Alarm – this is a normal emotional state that signals the individual about a potential threat and is necessary for the mobilization of forces and self-defense in dangerous situations.
But what to do when there is no potential threat, and the feeling of anxiety appears as if from nowhere?
Anxiety disorder is one of the most common mental disorders worldwide. According to official statistics, every fifth inhabitant of the developed countries of the world seeks help from specialists with symptoms of pathological anxiety.
Exclusively for readers of estet-portal.com psychiatrist, psychotherapist, clinical intern of the Department of Psychiatry, National Medical University named after. A.A. Bogomolets Alexander Avdeev spoke about the symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder, the causes of its development, as well as modern approaches to treatment.
- How to cope with an anxiety disorder: the opinion of a psychotherapist
- What is generalized anxiety disorder, what are its main symptoms
- How does Generalized Anxiety Disorder differ from Panic Disorder
- How a panic attack manifests and what to do to deal with it
- Is there a treatment for anxiety disorders, and if so – what
What is Generalized Anxiety Disorder, what are its main symptoms
А.А.: Today, we can talk about the diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder in cases where a person experiences anxiety for most of the day, which is difficult for him to cope with, and this condition lasts more than six months.
Let me note that with generalized anxiety disorder, the problem is not anxiety, because every person has it and is not something bad, namely, that a person cannot cope with this anxiety.
Generalized anxiety disorder is characterized by symptoms such as:
1. anxiety;
2. fatigue;
3. impaired concentration;
4. sleep disturbance;
5. irritability.
At the same time, at least three of the symptoms just named must be present for a diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder.
Another interesting sign of anxiety disorder – is increased pain sensitivity. It often becomes the reason for regular trips of people to a variety of specialists and passing all kinds of tests.
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What are the causes of Generalized Anxiety Disorder
AA: There is no unified theory regarding the causes of generalized anxiety disorder. However, there are a number of possible genetic, psychological, and social factors that may be responsible for the development of this condition.
There are genetic, social and psychological factors in the development of generalized anxiety disorder.
The fact is that genetically our type of nervous system may be more predisposed to experiences, which is associated with the peculiarity of serotonin and norepinephrine receptors in the brain. Because of this, the psyche can only perceive potentially dangerous things in some phenomenon.
Socially, our society can support beliefs about the usefulness of experiences. After all, “if I don’t worry, then I don’t care.”
Psychologically, anxiety sprouts because we have a low tolerance for the unknown, and the experience itself causes anxiety.
Please note that our restlessness is a defense mechanism.
Surprisingly, during the experience, we engage only the linguistic process, which does not penetrate deep mental images and interferes with emotional processing.
Which means that although the experience is an unpleasant reaction for a person with an anxiety disorder, it is probably necessary to process information at a superficial level with less emotional efficiency and stress!
How does generalized anxiety disorder differ from panic disorder
AA: In fact, these two disorders are comorbid (occur at the same time) in 70% of cases. That is, often people with generalized anxiety disorder have had panic attacks in their lives, and people with panic attacks are more likely to have generalized anxiety disorder.
They differ only in the degree of anxiety. In a panic attack, a person feels a sharp attack of severe anxiety, while in a generalized anxiety disorder it is constant and of moderate intensity. But again, most often clinically we see something in between these two disorders.
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How a panic attack manifests and what to do to deal with it
For an attack of panic attack, symptoms such as sensations of fear, horror, "cotton legs", increased heart rate, shortness of breath, feeling of lack of air, trembling in the limbs are characteristic. Perhaps even an increase in temperature, blood pressure, sometimes vomiting, urination and defecation are observed.
Panic attacks are often accompanied by thoughts: "I'm going to faint," "I'm going to suffocate," "My heart can't take it." But it should be remembered that such events are simply impossible during panic attacks.
The very state of panic attack is created by the body in order to ensure maximum survival. In the entire history of medicine, not a single case of death from a panic attack has been documented.
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Therefore, the best thing to do during a panic attack – is to do nothing. The more you get distracted by a panic attack, the deeper you breathe and the more you worry – the longer it will last, and the more likely it will sooner or later turn into the form of a generalized anxiety disorder.
Effective good criticism: the opinion of a professional psychologist
Is there a treatment for anxiety disorders, and if so – what
Yes, of course there is. According to the NICE protocols (The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, UK), in the presence of anxiety disorders, cognitive behavioral therapy should be performed first. Today this direction is the most studied and effective, other types of psychotherapy for anxiety disorder – either less effective or not effective at all (according to research).
In case of ineffectiveness or impossibility of obtaining psychotherapeutic assistance, the appointment of antidepressants of the SSRI group (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) is recommended. It is also allowed to prescribe tranquilizers in a short course.
Of course, the choice and prescription of medications in each individual case of an anxiety disorder should be made only by a doctor.
Thank you for staying with estet-portal.com. Read other interesting articles in the "Medicine and Health" section.
The estet-portal.com team would like to thank Alexander Avdeev for the useful information for our readers.
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