Anxiety Disorder | EssayIvy.com

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Anxiety disorders

Introduction

If there are chronic conditions that can result in panic and fear, then the anxiety disorders

are the giants among them. The disorders are common among adults, adolescents and few cases

in children subjecting them to enormous financial constraints incurred during treatments and

diagnosis. The anxiety disorders are mental disorders exhibited in people who portray excessive

worry and anxiety when faced with challenging occasions like an interview, addressing an

audience and meeting strangers. This makes the victim so uncertain about themselves which can

affect their daily lives. Well, it is normal to feel anxious, especially when one is given attention

by others yet overwhelming fear and worries which can be the genesis of other health

complications like depression could be a sign of an anxiety disorder. There is great

connectedness between one’s productivity and anxiety levels which can influence their

personality traits and how they interact with others.

Overview

This is a detailed research about the anxiety disorders. The main purpose and findings

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will be based on an explanation of the anxiety disorders, symptoms, epidemiology and

prevalence of the disorders. This research will also focus on the causes of the anxiety disorders,

how the disorders can be treated medically and psychologically with respect to a particular

anxiety disorder. The long-term prognosis or the predictions of doctors on the future of the

disease will be considered crucial in making the research a success.

Description of the disorder

Anxiety is one of the body’s natural responses to the stressful situation, danger, alarm,

awaiting pressure and threats making one to be alert and focused on attacking the situation.

Anxiety can be helpful if it gears up people towards solving their problems or preparing to

perfect an action but also dangerous if it impairs an individual’s ability to exploit their potential

at given situations. Unfortunately, extreme anxiety can result to panic and other mental

discomforts which becomes a disorder at the long-run. It is important to note that the anxiety

disorder can be diagnosed in its diversity as there are several types of anxiety disorders with

unique symptom profile. They include the generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) which makes

victims excessively worried and tense even when there is little reason to provoke their anxiety.

The panic disorder makes people have sudden feelings of terror that strike them repeated without

warning, the obsessive compulsive disorder also known as anxiety attacks, post-traumatic stress

disorder, social phobia is also known as the social anxiety disorder which demands different

treatment and self-help skills to resume normalcy, (Nevid, 494).

Symptoms of the disorder

The symptoms of the disorder vary from one person to the other. Some become

intensively anxious which stimulates uneasiness, fear and panic. People with any anxiety

disorder are also prone to exhibit problems in sleeping, their hand and feel often become sweaty

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or cold. It is also possible for them to experience shortness in breath, heart palpitations; they are

always unable to be still and calm. It is common for people with anxiety disorders to have their

mouth dry, nausea; their muscles experience rapid tension and also dizziness that makes them

feel faint, woozy and weak. Other victims of the disease are prone to cases of fatigue,

exaggerated startle responses, motor restlessness and numbness in the feet and arms. Ideally, the

symptoms revolve around cognitive, emotional, behavioral and physical features which can be

analyzed to affirm where one is suffering from anxiety disease, (Hyman, 32).

Anxiety disorders epidemiology and prevalence

Epidemiological research record that anxiety disorders are highly prevalent hence

constituting the most frequent mental disorders in affected communities. Phobias hold the

highest rates and agoraphobia followed by generalized anxiety disorders. Panic disorders are less

likely to affect people as compared to phobias. The research encourages the need to be accurate

in evaluating a given anxiety disorders in order for applying the most appropriate treatment

procedures. It is important to note that the disorder is more likely to affect divorced, separated

and widowed people, especially between their 25th-44th years. The lowest subject for anxiety

disorders is aged 65 years and above.

Anxiety disorders are among the most commonly known psychologically related

disorders in America affecting one person in every five adults victimizing approximately forty

million people, (Nevid, 494). Certainly, empirical research has affirmed that the anxiety

disorders can affect all people irrespective of their age. That is, young children, adolescents and

adults are potential victims of anxiety disorders, (Ollendick, 193)

Causes of anxiety disorders

The main causes of the anxiety disorder have been associated with environmental stress

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and changes in the brain. To be specific, sleep deprivation and chronic stress can increase the

chances of developing anxiety disorders, (Daitch, 29). Illnesses and activities that can affect the

functionality of brain circuits responsible for fear regulation and emotional control can be

mammoth causative factors to anxiety disorders. Some of the prerequisite causes are long lasting

stress which can affect how nerve cells transmit information one region to another at the face of

stimulation.

