How to identify anxiety
Identifying anxiety, depression signs - Mayo Clinic Health System
Speaking of Health
Topics in this Post
- Behavioral Health
- Anxiety
- Balance your mental and emotional health
- Suicide Prevention
What is stress, and what happens when you can't cope well with it?
Stress can present itself after being fired from a job, going through a divorce or losing a loved one. Even getting married, transitioning to a new job or having a baby can cause stress. Everyone experiences stress at one time or another.
Many people define stress as either good or bad when it's neither. Stress is an event you view as out of your control, and it typically occurs outside your daily routines. How you react shapes your ability to cope with these and other similar events in the future.
When people struggle to cope with stressful situations, depression and anxiety become more noticeable.
Anxiety and depressive disorders are common. These illnesses affect more than 40 million adults in the U.S., or about 18% of the population, every year. The World Health Organization has estimated that the COVID-19 pandemic led to a 27.6% increase in depression and 25.6% increase in anxiety disorders worldwide in 2020.
The most common anxiety disorders include:
- Specific phobias
Phobias could be related to animals, like spiders, cats or dogs; the natural environment, such as heights, storms or being in water; blood injection injury, which is a fear of needles or invasive medical procedures; or locations, like airplanes, elevators or enclosed places. - Social anxiety disorder
This is a fear of being around other people or in social situations. - Generalized anxiety disorder
This is an overall worry about many different things. - Separation anxiety
This is an excessive fear of, or anxiety concerning, separation from attachment figures or items.
- Panic disorder
This is an abrupt surge of intense fear or discomfort.
The most common depressive disorders include:
- Major depressive disorder
This is a depressed mood that lasts for a two-week period. This could occur as a single or recurrent episode. - Persistent depressive disorder
This is a depressed mood that occurs almost every day for at least two years
It's common for those struggling with anxiety disorders to also struggle with depression or vice versa. Close to 10% of the world's population suffers from anxiety and depression. However, while anxiety and depressive disorders are highly treatable, only a small percentage of affected people receive treatment.
How are stress, anxiety and depression connected?
Anxiety and depression can be caused by several things, including:
- Genetics
- Environmental exposure
- Personality
- Life events
Early signs of anxiety and depression
An early warning sign for anxiety or depression occurs when someone begins avoiding things once enjoyed.
Other warning signs for anxiety include:
- Shakiness
- Increased heart rate
- Tightness in the chest
- Rapid breathing
- Racing thoughts
Meanwhile, warning signs for depression include:
- Isolating oneself
- Frequently thinking negative thoughts
- Recurring feelings of sadness
- Advanced signs of anxiety and depression
Advanced signs of generalized anxiety disorder include:
- Excessive worry occurring more days than not for at least six months
- Feeling restless
- Fatigue or frequently feeling tired
- Difficulty concentrating
- Irritability
- Muscle tension
- Sleep disturbances, like difficulty falling or staying asleep
- Distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning
Advanced signs of a major depressive disorder include:
- Feeling down or depressed most of the day, nearly every day
- Diminished interest in activities you once enjoyed
- Significant changes in your weight (increase or decrease)
- Difficulty with sleep, like difficulty falling, staying asleep or sleeping too much
- Fatigue or frequently feeling tired
- Difficulty concentrating
- Recurrent thoughts of death
- Distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning
To cope with anxiety and depression, try these tips:
Try diaphragmatic and square breathing techniques.
Diaphragmatic breathing involves taking a deep breath from your diaphragm. Your stomach should expand as you breathe in. Square breathing techniques involve taking a deep breath in for five counts, holding this deep breath for five counts, exhaling for five counts and finally holding for five counts before repeating. The entire time should be spent focusing on your breath versus the stressful event.
Challenge your thoughts.
This involves not judging situations — good or bad — and focusing on what you're feeling and identifying what's in your control. Your primary areas of control are acknowledgement of your emotions, feelings and your reaction to stressful situations. It is also important to focus on the facts of the situation. Sometimes your anxious and depressive thoughts are not always based in facts. Facts are 100% absolute — not assumptions.
Ask yourself:
- What am I feeling?
- What are these emotions?
- How would I like the situation to turn out?
