What is Anxiety?

We have all experienced fear, worry and anxiety. It is that uneasy feeling that something bad is going to happen that causes our body to sweat and tremble, our stomachs to turn and feel ill, our heart to race and makes us want to escape or leaves us frozen, unable to move. While these states can cause discomfort, fear, worry and anxiety are normal and sometimes necessary responses. Adaptive fear, worry and anxiety help us to appropriately prepare for and adapt to potential threats and dangers, or potential loss and failure. However, maladaptive fear, worry and anxiety causes distress and dysfunction that has a negative impact on health and life functioning.

Anxiety Disorders.

Anxiety disorders are the most commonly seen conditions in psychiatric and general practice, yet, they are often under or misdiagnosed and consequently not treated.

Anxiety disorders differ from normal, adaptive anxiety in that the anxiety experienced is more intense, lasts longer, leads to phobias and interferes with the daily routines of the individual. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th Edition (DSM-IV) lists established criteria used by mental health professional for diagnosing specific anxiety disorders. For simplicity of explanation, the follow is a list of brief summaries for each anxiety disorder. It is not intended for diagnosis. Please refer to the DSM-IV for the complete criteria or see a healthcare professional if you feel that you may have an anxiety disorder.

Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder: Characterized by sudden episodes of acute, intense apprehension and fear. During a panic attack, the following symptoms occur: chest discomfort, accelerated heart rate, choking or difficulty breathing, dizziness or fainting, shaking, sweating, nausea or abdominal distress, feeling of unreality, tingling or numbness in hands and feet, fear of going crazy, losing control or dying.

Social Phobia: Anxiety induced by exposure to certain social or performance situations. The person has developed a fear of becoming embarrassed or humiliated in a situation where they are possibly being scrutinized or evaluated by others. This can cause the person to avoid the situations of public speaking, performing on stage, even eating in front of others or using public bathrooms.

Specific Phobia: A strong fear and avoidance of a specific object or situation that is elicited when the person is directly exposed to the feared object or situation. Examples of specific phobias are: fear of animals (dogs, snakes etc), heights, elevators, airplanes, dentist, injections and needles. The fear is strong enough to interfere with normal routines and social interaction.

Generalized Anxiety: Excessive, chronic anxiety and worry that lasts 6 months or longer without panic attacks, phobias or obsessions. The anxiety is focused on two or more stressful life circumstances that causes the person to spend a lot of time worrying at an intensity that is out of proportion of the source of worry. Yet, it is difficult to control the worrying and it interferes with normal functioning. Other symptoms that accompany the worrying are: restlessness, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, muscle tension and sleep problems.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Characterized by obsessions--recurrent, unwanted, intrusive ideas, images, or impulses, and by compulsions-uncontrollable urges to do something or rituals performed that will lessen the discomfort of the obsessions. Both obsessions and compulsions are recognized by the individual as irrational and unreasonable, yet they can't control them. For example, obsessions may be images of violence, or fear of leaving your door unlocked. Compulsions may be repetitive hand washing, checking and rechecking and counting.

Acute Stress Disorder: Similar to PTSD but the symptoms following a traumatic event last for less than one month.

Anxiety Disorder Due to a General Medical Condition or Substance: Many medical conditions, medications and toxic substances and drugs can physiologically cause symptoms of anxiety. Medical conditions such as endocrine disorders (hyper and hypo-thyroid, hypoglycemia), cardiovascular conditions, nutritional deficiencies, neurological conditions, withdrawing from drugs etc.

What causes Anxiety Disorders?

There is no one cause for the development of anxiety disorders, but the underlying themes appear to be 1) a disruption of energy and challenge to coping ability and 2) continued maladaptation.

The mind and body have experienced an event or events that have disrupted the body's normal flow of energy. An "event" could be life experiences or traumas, as a nutrient, neurochemical or hormonal imbalance, or as another underlying medical condition. The body's energy can be thought of in terms of electrical and neural energy in the brain and nerves, as meridian energy in the acupuncture sense and/ or as constitutional energy in the homeopathic sense. This disruption challenged the individual's ability to cope and forced the body to adapt in a way that may be okay for a short time but actually continues long term and becomes maladaptive to both physical and mental health. If a family member has an anxiety disorder, than you may be predispositioned to this vulnerability to develop an anxiety disorder yourself.

The mind approach: Cognitive exercises can help identify mental triggers and thought patterns that are maintaining the anxiety. Many people suffering from anxiety do a lot of worrying and negative "what if" thinking. They are scaring themselves. They can be self-critical, perfectionists and hold many mistaken beliefs and over generalizations about themselves ("I am a bad person"), others ("Nobody will accept me") and about the world ("The world is a dangerous place").
Cognitive exercises can help undo these types of thought patterns, once they are recognized by the individual as being maladaptive and unfounded.

The body approach: Correcting nutrient deficiencies, identifying digestive, metabolic and other physiological problems can help clear imbalances in physical and mental function. Stress management, relaxation and breathing exercises help provide more personal coping resources and reduce activation of the sympathetic system.

The energy approach: Acupuncture, homeopathy, and other energy therapies can help restore the normal flow of energy and help undo any of the disruptions that lead to the development of the anxiety.

In using all three approaches, anxiety disorders can be treated and give lasting effects. If appropriate, medications may be decreased or eliminated.