Dealing with Stress, Anxiety and Anxiety Disorder IV

In the last Post which is the third in the series on Dealing with Stress, Anxiety and Anxiety Disorder, I wrote that I will be discussing the different types of anxiety disorder, symptoms and treatment. So without wasting time, let's get down the line.

Types of anxiety disorder.

The different types of disorder that will be discussed are the group of the sickness that affects mental stability of those suffering from the disorder. They are unnecessarily overwhelmed with fear and anxiety. The excessive fear anxiety associated with anxiety disorder can make the sufferer to avoid certain places, social gathering, work school and so on. They are afraid to attend or do anything that they perceive will trigger or worsen the situation. The first of the disorder I will discuss is the Generalized Anxiety Disorder with this popular acronym GAD.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

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Julius Ceaser said in that famous book that "a coward dies many times before their death comes but Valiant only dies once". That was not the statement of a man that was afraid of death, but he explains the condition of the fearful heart. I will use that assertion to explain GAD. Generalized Anxiety Disorder involves excessive and uncontrolled worry that affect daily activities of the sufferer. The person suffering from GAD will always want to be in control of situations, not because they are really capable, but just that they are afraid that things might not work out. They are afraid that the step that they are about to take might not work out. They are always anticipating that disaster is looming. Their worry exceeds more than what is expected of any situation. At times, the thought of how their day will be like submerge them into fear, they are under the control of fear. People living with GAD can't tolerate an uncertain situation and that is why they want to be in charge. It becomes difficult for them to take a risk at work so they eventually have a low result in their workplace. At times they suffer some physical symptoms such as headaches and stomachaches. Also, there has been a connection between migraine and anxiety disorder. Although connection was established that those suffering migraine could develop an anxiety disorder, however, it has not been established that people suffering from migraine can develop GAD. But there have been cases of migraine and GAD in people. Also, anyone suffering from both condition can lead to depression. Anyone suffering both conditions might not know which symptoms of the two conditions he is suffering from as both have similar symptoms such as headache, sleeplessness, dizziness and nausea.

In the United State, this disorder affects about 3.1% of the total population with women twice affected than men. Also, studies show that low-income countries have a lower prevalence of GAD compared to high-income countries, the reason for low-income countries having less prevalence was because the citizens are already used to instability and uncertainty in their government policies. Level of the prevalence of GAD in some high-income countries is as high as 7.9-8% while in low-income countries is as low as 0.2-0.1%. In treatment, those that are diagnosed having GAD, either go for medication such as antidepressant, Buspirone(an anti-anxiety medication) and Benzodiazepines. None of these drugs is advised not to be taken without a doctor prescription as some of them might lead to habit-forming, then not really good for alcohol and drug addicts. Another form of treatment is called Psychotherapy whereby the person suffering visit psychologist for what is called psychological counselling.

Panic Disorder

This is another form of anxiety disorder where the person experiencing it may have a sudden panic attack. This attack is an unexpected surge of deep fear or discomfort that climax within a short time. Those living with the condition do have fear of having a panic attack. They may feel absorbed with an overwhelming fear that has no visible cause. The attack is followed by some physical symptoms such as sweating, racing heart, difficulty in breathing. These symptoms might indicate that one is suffering from Panic attack; Chest pain, feeling detach, Feeling choked, Nausea or pain in the abdomen, sweating, shaking, fear of death and fear of losing control, also, fast heart rate beating and shortness of breathing.

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Studies revealed that 1 out every 75 people are at risk of panic disorder. The study also reveals that once or twice in a lifetime, one will experience panic disorder. The prevalence of this mental disorder varies from country to country between 2.5 to 7%. In 2017 alone 284 million people were diagnosed to suffer from panic disorder and of course 63% the total estimate were female. The disorder is characterized by recurrent fear of experiencing another panic attack any time soon after experience for almost a month. The average age when an individual could first experience this disorder is around 22-23 years of age. This disorder may come with depression or with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD) which is another mental health condition initiated by a horrific event which leads to flashback, and nightmares and most times severe anxiety.

Social Anxiety Disorder or Social Phobia.

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Have you ever come across some folks that are heavily afraid to talk or interact with people in the public? No matter how friendly the society they find themselves is, they are always anxious that they will be rejected or embarrassed. So these kind of people are always withdrawing themselves from the public eye. Even if they manage to stay in a social gathering, they do so with anxiety. Most times those suffering from this disorder find it difficult to overcome this uneasiness. Although it is a normal thing to feel a little bit unease when you go to a social gathering, but those suffering from social anxiety disorder have a heightened fear of the gathering. You might think that they are shy, but that is not the problem, they are actually afraid of rejection and this can affect their performance in their place of work, school and in their neighbourhood. They may present some of the following physical and psychological symptoms.

Physical Symptoms

Excessive sweating
Shaking
Rapid heart rate
Nausea
Difficulty in Speaking
Lightheadedness

Some of the Psychological Symptoms include;

Worry that he/she could embarrass himself/herself in a social gathering
Missing work or school as result of anxiety
Taking alcohol to become bold so that people will not notice his/her nervousness.
Worrying for days or week before the launch of an event.
Trying to stay unnoticed in a social gathering, maybe sitting at the back.

Those suffering from Social anxiety disorder may find it difficult to ask or answer question in classroom because of the fear that their question might be off the track and their answer might be wrong. At times, they may not want to eat in a public place or use a public restroom. This disorder when started can be there daily for the next six months. The exact cause remain unknown, but investigation revealed that it has to do with environmental and genetic factors. Past negative experience can also contribute to it such as sexual abuse, family conflict and bullying. Some report also indicates that imbalance in serotonin level can affect how one behaves. Serotine a chemical agent secreted in the brain and GIT (Gastrointestinal Tract) can influence your mood as it is known to affect one's mood. Low level of Serotonin in the brain can lead to social anxiety disorder and can affect your sleep.

In the United States alone, about 15 million of the adults living there are affected by this disorder and it is the third most common mental disorder in the country. And like every other disorder earlier discussed, it is common among women than men. Most affected by this disorder hardly show up for medical help and many just stay out of record for almost ten years before coming out. On the global scale, it is also the third-largest mental disorder in the world, the prevalence in South America is similar to United States cases, the case is not same in the Asian countries as the prevalence rate is between 0.2-0.8% of the total populations there. This mental disorder rate is also high in Russia.
Treatment is also by medication and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Conclusion

The three disorders discussed so far in this part of the series are all treatable, however, it is highly advised that medical help should be sought, I do not advise anyone to go for self-medication. If anyone has any of the symptoms as stated here, that does not mean that you have been diagnosed, please visit a doctor. I will continue from where I stopped in the next part of the series discussing the remaining class of anxiety disorder. Thanks for reading