- What are the facts?
Then identify small, specific goals to get to your desired outcome.
If you fail to acknowledge your emotions and feelings and attach a negative thought to a situation, the outcome of that situation will result in avoidance and increased anxiety and depression.
Focus on the facts.
Challenge yourself to find the facts in a situation and acknowledge whatever emotions and feelings the situation reveals. Doing so increases the likelihood you'll be able to cope effectively with a stressful situation.
When to seek professional help
It's best to talk to a health care professional when:
- You find it difficult to function in your daily life.
- You no longer participate in activities you once enjoyed.
- You find it difficult to get out of bed.
Treatment for anxiety and depression
Medications and psychotherapy are effective for most people with depression and anxiety. Your primary care provider or psychiatrist can prescribe medications to relieve symptoms. Many people benefit from outpatient psychotherapy, like cognitive behavioral therapy or dialectical behavioral therapy.
Additional treatment can include changing your exercise or eating habits, using social supports, getting enough sleep, changing your responses to stress, avoiding alcohol and recreational drugs, and joining a support group.
If you have severe depression or anxiety, you may need to use crisis resources, like contacting a crisis hotline, going to the nearest emergency department for a mental health evaluation or participating in an inpatient or outpatient treatment program until your symptoms improve.
Why it's important to address your mental health
It's important for people to address their mental health to live lives that are fulfilling. Acknowledging and treating your mental health helps create resilience. It also teaches you to better cope. Then when a similar situation occurs, you are equipped to handle it.
Stressful situations are going to happen. How you react can determine how these situations will affect you. Many resources are available regarding anxiety, depression and stress.
Talk to your health care team if you have concerns about your mental health.
Call or text 988 for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
Jolene Hanson is a social worker in Psychiatry & Psychology in Mankato, Minnesota.
For the safety of our patients, staff and visitors, Mayo Clinic has strict masking policies in place. Anyone shown without a mask was either recorded prior to COVID-19 or recorded in a non-patient care area where social distancing and other safety protocols were followed.
Topics in this Post
- Behavioral Health
- Anxiety
- Balance your mental and emotional health
- Suicide Prevention
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Anxiety disorders: Is it really all in your head?
Signs of an anxiety disorder
If you're experiencing symptoms of anxiety over a long period of time, you may have an anxiety disorder.
For more information about symptoms, read anxiety, fear and panic.
Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD)
Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) is a long-term condition that can make you feel anxious about a wide range of situations and issues, rather than one specific event.
You may have GAD if:
- your worrying is uncontrollable and causes distress
- your worrying affects your daily life, including school, your job and your social life
- you cannot let go of your worries
- you worry about all sorts of things, such as your job or health, and minor concerns, such as household chores
You should see your GP if anxiety is affecting your daily life or causing you distress. They can diagnose your condition based on your symptoms, which may include:
- feeling restless or on edge
- being irritable
- getting tired easily
- having difficulty concentrating or feeling your mind goes blank
- having difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep
- having tense muscles
If you're diagnosed with GAD, there is treatment available.
Read more information about treating GAD.
Other types of anxiety disorder
There are several other types of anxiety disorder, including:
- panic disorder – a condition where you have recurring, regular panic attacks; for more information, see anxiety, fear and panic
- phobias – an extreme or irrational fear of something, like an animal or a place
- agoraphobia – a fear related to situations such as leaving home, being in crowds or travelling alone
- obsessive compulsive disorder – a condition that usually involves unwanted thoughts or urges, and repetitive behaviours
- post-traumatic stress disorder – a condition caused by frightening or distressing events
Further information
- Anxiety, fear and panic
- Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD)
- Panic disorder
- Stress
- 5 steps to mental wellbeing
- Mind: anxiety and panic attacks
Page last reviewed: 18 January 2022
Next review due: 18 January 2025
Anxiety Disorder - American Medical Clinic
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Content:
Anxiety disorder is a mental disorder characterized by a state of generalized persistent anxiety. Unlike ordinary short-term stress, which, for example, is associated with public speaking, the disease lasts for a long time - for several months or more.
Excessive anxiety, tension and fear that patients with anxiety disorders experience can be accompanied by both psychological and physical ailments. In order to avoid dangerous complications such as paranoia, nervousness, etc. it is necessary to recognize the signs of the disease as early as possible and consult a doctor.
