5 Must-know Facts About Anxiety

While anxiety is a part of life, it is vital to get help when it affects your daily life.

It is essential to realize that chronic anxiety can cause genuine medical problems. Issues can arise in your life when anxiety is hard to manage and affects your day-to-day living. Everyone feels anxious, but when anxiety is unbearable, it can make you feel hopeless and out of control. Remember, having anxiety does not mean that you lack strength.

Furthermore, anxiety can be treated, and you can live a very happy and productive life when it is treated well. 

Anxiety is a serious condition that can be treated.

Number One: Anxiety Is a Real Medical Condition

A point often overlooked is that everybody feels anxious, and, often, there is a good reason to feel that way. On the other hand, feelings of anxiety can prevent you from living a happy life. While struggling with anxiety, you may worry day and night, fearing disaster happening at any time.

Above all, when you struggle with anxiety, you may have an unrealistic fear that is greater than the problem at hand. For this reason, due to your overwhelming anxiety, life can become a constant state of worry, fear, and doom. Eventually, anxiety takes control of your life and makes daily interactions and occurrences extremely unpleasant. 

Ultimately, symptoms of anxiety can be controlled, but it is essential to learn how to handle them. On the whole, anxiety causes feelings of worry about everyday activities. These feelings do not go away and create extreme discomfort.

The good news is that anxiety is treatable, and your quality of life can improve. 

Number Two: Anxiety Has Mental & Physical Symptoms

Anxiety causes many physical and mental symptoms, and not everybody is affected by anxiety in the same way. If you are experiencing anxiety on a daily basis and any of the feelings listed below last longer than six months, it is likely you should seek help.

Ultimately, everybody has anxious feelings, but with chronic anxiety, these feelings do not go away. In addition, these symptoms affect you even more deeply while struggling with chronic anxiety. Constant unpleasant feelings like those listed here can make life unbearable for some.   

Physical Symptoms of Anxiety

• Restlessness
• Feeling "on edge" without a known cause
• Fatigue
• Muscles tensing or aching
• Sweating for no reason
• Rapid heart rate
• Shortness of breath
• Becoming dizzy
• Digestive issues
• Body twitching, trembling, shakiness
• Sleep issues 
• Headaches

Mental Symptoms of Anxiety

• Feeling anxious without a reason and not being able to stop it
• Constantly feeling impending danger
• Feelings of doom
• Panic
• Inability to concentrate
• Your mind goes blank, or you cannot focus
• Memory issues, being unable to recall or remember things

Number Three: Anxiety Can Be Caused By Outside Factors

According to the National Library of Medicine, while the exact cause of anxiety is unknown, "certain factors such as genetics, brain biology and chemistry, stress, and your environment may play a role." 

Number Four: Anxiety Is Treatable

Ultimately, a combination of evidence-based treatments and alternative (integrative) treatments can benefit you if you are struggling with an anxiety disorder. Examples include:

• Evidenced-based treatments
  • Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)
  • Medication or a combination of medication and other therapies
  • Psychotherapy, also called "talk therapy"
     
• Integrative Treatments
  • Yoga
  • Mindfulness training
  • Art therapy
  • Music therapy
  • Dance therapy
  • Animal-assisted therapy

Self-Care for Those Struggling with Anxiety

You can do many things to help yourself when you suffer from anxiety. Such things to consider include the following: 

• Pay attention to what you eat, and lower your intake of stimulants such as caffeine
• Exercise daily
• Practice gratitude and mindfulness
• Practice yoga
• Relaxation techniques 
• Do not isolate and stay connected
• Redirect your mind when you begin to worry

Medication Treatments for Anxiety and Their Potential Side Effects

Along with evidence-based and integrative treatments, it is important to make healthy choices. If you are prescribed medication for anxiety, side effects can occur. It is crucial to inform your health care provider if you experience any adverse side effects of medication, including: 

• Sedative-type medications such as benzodiazepines can lead to dependence if you take them for an extended period. Speak to your health care provider if you think you are dependent or becoming dependent on these medications.
• Antidepressants can be prescribed to treat anxiety disorders, and the side effects depend on your prescribed drug. Symptoms can include sleepiness, weight gain, nausea, or changes in your sexual appetite or activity.

Number 5: Anxiety Is a Co-occurring Disorder

Generally speaking, it is common to have co-occurring conditions, also known as a dual diagnosis. This means having more than one disorder simultaneously. It is important to identify each disorder so that each can be properly treated at the same time. Other disorders that can occur concurrently with anxiety include:

• Depression
• Substance use disorder (SUD)
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Other anxiety disorders such as panic disorder

In conclusion, the long-term outlook for anxiety is positive. Indeed, you can get relief from your symptoms with proper treatment. Your symptoms can reoccur, however, when stress or trauma is present in your life. In short, it is important to speak to a professional about your anxiety so they can devise a treatment plan for you. Again, all related conditions must be treated simultaneously to improve your long-term outcome.

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