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What is Anxiety?

Anxiety can be a normal "alarm system" alerting you to danger.
Imagine coming home and finding a burglar in your living room. Your heart
beats fast. Your palms get sweaty. Your mind races. In this situation, anxiety
can provide an extra spark to help you get out of danger. In more normal
but busy situations, anxiety can give you the energy to get things done.

But sometimes anxiety can be out of control, giving you a sense of dread
and fear for no apparent reason. This kind of anxiety can disrupt your life.

Different types of anxiety

Anxiety can be a general feeling of worry, a sudden attack of panicky feelings,
a fear of a certain situation or a response to a traumatic experience.

What is generalized anxiety disorder?

Generalized anxiety disorder is ongoing worry or fear that isn’t related
to a particular event or situation, or is out of proportion to what you would
expect–for instance, constantly worrying about a child who is perfectly
healthy.

Symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder include muscle tension, trembling,
shortness of breath, fast heartbeat, dry mouth, dizziness, nausea, irritability,
loss of sleep and not being able to concentrate.

What is panic disorder?

Panic disorder is another type of anxiety. It occurs when you have repeated
periods of extreme panic, called panic attacks.

Suppose one day you’re getting out of your car to go to work. Suddenly,
your chest feels tight. Your heart races. You begin to feel dizzy and faint.
You start to choke. You feel as if the end is near. Was it all in your head?
No. Most likely, you had a panic attack.

Panic attacks last about 5 to 30 minutes. Panic attacks can lead to
phobias if they aren’t treated.

What is a phobia?

A phobia is an extreme, unreasonable fear in response to something specific.
Examples include fear of crowds, bridges, snakes, spiders, heights, open
places or social embarrassment.

A phobia is only considered a problem when it keeps you from living a normal
life. An example is being afraid to leave home because you are afraid of
having a panic attack or of not being able to escape if an attack starts.
This fear is called agoraphobia.

What causes anxiety disorders?

Suppose the fire alarm goes off in your home. You race around frantically
to find the fire. Instead, you find that there is no fire–the alarm just
isn’t working properly.

It’s the same with anxiety disorders. Your body mistakenly triggers your
alarm system when there is no danger. This may be due to a chemical imbalance
in your body. It may also be related to an unconscious memory, to a side
effect of a medicine or to an illness.

Can anxiety disorders be treated?

Yes. Talk to a physician or counselor if you think you have an anxiety disorder.
He or she can help you form a plan to develop skills to cope with your anxiety.
Medication may also be helpful.

Tips on coping
with anxiety

Control your worry. Pick a place and time to do your worrying.
Make it the same place and time every day. Spend 30 minutes thinking about
your concerns and what you can do about them. Try not to dwell on what "might" happen.
Focus more on what’s really happening. Then let go of the worry and go on
with your day.

Learn ways to relax. These may include muscle relaxation,
yoga, or deep breathing (see box to the right).

Muscle relaxation is simple. Start by choosing a muscle and holding it tight
for a few seconds. Then relax the muscle. Do this with all of your muscles.
Try starting with your feet muscles and working your way up your body.

Exercise regularly. People who have anxiety often quit
exercising. But exercise can give you a sense of well-being and help decrease
feelings of anxiety.

Get plenty of sleep.

Avoid alcohol and drug abuse. It may seem that alcohol
or drugs relax you. But in the long run they make anxiety worse and cause
more problems.

Avoid caffeine. Caffeine is found in coffee, tea, soft
drinks and chocolate. Caffeine may increase your sense of anxiety because
it stimulates your nervous system. Also avoid over-the-counter diet pills,
and cough and cold medicines the contain a decongestant.

Confront the things that have made you anxious in the past. Begin
by just picturing yourself confronting these things. By doing this, you can
get used to the idea of confronting the things that make you anxious before
you actually do it. After you feel more comfortable picturing yourself confronting
these things, you can begin to actually face them.

If you feel yourself getting anxious, practice a relaxation technique or
focus on a simple task, such as counting backward from
100 to 0.

Although feelings of anxiety are scary, they won’t hurt you. Label the level
of your fear from 0 to 10 and keep track as it goes up and down. Notice that
it doesn’t stay at a very high level for more than a few seconds. When the
fear comes, accept it. Wait and give it time to pass without running away
from it.

Use medicine if it helps. Your physician may give you medicine
to help reduce your anxiety while you learn new ways to respond to the
things that make you anxious. Many types of medicine are available. You
and your physician will decide which medicine is right for you.