Symptoms of anxiety disorder
Main symptoms of anxiety disorder:
-
Psychological:
- excessive anxiety and tension in connection with current affairs or for no particular reason;
- unreasonable fear for your life and the lives of loved ones;
- stress, inability to relax;
- decreased performance, difficulty concentrating;
- irritability.
-
Physical:
- constant feeling of fatigue and weakness;
- muscle tension;
- pain in the head and abdomen;
- trembling, chills;
- sleep disorders;
- increased sweating;
- shortness of breath up to a feeling of suffocation;
- nausea and vomiting;
- stool disorders.
The degree of manifestation of symptoms or their combinations depends on the form of anxiety disorder and the degree of neglect of the disease.
Forms of anxiety disorder
The following forms of anxiety disorder are distinguished:
- Adaptive Anxiety Disorder Excessive anxiety and other emotional responses are due to difficulties in adapting to a particular stressful situation.
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder (aka anxiety-depressive disorder) - excessive anxiety persists constantly and is associated with a large number of life circumstances - the patient regularly experiences unreasonable fear for his life, work, family, etc.
- Anxiety-phobic disorder - causes panic attacks that cause extreme fear and a sense of impending death; fear of people and their large crowds; fear of some serious illness.
All these obsessive thoughts are unpleasant and alien to patients, often they themselves are not aware of the cause of their occurrence. Seeing a doctor as soon as possible will solve this problem and return the person to a normal life.
Anxiety treatment
Treatment of anxiety disorder is carried out in a complex, in several directions. It includes:
-
Drug therapy - based on the characteristics of the patient's body and the disease, the doctor will prescribe a set of medications to eliminate symptoms:
- benzodiazepines - help relieve physical stress;
- buspirone, alprazolam - reduce anxiety;
- antidepressants - tune in to positive thinking and keep disturbing thoughts under control.
Remember that drug therapy for anxiety disorders is carried out under the strict supervision of a physician. The above drugs, if used incorrectly, cause changes in the patient's behavior. Among them are suicidal thoughts, etc.
-
Psychological therapy - with the help of various psychological methods, the doctor helps the patient overcome his anxiety and anxiety:
- cognitive-behavioral therapy - with the help of rational persuasion, the doctor changes the general way of thinking of the patient in a positive direction;
- behavioral therapy - the doctor teaches the patient relaxation techniques - muscle relaxation, deep breathing, visualization, etc.
The degree of application of certain methods of therapy and the duration of treatment depend on the form of the disease and the degree of its neglect. Remember that it is the timely visit to the doctor that guarantees the absence of severe mental complications.
See also
- Operations in gynecology
- Colonoscopy in St. Petersburg under anesthesia
12 Signs of an Anxiety Disorder - Lifehacker
September 20, 2017 Health
Some disorders in the work of the psyche pretend to be ordinary phenomena. An anxiety disorder is one of those, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be treated.
Anxiety is an emotion that all people experience when they are nervous or afraid of something. It’s unpleasant to be “on your nerves” all the time, but what can you do if life is like this: there will always be a reason for anxiety and fear, you need to learn to keep your emotions under control, and everything will be fine. In most cases, this is exactly the case.
It's okay to be anxious. Sometimes it’s even helpful: when we worry about something, we pay more attention to it, work harder, and generally achieve better results.
But sometimes anxiety goes beyond reasonable limits and interferes with life.
And this is already an anxiety disorder - a condition that can ruin everything and which requires special treatment.
Why anxiety disorders appear
As with most mental disorders, no one can say for sure why anxiety clings to us: so far too little is known about the brain to speak with confidence about the causes. Several factors are most likely to blame, from ubiquitous genetics to traumatic experiences.
Some people experience anxiety as a result of excitation of certain areas of the brain, some people have frivolous hormones - serotonin and norepinephrine, and some people get a disorder in addition to other diseases, and not necessarily mental ones.
What is an anxiety disorder
Anxiety disorders include several groups of diseases at once.
