There are various symptoms of anxiety ranging from minor; sweating, dry mouth and feeling tired, to severe; choking sensation, derealization, fear of dying and insomnia. These panic symptoms are more commonly related to anxiety disorders such as Social Phobia or GAD, and may last for minutes if not longer.

Anxiety disorders aside, there are many preconceptions as to what anxiety is and why it happens. In actual fact, anxiety is a very common reaction to experiences of danger, stress and fear. Most people have experienced anxiety, but we may have experienced it and reacted in a different way,

One person may respond to a stressful situation well and actually take control. Another person might feel too much pressure and respond entirely differently. The chemical reaction to the situation is the same, yet the outcomes completely different.

We are all unique, so it’s no surprise that our perceptions and fears are different from each other. Although this stress response was designed to help us react to an actual physical danger thousands of years ago, it still has its uses.

Even in modern society the stress response can be highly useful. For example, perhaps you have an important test coming up – you experience anxiety because you don’t want to fail and you want a decent grade. This anxiety is likely to motivate you to study harder for the test and pass.

This can also work in a negative fashion. Say, you have the job interview of a lifetime in a week’s time. You’ve been worrying and stressing about it for the entire week before the interview. On the day of the interview, you’re jittery, sweaty and a nervous wreck – anxiety got the better of you.

Although anxiety is highly adaptive, it can spiral out of control. For people who suffer from anxiety disorders, this is often the case. Sufferers of anxiety disorders usually have an overly sensitive reaction to stress and anxiety. And this is often hard to live with.

Causes of such disorders can be due to excessive stimulation of the stress response. In other cases it can be hereditary and be passed on from parent to child. This does not mean that anxiety disorders aren’t treatable however.

Minor symptoms of anxiety may build up to a full blown panic attack. Often emotions can bottle up and when you least expect it, come pouring out. These kinds of attacks can seem unprovoked but in reality they are not. The important thing to realize, is that symptoms of anxiety are just chemical reactions that we interpret as feelings and sensations.

OCD is characterized by obsessions and compulsions. An obsession is a persistent thought, image or urge that comes into your mind and sets off feelings of anxiety and distress. These obsessions occur frequently, are intrusive and not easy to get rid of. For example, common obsessions in OCD include, thoughts or images of violence, blasphemous thoughts, fear of contamination, sexual thoughts or images and excessive concern with health. In OCD a compulsion is an act or ritual that is repeated and repeated in reaction to an obsessive thought. A compulsion may be an behavioural act such as repeatedly checking the door is locked or a mental act such as saying something or picturing something to make the distressing feeling, associated with the obsessive thought feel better.

Usually when I treat people for OCD at my CBT therapy practice in Hertfordshire, I find that the method that the person with OCD uses to cope with or solve their OCD, is the very factor keeping their OCD going. This is because people with OCD commonly give a special meaning or powerfulness to their obsessive thoughts, usually that having the thought will lead to something bad happening to themselves or others. As a consequence, the person will usually mistakenly believe that the way to solve the obsessive thought is to try to block it or carry out a compulsion to “undo” the thought. What we know is that our brains work in such a way that trying to block a thought will only make it more frequent and whilst carrying out a compulsion will make the person feel better initially, it will actually feed the OCD so that the problem keeps going.

This can be likened to having “just one puff” to get rid of a craving for nicotine when trying to give up smoking. Whilst for a short period the craving is dealt with (distressing feeling in OCD), it actually leads to stronger and increased cravings.

When working with clients at my CBT therapy practice, Herts who have OCD a lot of time is spent identifying the persons OCD maintaining factors. Typical factors that keep OCD going include: giving thoughts more meaning then they deserve, misunderstanding about why you have the particular obsessions you have, avoidance and safety seeking behaviour (avoiding anxiety triggered by the thought by blocking or undoing the thought with a compulsion, avoiding situations that you associate with the obsessive thought, asking others for reassurance), giving too much time and attention to your obsessions, trying to control your thoughts and thinking biases.

CBT therapy, Herts, works by helping the person unravel the factors that maintain their OCD in order to build a different solution to overcome it. Treatment will then involve exposure and without responding, with the support of your therapist. This basically involves accepting your obsessive thoughts in such a way that you learn to tolerate the anxiety which accompanies them without carrying out any compulsions. Eventually the anxiety naturally fades so that you will be able to experience the thought without finding it distressing. This is called habituation.

Karen Hastings is a NHS experienced mental health occupational therapist, Master NLP practitioner and hypnotherapist. Karen uses hypnotherapy in Hertfordshire, along with cognitive therapy approaches. For more information about Hypnotherapy, Herts visit http://www.karenhastings.co.uk

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Anxiety Disorders are widespread. If you have recently been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder don’t feel bad, everyone has experienced some type of anxiety in their life. Exams, job interviews or giving an important presentation at work can cause a high levels of stress and can lead to anxiety, however experiencing feelings of excessive fear, distress and feeling overwhelmed for no obvious reason in “normal” situations often; you need to see your doctor for a formal diagnosis.

In more persistent cases it can be damaging for sufferers and restrict them from enjoying life. If effective treatment is not sought, these disorders can significantly decrease an individual’s productive activity and drastically reduce a person’s ability to lead a fulfilling and satisfying life.

