How to cure Anxiety Disorder? Its types, causes, medication & treatment

Anxiety disorders or Anxiety is the most common mental illness covering the world. According to the statistics given by the WHO (World Health Organization), 1 in 13 individuals suffers from Anxiety, globally. This is the reason why most of us want to know about Anxiety and its associated disorders.

In the previous article, I have already mentioned anxiety in the detail and its classification on the grounds of severity a person is facing! Consequently, this article is meant to explain anxiety disorders.

Anxiety Disorder

Anxiety disorder is a group of those mental illnesses that can cause persistent and overwhelming Anxiety along with fears. It is the most common of all mental disorders and in extreme cases, this type of Anxiety may prevent you from doing what you enjoy. It includes repeated episodes of intense emotions or fears that can reach to the peak of acute Anxiety within minutes.

India, China, United States, Brazil, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Nigeria, and Germany are the countries that rank in the top ten, facing this issue.

In 1990, the Anxiety rate was 3.8% in the total population of the world, increased by 0.2% in the next decade, and now (in 2020), it is going to be 4.4% or above---which means more than 343 million people are supposed to face it.

According to these statistics, it is comprehensible that the anxiety rate is increasing day by day and in the current scenario of COVID-19, it is evident that we have to control the anxiety ratio at any cost.

An individual may have more than one anxiety disorder at a time so it is important to diagnose it and get treatment to avoid excessive anxiety attacks. Consequently, I am going to unfold its types to make it understandable for all.

1# Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

This is a chronic issue including extraordinary, long-lasting anxiety and unrealistic concerns over non-particular life occasions, objects, and conditions. It often occurs close to other anxiety issues or Depression and is the most notable anxiety disorder. According to a survey, about 6.8 million adults suffer this type of anxiety every year.

People with this issue are not commonly prepared to perceive the explanation behind their anxiety but it can cause tremendous issues in various areas of their life, such as social interactions, physical appearance, and work.

Symptoms

• Feeling restless, wound-up, or on-edge
• Feeling fatigued often
• Having difficulty to focus on a specific object; the mind going blank
• Irritability
• Having muscle tension
• Difficulty in controlling the feelings of worry
• Having rest issues, for example, trouble falling or staying asleep, eagerness, or unsatisfying sleep patterns  

2# Panic disorder

The panic disorder incorporates unexpected repeated episodes of sudden feelings of exceptional nervousness and fear or dread that arrive at a top in no time. Someone having a panic attack may encounter shortness of breath, dizziness, chest pain, impending doom, or a fast, rippling, or pounding heart (heart palpitations). That's why individuals experiencing a panic attack think they are having a respiratory failure or are going to pass on.

Attacks can occur unexpectedly or can be brought on by a trigger, for example, a feared object or situation prompt to worry about the attacks to happen again or to avoid the situations in which they've occurred.

Symptoms

• Accelerated heartbeat 
• Sweating or chills
• Shaking, trembling
• Vibes of shortness of breath, smothering or stifling
• Sense of terror
• Realizing a loss of control over your body

3# Social Anxiety Disorder

Social anxiety disorder or social phobia is a fear of negative judgment from others in social circumstances or of public embarrassment and criticism. Social anxiety disorder incorporates a range of emotions, for example, stage fright which is commonly confused with performance anxiety, a dread of closeness, and tension around humiliation, rejection, and dismissal.

This issue can make individuals maintain a strategic distance from public places and to avoid human contact to the point that ordinary living is delivered extremely troublesome.

Symptoms

• Blushing
• Fast heartbeat
• Shivering or Trembling
• Sweating
• Cold hands and feet
• Upset stomach or nausea
• Trouble catching your breath
• Dizziness or light-headedness
• Difficulty in speaking
• Feeling that your mind has gone blank
• Fear of meeting people in authority

4# Phobia-related disorder

As the name suggests that this type of anxiety disorder is related to apprehensiveness about specific objects or situations so a person with this type of disorder may go to great lengths to avoid situations that create uneasiness or disturbance. Phobia related disorder is also known as general/simple phobia or specific phobia disorder.