- Generalized anxiety disorder . This is the case when anxiety does not appear because of exams or the upcoming acquaintance with the parents of a loved one. Anxiety comes by itself, it does not need a reason, and the experiences are so strong that they do not allow a person to perform even simple daily activities.
- Social anxiety disorder . Fear that prevents being among people. Someone is afraid of other people's assessments, someone is afraid of other people's actions. Be that as it may, it interferes with studying, working, even going to the store and saying hello to neighbors.
- Panic disorder . People with this disease experience panic attacks: they are so scared that sometimes they cannot take a step. The heart beats at a frantic speed, it gets dark in the eyes, there is not enough air. These attacks can come at the most unexpected moment, and sometimes because of them a person is afraid to leave the house.
- Phobias . When a person is afraid of something specific.
In addition, anxiety disorder often occurs in combination with other problems: bipolar or obsessive-compulsive disorder or depression.
How to understand that this is a disorder
The main symptom is a constant feeling of anxiety, which lasts for at least six months, provided that there is no cause for nervousness or they are insignificant, and emotional reactions are disproportionately strong.
This means that anxiety changes life: you refuse work, projects, walks, meetings or acquaintances, some activity just because you worry too much.
Other symptoms that hint that something is wrong:
- constant fatigue;
- insomnia;
- constant fear;
- inability to concentrate;
- inability to relax;
- trembling in the hands;
- irritability;
- dizziness;
- palpitations, although there are no cardiac pathologies;
- excessive sweating;
- pains in the head, stomach, muscles - despite the fact that doctors do not find any violations.
There is no exact test or analysis by which to identify an anxiety disorder, because anxiety cannot be measured or touched. The decision on the diagnosis is made by a specialist who looks at all the symptoms and complaints.
Because of this, there is a temptation to go to extremes: either to diagnose a disorder when a black streak just began in life, or not to pay attention to one’s condition and scold a weak-willed character, when, due to fear, an attempt to go out into the street turns into feat.
Do not get carried away and confuse constant stress with constant anxiety.
Stress is a response to a stimulus. For example, on a call from a dissatisfied customer. When the situation changes, the stress goes away. And anxiety can remain - this is a reaction of the body that occurs even if there is no direct effect. For example, when an incoming call comes from a regular customer who is happy with everything, but picking up the phone is still scary. If the anxiety is so strong that any phone call is torture, then this is already a disorder.
No need to hide your head in the sand and pretend that everything is fine when constant stress interferes with life.
It is not customary to go to the doctor with such problems, and anxiety is often confused with suspiciousness and even cowardice, and being a coward in society is a shame.
If a person shares his fears, he is more likely to receive advice to pull himself together and not become limp than an offer to find a good doctor.
The trouble is that it will not be possible to overcome the disorder with a powerful effort of will, just as it will not be possible to cure tuberculosis by meditation.
How to treat anxiety
Chronic anxiety is treated like other mental disorders. For this, there are psychotherapists who, contrary to popular myths, do not just talk to patients about a difficult childhood, but help to find such techniques and techniques that really improve the condition.
Someone will feel better after a few conversations, someone will be helped by pharmacology. The doctor will help you review your lifestyle, find the reasons why you are nervous a lot, assess how severe the symptoms are and whether you need to take medication.
If you still think you don't need a therapist, try taming your anxiety yourself.
1. Find the cause
Analyze what you worry about most and most often, and try to eliminate this factor from your life. Anxiety is a natural mechanism that is needed for our own safety.
We are afraid of something dangerous that can harm us.
Maybe if you are constantly shaking with fear of the authorities, it is better to change jobs and relax? If you succeed, then your anxiety is not caused by a disorder, you don’t need to treat anything - live and enjoy life. But if it is not possible to isolate the cause of anxiety, then it is better to seek help.
2. Exercise regularly
There are many blind spots in the treatment of mental disorders, but researchers agree on one thing: regular exercise really helps keep the mind in order.
3. Let the brain rest
The best thing is to sleep. Only in a dream does the brain overloaded with fears relax, and you get a break.
4. Learn to slow down the imagination with work
Anxiety is a reaction to something that hasn't happened. It is the fear of what might happen. In fact, anxiety is only in our head and is completely irrational. Why is it important? Because counteracting anxiety is not peace, but reality.