Anxiety disorders are very common and anxiety is one of the most reported mental illnesses across the world. Statistics indicate that up to forty million people suffer from it annually in America alone.

Brief overview of most common types of anxiety disorders:

Anxiety Panic Disorder

Sufferers describe this as frightening, experience panic attacks, without warning they experience feelings of extreme fear that can happen at any time. Sufferers can experience tightness in the chest, difficulty breathing, increased rapid heart rate, disorientation, stomach cramps, and irrational thoughts and may believe that they are dying.

Obsessive-Compulsive Anxiety Disorder (OCD)

Experiences of repetitive and uncontrollable actions or thoughts that irrational. They experience a lack of a satisfaction in performing tasks, completing that task over and over again. Sufferers have explained a more “ritual like” existence, which they need to complete all tasks on time and in a specific order or something “bad” might happen.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Usually occurs after experiencing a traumatic event or series of events. This may include natural disasters, serving in the military, sexual assault or being abused as a child. A lack of control of a situation is a main factor. Common symptoms include difficulty sleeping and nightmares, flashbacks, lack of emotion, anger and irritability, depression and easily being started.

Extreme Phobias

Irrational fears when confronted with an item or situation. The item or situation does seem to have any significant risk or pose any real danger to others. Imagined consequences build in the individual’s mind to a point where they may avoid that activity or item completely and this then place limits their daily lives.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Excessive concerns about day to day life and irrational levels of fear when completing normal tasks. They are reported to be negative in their thinking and almost always expect the “the worst case scenario” even though there is no evidence to expect it. Physically symptoms may include feeling over tired, trembling or shaking, stomach cramps or nausea, headaches, muscular tightness and pain.

The most common symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder are similar to many other anxiety disorders and include the following;

• Persistent worrying about everyday events that impedes normal functioning
• Difficulty breathing, increased heart rate or palpitations
• Dizziness, trembling or shaking of hand and body
• Muscle tension, aches or soreness
• Feeling on edge like something bad might happen
• Tiredness, negative mood
• Concentration interrupted
• Insomnia or sleep interruption
• Excessive body perspiration (sweating)
• Stomach cramps in times of anxiety
• Startles and over reaction to minor events

Not all people will have all of the symptoms and this is a guide to possible symptoms that may indicate an anxiety disorder. A person who experiences more than four of these types of symptoms for more than a few days will need to gain medical advice and assessment and seek appropriate treatment if recommended.

The American Psychiatric Association has conducted studies and the information gathered from these came to the conclusion that generalized anxiety disorder affects approximately five percent of the general population. The study also concluded that half of the people suffering from generalized anxiety disorder reported they had symptoms were noticeable in the childhood and teenage years. The participants in the study also report that their symptoms build and diminish over time depending on the level of stress in their life at any given time. For example they noted that their symptoms became more prevalent and more acute at times of stress or major change in their life.

What about treatment to manage symptoms? Generalized anxiety disorder is generally treated by cognitive behavioral therapy. This type of therapy educates the individual to understand and identify the irrational thought patterns which cause the anxiety. The person can make a positive conscious choice to react differently when faced with a potentially anxious situation. The person with anxiety is empowered because they can have control over their own reactions and logically deal with an anxious situation in a controlled and predictable way.

In more severe cases of generalized anxiety disorder the use of medication may also be beneficial. There are currently a large number of anxiety medications on offer to successfully treat anxiety disorders. These medication options include the prescribed use of antidepressants or benzodiazepines. All medications would need to be decided upon in consultation with your doctor including the different type and dosage to best suit your individual needs. Be sure to ask your mental health professional or doctor about the possible side effects and how long it is likely to be before the medication starts to work. Most medications take one week to four weeks before the anxiety sufferer feels the medication taking effect and gains some benefit from it. As there are many medication treatment options if one type is not assessed as effective by your doctor then other types can be commenced.

All people have different levels of tolerance to stressful situations. Some seem to cope when they are barraged by high levels of stress daily and others are affected negatively with minimal stress. Generalized anxiety disorders are generally the product of stressful incidents as are other anxiety disorders. Studies have also suggested that there may be a genetic component, that if siblings or parents suffer from anxiety that there may be an increased risk of developing these disorders.

It is argued that there can not be any prevention for generalized anxiety disorder as it is usually not identified until it has become acute and is negatively affecting a person, reducing their capacity to be productive and enjoy life. Perhaps prevention of the next incident of anxiety symptoms comes after the initial diagnosis. As a general rule, the best anyone can do is to know them self, and what level of stress they can manage and have strategies in place to manage their stress levels to reduce anxious feelings and seek the appropriate treatment when required.

Bev Langford is a social worker who has had the opportunity to work one on one with people from all walks of life. Bev has devoted her working career to assisting others who are experiencing difficulty because of mental illness, disability, financial and other issues. Bev is currently moving into the internet medium to be more effective in relation to education and assisting others.

To explore generalized anxiety disorder in more depth visit; http://www.mentalhealthchoicesite.com/anxiety-disorders/generalized-anxiety-disorder/

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