Everyday stresses prod all of us to feel a certain level of anxiety. The anxiety plays a protective role by forcing us to put more effort and attention on things that strongly impact our livelihood. The role of anxiety only becomes destructive when it starts to become the focus of a person's everyday life. At this point, it potentially has the severity to be thought of as a clinical problem by mental health workers. But it is not always apparent when anxiety crosses the threshold from normal to overwhelming, which is the crux of the problem. In fact, the laymen use of the term anxiety masks its complexity as a whole group of disorders recognized by mental health physicians and noted by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). Conditions range in degree of seriousness, from milder variants (e.g. generalized anxiety disorder or GAD), to more severe ones (e.g. obsessive compulsive disorder or OCD). Alleviation of symptoms of intense anxiety disoder, if not the total elimination, is an aim which will necessitate an understanding the kind, source and type of anxiety.
Examples of origins of daily stress encompass situations such as moving, taking a test or exam, or getting divorced. Nervousness, jumpy feelings, and extra attention to detail are responses to these events of normal intensity of anxiety. In contrast, those suffering from an anxiety condition will experience much more intense versions of these feelings. Tellingly, physical symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, trembling and sweating afflict those with anxiety disorders.
The DSM-IV lists a substantial number of conditions that are categorized under the umbrella term "anxiety. Three are noted here to illustrate the complexity of the condition and the need for sufferers to obtain insight into their disorder. With apparently no trigger the first condition, called "panic attack", makes sufferers susceptible to sudden onset of panic together with copious sweating and chest pains. Unlike "panic attacks", the second example is the condition of OCD, which makes patients feel continuous, persistent fear which forces them to repeat actions in an attempt to reduce the fear. In the final example: people who are afflicted with "social anxiety disorder" are unable to interact with others in a normal setting, instead feeling fear and embarrassment when among these people. Such fears normally center on the possibility of being a target for ridicule.
To diagnose and categorize anxiety disorder, a health worker relies on visual examination, interview responses to inquiries, and a list of symptoms associated with the disorder. The mental health worker will ask about particular symptoms, such as nightmares, insomnia, level and persistence of feelings of fear. However, diagnosis is not a trivial task as the list of seemingly subjective criteria seems to suggest. But the total effect of combination symptoms can prove to the psychiatric health physician the case of and kind of anxiety disorder, even though each symptom alone does not signify unequivocal diagnosis of anxiety condition.
The root reasons for all these anxiety disorder is a final question on the minds of many. Our limited understanding of the nature and chemistry of the mind means our understanding of anxiety is likewise murky, as is the case for literally all psychiatric disorders. Three kinds of fundamental causes are frequently cited: environmental, neurochemical, and genetic. The environmental theory finds anxiety to be similar diabetes: initiated by lifestyle and behaviors. Type II diabetes is speculated to be caused by living a lifestyle characterized by behaviors that result in overweightedness. The body's response to such environment is believed to be insulin resistance. In the same way, anxiety syndromes can be generated from bodily responsesi to long-term stress-inducing situations. Relatedly, some think that anxiety disorders are due to brain chemistry. Under normal circumstances, the body emits chemicals that activate stress responses or chemicals that inhibit "calm" signals. But the brain may be at the mercy of continuous stimulation and anxiety levels can spiral out of control should the emission of this chemical become dysregulated. Finally, genetic background is believed by some who subscribe to the idea that anxiety illnesses are in the family. Indeed, anxiety seems to run in parent-child relationships, constituting the proof of the idea. Correct diagnosis can make a difference in obtaining the right solution for illnesses of this complexity.
Examples of origins of daily stress encompass situations such as moving, taking a test or exam, or getting divorced. Nervousness, jumpy feelings, and extra attention to detail are responses to these events of normal intensity of anxiety. In contrast, those suffering from an anxiety condition will experience much more intense versions of these feelings. Tellingly, physical symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, trembling and sweating afflict those with anxiety disorders.
The DSM-IV lists a substantial number of conditions that are categorized under the umbrella term "anxiety. Three are noted here to illustrate the complexity of the condition and the need for sufferers to obtain insight into their disorder. With apparently no trigger the first condition, called "panic attack", makes sufferers susceptible to sudden onset of panic together with copious sweating and chest pains. Unlike "panic attacks", the second example is the condition of OCD, which makes patients feel continuous, persistent fear which forces them to repeat actions in an attempt to reduce the fear. In the final example: people who are afflicted with "social anxiety disorder" are unable to interact with others in a normal setting, instead feeling fear and embarrassment when among these people. Such fears normally center on the possibility of being a target for ridicule.
To diagnose and categorize anxiety disorder, a health worker relies on visual examination, interview responses to inquiries, and a list of symptoms associated with the disorder. The mental health worker will ask about particular symptoms, such as nightmares, insomnia, level and persistence of feelings of fear. However, diagnosis is not a trivial task as the list of seemingly subjective criteria seems to suggest. But the total effect of combination symptoms can prove to the psychiatric health physician the case of and kind of anxiety disorder, even though each symptom alone does not signify unequivocal diagnosis of anxiety condition.
The root reasons for all these anxiety disorder is a final question on the minds of many. Our limited understanding of the nature and chemistry of the mind means our understanding of anxiety is likewise murky, as is the case for literally all psychiatric disorders. Three kinds of fundamental causes are frequently cited: environmental, neurochemical, and genetic. The environmental theory finds anxiety to be similar diabetes: initiated by lifestyle and behaviors. Type II diabetes is speculated to be caused by living a lifestyle characterized by behaviors that result in overweightedness. The body's response to such environment is believed to be insulin resistance. In the same way, anxiety syndromes can be generated from bodily responsesi to long-term stress-inducing situations. Relatedly, some think that anxiety disorders are due to brain chemistry. Under normal circumstances, the body emits chemicals that activate stress responses or chemicals that inhibit "calm" signals. But the brain may be at the mercy of continuous stimulation and anxiety levels can spiral out of control should the emission of this chemical become dysregulated. Finally, genetic background is believed by some who subscribe to the idea that anxiety illnesses are in the family. Indeed, anxiety seems to run in parent-child relationships, constituting the proof of the idea. Correct diagnosis can make a difference in obtaining the right solution for illnesses of this complexity.