Anxiety can range from simply worrying about upcoming events to a totally debilitating panic attack which may mimic the symptoms of a heart attack. Anxiety symptoms can include fear, sweating, trembling, sweaty palms, difficulty breathing, chest pain, palpitations, feeling nauseous, dizzy, hot flashes, fear of dying, and numbness in the body.
While there are numerous factors that contribute to anxiety some of the most common causes are post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) where one relives the after effects of a traumatic event from the past. PTSD symptoms can include recurrent thoughts of the trauma, distressing dreams, flashbacks, feeling detached, efforts to avoid activities, or thoughts or feelings from the trauma.
Some of the physical symptoms of PTSD could include sleep difficulties, irritability, problems with concentration, extra vigilant on certain aspects of one’s life, or being easily startled.
Anxiety can also present as an overall sense of worry and apprehension that pervades one’s life. This is known as Generalized Anxiety Disorder and has symptoms that can include feeling restless, easily fatigued, problems with concentration, irritability, muscle tension, and sleep problems. Phobias can cause anxiety and manifest in several varieties. The most common phobias deal with specific causes such as fear of animals/insects etc; natural environmental phobias such as heights, storms water etc., situational types such as enclosed places (claustrophobia), elevators, or airplanes or other specific phobias.
Social phobia also known as social anxiety disorder revolves around a fear of social situations where one might have to give a presentation, speech, act in a play, or in some fashion perform which can lead to embarrassment. Many times the person does whatever they can to avoid the situation which may cause problems in daily routines, employment, schooling or social life.
Individuals with anxiety feel an overwhelming sense of dread as though they are unable to function properly. Oftentimes they will feel as though their life is out of control and it is this sense of loss of control that creates more anxiety and the cycle can cause a full blown panic attack.
If you believe that you have anxiety that falls into one or more of these categories, you may find benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy, medication, or treatment that combines both of those. Call today, and let’s address your issues and see if we can collaboratively find a solution that works to help reduce your anxiety.