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- What are anxiety disorders?
- Symptoms of anxiety disorders
- Causes of anxiety disorders
- Prevention of anxiety disorders
- Risk factors for anxiety disorders
- Complications of anxiety disorders
- When to see a doctor about an anxiety disorder
- Diagnosis of anxiety disorders
- Conventional treatment of anxiety disorders
- Alternative/complementary treatment
- Living with an anxiety disorders
- Caring for someone with an anxiety disorder
Anxiety disorder are a type of mental disorder which causes a person to become overly anxious about particular people, places, events or even objects. The person with anxiety disorder may have such debilitating symptoms that they do not have enjoyment in or quality of life.
Anxiety and fear are normal human sensations which occur at various times in life (prior to making a public speech, taking an exam, etc) which are temporary feelings that go away once the stressful or fear causing situation is over. But, a person who has anxiety disorder does not feel these feelings fleetingly, they experience fear and distress for intense and prolonged periods, for no obvious reason.
Anxiety disorders generally affect a person who has other mental disorder or physical illness (including substance or alcohol abuse). The other illness may hide symptoms or even make them worse. Sometimes the other illnesses need to be treated before the person can be treated for the anxiety disorder.
Anxiety disorders are diagnosed through the assistance of a qualified psychologist or psychiatrist, through a series of diagnostic assessment tools (including series of questions about symptoms and feelings).
There are five types of anxiety disorders plus specific phobias:
- Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Panic disorder (PD)
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Social phobia (or social anxiety disorder)
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Some facts about anxiety disorders
- Anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorder in Western nations such as Australia, USA and UK
- Around 20% of visits to doctors are related to anxiety disorders (including panic attacks), which may be interfering with their life
- Women are more likely to be affected the most in basically just about all the different types of anxiety disorders
- Taking some type of action will help you learn to reduce symptoms and give you some control over your anxiety disorder, which will help you recover
- The medications for anxiety disorders work quite effectively in many people who take them
- Some people cannot take any medication (as they get many intolerable side effects) - these people are good candidates for alternative/complementary treatments for anxiety disorders
- Soldiers who experience traumatic events in war conditions are highly likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and need to be treated
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