This disorder may cause panic attacks to some people when they see or listen about the objects that frighten them like some people are restrained to cats, dogs, or other pets, others have the fear to cross the road or want to stay away from the heighten places, many others have the fear of receive injections or to see the blood, etc.

Symptoms

• Got panic after listening to the things that frighten them
• Start crying or showing some negative emotions
• Shivering or trembling in particular circumstances
• Higher rate of mood swings

These four are the common types of anxiety disorders. In the past few years, Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was also considered as an anxiety disorder but according to some recent studies it is not counted in this list.

Causes of anxiety disorder

Anxiety disorders have specific causes associated with each individual but it is a comparatively difficult task to figure out which symptoms are originating from which causes. For instance, in a study of individuals with chest pain – an indication of heart disease -- 43% were found to have a panic disorder, not a heart-related problem. But a few risk factors are listed below;

• Some traumatic life experiences are the major cause of anxiety and anxiety disorders which vary from person to person, in particular, the loss of your loved one
• Genetics and inherited traits can also be a factor as it can run in the families and even generations
• Many in-depth studies propose anxiety disorders be connected with broken circuits in the mind that control fear and emotions (brain chemistry)
• Anxiety disorder can also be linked to depression. People with mild or severe depression are more prone to anxiety disorders than normal persons.
• Neglect, emotional, physical, or sexual abuse in childhood is also a cause of anxiety disorder, later in life
• Having low self-esteem and negative perceptions about yourself or being shy in your early childhood may lead to having a social anxiety disorder.

Medication & Treatment

Anxiety medication depends on the type of treatment, Different psychotherapist uses different methods and treatments to reduce the symptoms of anxiety disorder. Usually, people with this problem take the following medicines and go to counseling.

Talk to your psychiatrist about the pros and cons of these medicines and ask to suggest the best one to you.

Antidepressants: SSRIs and SNRIs are regularly the main medications recommended to someone with an anxiety disorder. Examples of SSRIs are escitalopram (Lexapro) and fluoxetine (Prozac) whereas SNRIs incorporate duloxetine (Cymbalta) and venlafaxine (Effexor).

Other Antidepressants are Bupropion, tricyclics, and MonoAmine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs). Bupropion is commonly used to treat chronic anxiety but tricyclics and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) are less commonly used antidepressants because of their side effects, like drops in blood pressure, dryness of skin and mouth, blurry vision, and urinary retention that can be unsafe and hard for some people.  

Benzodiazepines: Your Psychiatrist may endorse one of these medications in case you're having diligent panic attacks. They help lower the intensity of mental health issues. Examples of this drug are alprazolam (Xanax) and clonazepam (Klonopin). They work rapidly, yet you can get subject to them. As a rule, they're meant to be extra to your anxiety disorder's treatment and you shouldn't take them for a long time.

Beta-blockers: This type of drug can help you feel better to a great extent if you’re having physical signs & symptoms of anxiety, such as a racing heart, sweaty palms, trembling, shaking, etc. It may help the patient to relax during severe anxiety attacks.

Psychotherapy: This is a type of treatment that helps you learn controlling your emotions and stress management by simply attending the counseling sessions. It’s sometimes called talk therapy. A trained mental health specialist pays attention to what you say and talks to you about your ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc. and suggests the ways to understand and manage them.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT): This is the most common type of psychotherapy and helps treat many mental health issues. It teaches you how to turn negative thoughts and behaviors into positive ones. You'll learn strategies to carefully approach and oversee stressful or troubling circumstances without anxiety and nervousness.

Outlook

Anxiety disorder is a group of those mental illnesses that can cause persistent and overwhelming anxiety along with fears. It is the most common of all mental disorders and in extreme cases, this type of anxiety may prevent you from doing what you enjoy. Therefore, it is necessary to cure if an individual wants to get inner peace.

There are four common anxiety disorders;

• Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
• Panic Disorder
• Social Anxiety Disorder
• Phobia-related disorder

These all are dangerous but can be cured and the origin of their treatment is in your mind, you cannot recover from them until you want to. Hence, follow the instructions given here or learn about your disorder from the description given above and try to get help from the specialist.

If you want to anything about your mental well-being, you can fill the contact form given. Also, don't forget to give your review of this article in the comment section below!!