What is anxiety?
Anxiety is a condition categorized by feelings of fear, dread, or uneasiness. These feelings can be overwhelming and intrusive, leading to a negative impact on daily life.
What are the common symptoms of anxiety?
- Nervousness
- Restlessness
- Racing thoughts, rumination, or excessive worry
- Trouble concentrating
- Sleep disturbances, including difficulty falling or staying asleep, excessive sleep, or reduced quality of sleep
- Physical symptoms of anxiety, including difficulty breathing, sweating, rapid heartbeat, headaches, muscle tension, gastrointestinal symptoms
How is anxiety diagnosed?
Anxiety is diagnosed through a combination of self-reporting and professional evaluations.
Primary care physicians often are the main point of contact for individuals experiencing anxiety. However, you may also seek help from a mental health clinician, like a psychiatrist, therapist, or psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, who specializes in mental health.
Open and honest communication with your physician or clinician is essential for an accurate diagnosis. Discussing your symptoms, including excessive worry, fear, or panic, can help your clinician understand the severity and nature of the condition.
What are other types of anxiety?
- Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) involves high levels of anxiety and worry that are difficult to control and significantly impair functioning, such as work performance or social life.
- Social anxiety disorder (SAD) happens when people have extreme fear that others will observe or judge them.
- Postpartum anxiety (PPA) can occur following childbirth or becoming a parent and is characterized by intense, persistent worry and fear. The sudden hormonal changes, sleep deprivation, and immense responsibility of caring for a newborn can contribute to the development of postpartum anxiety.
- Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by panic attacks, which are brief periods of intense fear that can last 20 to 30 minutes. During these attacks, people may experience difficulty breathing, sweating, rapid heartbeat, shaking, nausea, or dizziness.
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can cause unwanted thoughts and fears-called obsessions-that cause distress and interfere with daily life. Common obsessions include:
- Harming oneself or others, or fear of harm occurring to you
- Fear of contamination and not engaging in normal activities, like shaking hands
- Excessive concern with exactness; items or objects not being symmetrical or orderly
- Catastrophic events, like house fires or burglary
- Engaging in illegal acts, violence, or taboo behavior
- Developing a health problem or contracting a disease
People with OCD often try to get rid of these thoughts or urges by performing compulsions, also known as rituals. Someone afraid of hurting their family might avoid sharp knives. Someone who fears illness might seek reassurance from doctors. Someone who is fearful of being attacked may constantly check and recheck the door is locked. Compulsions can take hours out of the day and make someone with OCD dread everyday tasks.
What are common treatments for anxiety?
Anxiety is a treatable condition, and early intervention can significantly improve symptoms. Common treatments include:
- Medication may be considered for moderate to severe anxiety, especially when therapy alone isn’t sufficient. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are often the first choice for anxiety due to their effectiveness and safety profile.
- Therapy can help build coping skills, communication, and self-awareness to manage stress and emotions. Cognitive behavioral therapy can help identify and challenge negative thinking patterns associated with anxiety. Other types of therapy can include acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and exposure and response prevention (ERP). ACT uses acceptance and mindfulness to help identify personal values, and ERP involves gradually learning through experience that feared situations are safe.