Your body is endowed with natural physiological mechanisms allowing it to prepare you to deal with dangerous situations. When you find yourself in a dangerous environment, your body will induce a stress reaction, resulting in anxiety. This is meant to allow your adrenaline to enable higher levels of focus and improved decision making.
On the other hand, those with anxiety disorders experience unhealthy stress reactions which causes them to be anxious for sustained periods of time despite there being no apparent danger. The stress reactions are overly frequent and may cause excessive worrying which may impede their quality of life.
There are many types of anxiety people experience which may be detrimental to their well-being.
Generalized anxiety disorder
This type of anxiety disorder may cause you to be anxious about almost everything in daily life. Generalized anxiety disorder may manifest in overthinking when making plans and giving too much attention than is warranted to worst-case situations. This may result in you avoiding potentially stressful situations. The disorder may also make it difficult for you to deal with uncertainty of any kind. All of this can hinder your ability to relax which can lead to all types of other health issues.
Social anxiety
If interacting with other people is especially difficult for you and causes you to feel anxious, you may suffer from what is known as social anxiety. Socializing with others may make you feel self-conscious and embarrassed to the point where its negative effects on your social and work life are significant. Some suffering with social anxiety are scared of meeting new people, having to perform in front of an audience of any size or using a public bathroom. Many even fear just simply eating and drinking in public.
Panic disorder
A sudden intense feeling of discomfort or alarm which peaks within minutes is known as a panic attack. Those who experience panic attacks without any tangible danger may be suffering from a panic disorder. You may also experience fast heart rate, shakiness, sweating, hot flashes, and shortness of breath.
It is also common to become lightheaded and experience nausea, chills, chest pain and abdominal pain. You may also have headaches, tingling, numbness, and a feeling of impending doom.
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Experiencing a life-threatening or terrifying event can cause you to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This event could have been a horrible accident, domestic violence, natural disasters, war, a near-death experience, or a sexual assault of some type. Those with PTSD will end up reliving the emotional and psychological stress of the event frequently. Basically, their nervous system is reacting as if they were experiencing the original traumatizing event repeatedly.
Some symptoms associated with PTSD are intrusive memories, sudden emotional reactions, flashbacks, emotional detachment and negative thinking and moods. Many will experience overwhelming shame or guilt, inability to concentrate, sleep challenges, irritability, and self-destructive behavior.
Treating anxiety
These are just a few of the numerous types of anxiety disorders and conditions people may experience. On the other hand, there are several treatments available for anxiety, depending on the type of anxiety disorder you are suffering from. Some of these treatments include meditation, talk therapy and various medications. Talk with a trusted medical professional to help get the right help for your situation.
This material is being provided for information purposes only and is not a complete description, nor is it a recommendation. Strategies mentioned may not be suitable for all individuals. Any opinions are those of the author and not necessarily those of Raymond James. The foregoing information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that it is accurate or complete, it is not a statement of all available data necessary for making a decision.