Anxiety: Symptoms, Types, Causes, Risk Factors & Treatments

Anxiety is the body's natural response to stress and it alerts you of potential danger. Extreme anxiety can make you avoid work, school, communicating with family, and other social situations that may increase your symptoms. Anxiety disorder is a form of emotional disorder and it affects anyone of any age. A feeling of fear is with you all the time in anxiety disorder. These feelings of anxiety and nervousness impede daily activities, which are difficult to control, are out of proportion to the actual danger, and may last longer. 

What are the symptoms of anxiety disorders?

Anxiety is felt differently depending on the person experiencing it. Extreme fear or anxiety is the main symptom of anxiety disorders. This makes it difficult to breathe, sleep, stay steady, and concentrate. But the specific symptoms depend on the type of anxiety disorder a person is having.

The common symptoms of anxiety are:

1. Feelings of panic, restless or tense
2. Feeling restless, wound-up
3. Having difficulty in concentrating
4. Being irritable
5. Difficulty controlling feelings of worry
6. Having sleep problems
7. Having muscle tension
8. Difficulty in controlling feelings of worry
9. Having the urge to avoid things that trigger anxiety
10. Tingling hands or feet
11. Thinking about a problem over and over again 
12. Shortness of breath
13. Intensely avoiding feared objects or places

What are the types of anxiety disorders?

The types of anxiety disorders are:

1. Generalized anxiety disorder: 

It is a chronic disease that involves excessive, long-lasting anxiety, and anxiety about non-life events, objects, and conditions. In this type of anxiety disorder, people are not able to identify the cause of their anxiety.

2. Panic disorder: 

Panic disorder is a type of anxiety disorder in which people regularly face sudden attacks of panic or fear. In this type of anxiety disorder, people feel that they lose control, or face a heart attack problem. 

3. Specific phobia: 

Phobia is related to a specific cause and is not like other anxiety disorders. In this, people feel extremely afraid of a specific situation, such as heights or flight. A person with phobia perceives fear as irrational or extreme but unable to control the feelings of anxiety surrounding the trigger.

4. Agoraphobia:

A person with agoraphobia in deep fear of being in a place where he finds it difficult to escape or seek help in case of emergency. He may fear to leave home or use elevators and public transport, or standing in line with a crowd.

5. Social anxiety disorder: 

Social anxiety disorder is when you feel extreme anxiety and self-consciousness about everyday social situations. It involves a range of emotions, such as stage fright, fear of intimacy, and anxiety of humiliation. In this people fear the negative judgments of others in social situations or from public embarrassment. 

6. Selective mutism: 

It is a form of anxiety in which some children are not able to speak in certain places such as school while they can speak at home around familiar people. This is an extreme form of social phobia that interferes with school, work, and social functioning. It is usually associated with extreme shame, social embarrassment, essential symptoms, and withdrawal and occurs before the age of 5.

7. Separation anxiety disorder:

Separation anxiety disorder is diagnosed not only in children but also in adults, resulting in occasional panic symptoms. It occurs when a person is afraid of separation from a particular person, or even a pet to whom he or she is attached. They often worry that some harm or untoward loss will happen to their attachment figures when they are separated.

8. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD):

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health disorder that begins after a traumatic event or horrific past experience. It occurs as a reaction to chemical and neuronal changes in the brain after exposure to threatening events to anyone at any age.

There may be an actual or perceived risk of injury or death in that event and flashbacks, nightmares, or constant fear are its symptoms.

Causes Of Anxiety Disorder

The causes of anxiety disorders are complex. Many may occur simultaneously but some may not cause anxiety disorder unless another is present.

1. Environmental stressors, such as relationship problems, difficulty with work,  or family issues.
2. Genetics, who have family members with an anxiety disorder, people are more likely to experience a self. 
3. Medical factors, such as symptoms of a different disease, effects of a medication, or the stress or prolonged recovery of intensive surgery.
4. Brain chemistry, as psychologists define many anxiety disorders, such as misalignments of hormones and electrical signals in the brain.
5. Withdrawal from an illegal substance, the effects of which may intensify the effects of other possible causes.

Risk Factors For Anxiety Disorder

Risk factors are some things that make people more likely to develop an anxiety disorder. Some risk factors can be changed but some can't be changed.

The following are the risk factors for an anxiety disorder:

Another mental health disorder, such as depression, increases your risk for anxiety disorder. Emotional, physical, and sexual abuse or neglect during childhood is associated with anxiety disorders later in life. Stressful or negative life events, such as losing a parent in childhood, increase your risk for anxiety disorder. Constantly worrying about your health or the health of a loved one or caring for someone who is sick, may make you feel anxious.

The use of alcohol and illicit drugs increases your chances of having an anxiety disorder. Shame and withdrawal from unfamiliar people and places during childhood are associated with social anxiety in adolescents and adults. Negative perceptions about yourself can lead to social anxiety disorder. 

What natural remedies are used for anxiety disorder?

Some changes in lifestyle can be an effective way to relieve the stress and anxiety that you face every day. The following are the natural remedies  used for anxiety:

1. Avoiding alcohol and caffeine
2. Eating a healthy diet
3. Quitting smoking cigarettes
4. Meditating
5. Getting enough sleep
6. Staying active and exercising
7. Staying active and working out

Treatments and Therapies

There are several treatments to reduce the symptoms of anxiety disorder but it is generally treated with psychotherapy, medication, or both. 

1. Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy or talk therapy helps you learn how your emotions influence your behavior. In this therapy, mental health experts talk to people about their thoughts and feelings and help them to manage their anxiety disorder. A special type of talk therapy called cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is often used.

2. Cognitive-behavioral Therapy (CBT): 

Cognitive therapy is a type of therapy that focuses on identifying, challenging, and then neutralizing underlying anxiety disorders or neutralizing distorted thoughts. It teaches many different ways of thinking, behaving, and reacting to anxiety-provoking objects and situations. It also teaches how to carefully observe and manage fearful or anxious situations without worry.

3. Medication

Medication is prescribed by doctors such as a psychiatrist or primary care provider. It doesn't cure anxiety disorder but it helps only to relieve only the symptoms of anxiety disorder.

1. Anti-anxiety medications help to reduce the symptoms of panic attacks, anxiety, or extreme fear and anxiety. The most common anti-anxiety medication is benzodiazepines. This is effective in relieving anxiety and often has a more rapid effect than antidepressant medications prescribed for anxiety.
2. Buspirone is another anti-anxiety medication that is for the treatment of chronic anxiety. But it doesn't help everyone.
3. Antidepressants are mainly used to treat depression, but they can also be helpful for treating anxiety disorders. They help to improve the way your brain uses certain chemicals that regulate mood or stress.
4. Beta-blockers are not only used for treating high blood pressure but also they can be helpful for treating the physical symptoms of anxiety such as trembling, blushing, shaking, and rapid heartbeat.

Conclusion:

Finally, I can say that it can be treated with the help of medication, or psychotherapy even in severe cases. In a mild anxiety disorder, a lifestyle with a balanced diet can help keep anxious feelings within healthy limits. The constant anxiety and fear make people feel tired and scared and it can be challenging for them to live with thi