal part of life and we all experience it from time to time but how do you know when it’s time to reach out for support and therapy?
Here are the signs and symptoms of anxiety:
- Feeling nervous, restless or tense
- Having a sense of impending danger, panic or doom
- Worrying excessively
- Feeling out of control
- Having an increased heart rate
- Trembling
- Sweating
- Breathing rapidly
- Trouble concentrating or thinking about anything other than the present worry
Please know that you don’t need to feel this way day in and day out, and you don’t need to suffer endlessly….the reason is, because anxiety is completely treatable with anxiety therapy!!
What is anxiety disorder?
Anxiety disorders are common mental health conditions that affect millions of people worldwide. They’re characterized by persistent and uncontrollable worrying about everyday things like money, work, family, health, or relationships. People with anxiety disorder often feel the need to avoid certain situations or people to reduce their stress levels. Fortunately, effective treatments exist and typically involve a combination of psychotherapy and medication.
What are anxiety symptoms?
Anxiety symptoms can vary from person to person. Still, some common signs of an anxiety disorder include: feeling tense or on edge, difficulty sleeping, restlessness, sweating, difficulty concentrating, rapid breathing and heart rate, muscle tension and trembling. Other physical symptoms may include headaches, stomachaches, nausea, chest pains and fatigue.
What are the mental health effects of long-term anxiety?
The long-term mental health effects of anxiety can be extensive and debilitating. Intense and prolonged periods of anxiety can lead to exhaustion, depression, and an inability to cope with day-to-day stressors. People who experience long-term anxiety often find it difficult to concentrate on tasks, and have difficulty forming relationships with others.
Common Types Of Anxiety
Panic disorder: Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder that is characterized by unexpected and recurrent panic attacks. A panic attack is a sudden episode of intense fear, accompanied by at least four physical symptoms that include heart palpitations, chest pains, nausea, trouble breathing/shortness of breath, flushing or chills, terror, fear of losing control or dying, sensory distortions, and others, which peak within 10 minutes of onset.
Social phobia: Social phobia, also known as social anxiety disorder, is a disorder characterized by a fear of situations in which there is potential for embarrassment or humiliation in front of others. There are generally two subtypes of social phobia: one involves a fear of speaking in front of people, whether it be public speaking or simply talking with a person of authority; the other subtype involves more generalized anxiety and complex fears, such as eating in public or using public washrooms, and in these cases individuals may experience anxiety around anyone other than family.
Generalized anxiety disorder: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a disorder characterized by generalized and persistent excessive anxiety and worry that is accompanied by somatic symptoms such as muscle tension. Individuals with GAD are always thinking about the “what ifs”, and fear the worst in every situation.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), as its name implies, is a disorder that is characterized by obsessions, compulsions, or, most commonly, both. The obsessions are persistent, unwanted thoughts that produce intense anxiety, and the individual typically has compelling urges to perform repetitive, ritual-like behaviour(s) (i.e., compulsions) to ease and control this anxiety.
Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disorder caused by a traumatic event that is outside the normal realm of human experience, such as rape, assault, torture, being kidnapped or held captive, military combat, severe car accidents, and natural or manmade disasters. In general, the traumatic event involves real or threatened physical harm to the self or to others, and causes intense fear, hopelessness, and/or horror.
At Words Of Hope Counselling, our trained therapists will empathically support you through the difficult thoughts and feelings you’re experiencing. We will help build you up and provide the tools necessary for countering anxiety so you can take back control.
There are many types, causes and symptoms of anxiety; not everyone will experience it in the same way.
Hugh Prather
