Anxiety: by Sofia

Mondragon

Anxiety: What is it?

- general term for several disorders
- feelings of stress and nervousness that surpass a healthy level
- can hinder academic work and social life

How is it diagnosed?
- A physician would:
-

Use psychological questionnaires to help with a diagnosis

Ask detailed questions about your symptoms and medical history

Do a physical examination for physical symptoms of anxiety

Order blood or urine tests or other tests, if a medical condition is

suspected

The History of Anxiety

- Had been seen as a womens disease from Ancient Greek times up
to the Victorian era
- Had been called Hysteria and was caused primarily by the uterus
- Women would be committed to insane asylums and treated with electroshock in
the Victorian era

- Anxiety disorder had not been coined until the 1980s

- Has now branched out as different types of anxiety
- New treatments have been developed
- However there is still lots of stigma and ignorance around the topic of anxiety

Types of Anxiety
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder
- Social Anxiety
- Panic Disorder
- OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

- Persistent
- Excessive
- Everyday things
- Expecting the worst even when there is no reason for concern
- Seemingly unreasonable fears

Social Anxiety Disorder

- Social Phobia
- Excessive & unreasonable fear of social situations
- Self consciousness about being:
-

Closely watched

Judged

Criticized

OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)

-

Obsessions- Unwanted and repetitive thoughts

Compulsions- Behaviors to try to reduce anxiety
Lots of repetition = routines
Can look like perfectionism
A feeling of needing to do something in order to be safe
Defense mechanism
An itch that needs to be scratched

Panic Disorder
- Panic Attacks arise frequently without cause
-

Causes a lot of stress

- Panic attack symptoms

-

Shakiness

Feelings of being trapped

Extreme anxiety

Heart palpitations

Extreme panic

Anxiety Attacks
Symptoms:
-

Chest pain

Hyperventilation/difficulty breathing

Nausea

Sweating

Shaking

Dizziness

Flushing

Racing heart/palpitations

Physical Symptoms of Anxiety

-

Insomnia

Lowered immune system

Hyperhidrosis = excessive sweating

Shakiness

Heart palpitations

Chronic fatigue

Irritability

Headaches

Tension

Emotional Symptoms of Anxiety

-

Feelings of dread

Feeling a loss of control

Trouble concentrating

Restlessness

Irritability

Feeling tense/jumpy

Sensory Overload
-

senses are overstimulated, eg. hearing (noise/sound from multiple sources), sight (bright lights,

environments with lots of movement), smell/taste (strong smells or spicy food), touch (too much
touching)
Feels like everything is happening at once

Often happens to autistic people but also people with anxiety and panic disorders

Can result in extreme irritability or shutting down

Can make it difficult to speak
For the next few hours/days after an episode they will be more susceptible to another/more
sensitive than usual
Can get to the point where feeling clothes on their body is irritating

Remove them from the environment and give them space

Dissociation
-

a mental disconnect from ones body;

- as if your mind is not in your body; as if you are looking at yourself from a distance;
like looking at a stranger
Derealization
- The world around seems unreal.
- one may see objects changing in shape, size or colour, or feel that other people are robots.
Depersonalization
- A feeling that your body is unreal, changing or dissolving. It also includes out-of-body
experiences, such as seeing yourself as if watching a movie

Who Is Affected?
-

1 in 5 people in Canada have a mental illness

8% people will have a major depressive disorder
12% of the population will be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder in their
lifetime
Almost half of the people who think they have had an anxiety or depressive
disorder have not gotten help from a licensed professional
12% of youth have had an anxiety disorder
People with anxiety often also experience:
depression
mood disorders, eg. BPD

How can you treat anxiety?

- Therapy
- Talking to counsellors/psychologists/psychiatrists/therapists
- CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy)
- Analyzes negative thoughts
- Challenges anxious thoughts
- Trains to replace negative ideas with realistic ideas
- Exposure therapy
- Gradual exposure to anxiety inducing situations with milder situations
- Medication for severe cases

Resources
http://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/diss
ociative-disorders/#.VpHCsPkrLIU
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-disorders/index.shtml
http://www.anxietybc.ca
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/generalized-anxiety-disorder/basic
s/tests-diagnosis/con-20024562
http://www.helpguide.org/articles/anxiety/therapy-for-anxiety-disorders.htm