The effects of anxiety disorders can worsen if not treated hence affect brain structures

responsible for memory control due to extreme tension. Children born of parents with this

condition have higher chances of being victims of the same. This clearly illustrates that genetic

factors increase one’s chances of having anxiety disorders. Moreover, environmental factors like

traumatic events have been accused of triggering anxiety disorders especially within people who

have an inherited susceptibility to being victims of the disorder.

Psychological and medical treatments

Psychological treatment is the genesis of the most ultimate solutions to people with

anxiety disorders. It involves a professional interaction between a trained mental practitioner and

a victim where the professional interrogates the person about their experience and thereafter

advise them on the best measure to adopt towards reducing the symptoms and the impacts of the

condition. Among the procedures involved by the professionals include cognitive behavioral

therapy (CBT) during which they help victims learn to recognize their situation and change their

thinking patterns which eventually changes their behaviors with regard to troublesome feelings

resulting from anxiety disorders, (Petersen et al, 5).

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Other treatments are focused on changing the dietary and lifestyles of clients with anxiety

disorders. To control and lessen the symptoms, victims are advised to reduce their consumption

of caffeinated products such as coffee, tea, energy drinks, cola and chocolate. Victims should

consult their doctors and pharmacist about the medicines and herbal remedies they take as most

of them have chemicals that escalate anxiety symptoms. It’s also advisable for people who start

experiencing the symptoms as early detection of the disorder can reduce the impacts which may

be experienced in the wrong run.

Medical treatment

Antidepressants are among the drugs used by doctors to reduce the impact and symptoms

of anxiety disorders. Others drugs include particular anticonvulsant medicines, low dose

antipsychotics and anxiety reducing drugs. Antipsychotics drugs are applied to victims who are

highly agitated as a result of anxiety. Other drugs used to combat anxiety disorders are beta

blockers which are often used in high blood pressure treatment, antihistamines used to treat

allergies are competent in lessening anxiety, (Nydegger, 109). Benzodiazepines like lorazepam

are helpful in the treatment of anxiety disorders, (Aschenbrenner et al, 278). A proper integration

of medical and psychological treatments has been credited as the most ultimate measures used to

reduce disability resulting from anxiety disorders.

Long-term prognoses of anxiety disorders

The conditions affect people differently, no doubt about that. Some may require long-

term pharmacological concern in terms of treatment. Early diagnosis and treatment reduce odds

of relapse which could be generated by the disorder at later stages. It is undeniable that anxiety

disorders can have long-term effects on the economic condition of people with the disease. It is

also factual that anxiety disorders can affect the adrenal system in the long-run which will

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eventually mediate other physiological effects of stress on the victims. The consequences of the

effects have been associated with pain especially at the back and other joints. Anxiety disorders

can thus be the genesis of other conditions like ulcers, gastrointestinal illnesses; cardiovascular

conditions like coronary heart diseases and arthritis should it persist without any treatment.

Conclusion

Anxiety disorders make people exhibit irrational and excessive fear related to given

situations and objects. People who are victims of social anxiety disorders usually have an intense

fear of social interactions. For instance, it is hard for them to give a speech or presentations in

class despite having made preparations to do so as the audience intrudes their normal

functioning. Some people anxiety may be related to heights which are known as acrophobia,

enclosed places like lifts referred to as claustrophobia and agoraphobia for open places. People

with anxiety are constantly alert to stimuli that can be threatening. Finally, genetic makeup is

among the factors that have greater chances of affecting underlying brain circuitry with regard to

the body’s response to threatening stimuli that escalate once chances to be the anxious hence

development of anxious related diseases.

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Works Cited

Aschenbrenner, Diane S, and Samantha J. Venable. Drug Therapy in Nursing. Philadelphia:

Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2009. Print.

Daitch, Carolyn. Anxiety Disorders: The Go-to Guide for Clients and Therapists. New York:

W.W. Norton, 2011. Print.

Hyman, Bruce M, and Cherry Pedrick. Anxiety Disorders. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century

Books, 2012. Internet resource.

Nevid, Jeffrey S. Essentials of Psychology: Concepts and Applications. Boston, MA: Houghton

Mifflin Co, 2006. Print.

Nydegger, Rudy V. Dealing with Anxiety and Related Disorders: Understanding, Coping, and

Prevention. Santa Barbara, Calif: Praeger, 2012. Print.

Ollendick, Thomas H, Neville J. King, and William Yule. International Handbook of Phobic and

Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents. New York: Plenum Press, 2013. Internet

resource.

Petersen, Timothy J, Susan E. Sprich, and Sabine Wilhelm. The Massachusetts General Hospital

Handbook of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. , 2016. Internet resource.

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