Friday, January 30, 2009

Do you wish you understood anxiety?

By Paul Forcey

Anxiety can be hard to understand as people who have anxiety attacks often withdraw into themselves and pull away from their friends and family. This withdrawal from social activities and interactions can make it hard for others to get a understanding of anxiety.

Most of us have learned over the years how to deal with stressful situations that we may come up against , we may get annoyed and we may feel frustrated. This is normal, however people who suffer with anxiety feel the same emotions that all of us do but they tend to feel them far more intensely and for extensive periods of time .

Understanding anxiety can be hard as there are many different types of anxiety that a person can suffer from and some are actually more severe than others. The more severe the anxiety then the longer the symptoms associated with the condition last and the way in which the person behaves can become more and more erratic.

The most common type of anxiety is known as GAD (generalized anxiety disorder) and affects around 5% of the US population. People who suffer from this particular disorder will be under a constant state of worry or anxiety, which takes a toll on their social life as well as their physical wellbeing.

It is not rare for anxiety to be just one of many medical problems that a person suffers from. When someone has a number of physical and possibly mental health issues it can become hard for a medical professional to spot anxiety in amongst them. Anxiety and depression are two health issues that are often found together.

Some of the symptoms that a anxiety sufferer will display can greatly affect not just them but everyone in their social circle as well as family members. Restless, edgy and irritable - These symptoms can lead to confrontations with family members. Sleeplessness - Days or weeks with little sleep will compound the physical problems that anxiety sufferers often experience.

Day to day life can be tough for all of us, but if you are suffering from anxiety then it becomes even more difficult to manage with the problems that are thrown at most of us every day. These small problems mount up and the negative affects compound until the anxiety sufferer can't cope anymore and gives up his job and just stays home.

Although it may seem impossible there is help available for all of the anxiety disorders. The difficult step for most people is getting the friend or family member to admit they need help and go to see their Dr. When they do admit they have a problem and go to see their Dr he will most likely start them on a course of medication. Medication is not a instant fix for anxiety, understanding and support for the anxiety sufferer will be as valuable as any medication that can be prescribed.

When you go to see your Dr you must be open minded as to what treatment he offers you, medication is not the only way that he may be able to help you. Having a open mind to listen and discuss the various treatment options will help you in the healing process.

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