February 22, 2021
Living with Anxiety: Time to take action
Recent news
By admin 0 Comments
Living with Anxiety- Time to take action

Is feeling anxious normal? You might feel anxious before taking a test or going for an interview or maybe before making an important decision. We all get anxious at certain points in life. Anxiousness is a normal response to stress. It is a worry or apprehension. Anxiety can be described as a feeling of worry, nervousness, fear, and dread which is normal sometimes in certain situations of life. But the constant state of worry or nervousness where you feel uneasy is anxiety. Often anxiety disorder may be experienced with “panic attacks” which may lead to sudden fear or terror at its peak within minutes. When anxiety and fear interfere in your day-to-day activities, it will affect the quality of life. Here is the time to act.

Anxiety may be difficult to deal with and go out of control. You may start to avoid places and situations to prevent such feelings from cropping up in your mind. But that’s not the solution. You cannot sit confined at home without going to your job or work. 

There are different types of Anxiety Disorder

  • GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder)
  • SAD (Social Anxiety Disorder)
  • SAD(Separation Anxiety disorder)
  • Specific phobias Agoraphobia 
  • Substance Anxiety disorder. 

Signs and symptoms of anxiety

The symptoms of anxiety conditions are not always obvious as they develop gradually over a period of time. Everyone has a different experience of anxiety at various times in life. It can be hard to describe how much is too much. 

Here are the symptoms of anxiety that can give you insight into how anxiety disorder happens. 

Physical symptoms

  • Panic attacks 
  • Hot or cold flushes 
  • Racing pulse 
  • Restlessness 
  • Chest tightness 
  • Feeling tense
  • Quick breathing

Psychological symptoms

  • Feeling edgy 
  • Excessive fear 
  • Worry 
  • Obsessive thinking 
  • Stress
  • Fatigue 
  • Low mood
  • Overcrowded and negative thoughts

Behavioral symptoms

  • Avoidance of situations that make you feel nervous
  • Stammering speech
  • Low productivity 
  • Low confidence 
  • Low self-esteem
  • Sensitive and emotional

These are some symptoms that you might experience. Based on the chronicity of symptoms the diagnosis and prognosis can be predicted. Consulting a healthcare professional, doctor or counselor can help you with proper guidance.

Checklist for Anxiety Disorder

This is the anxiety test or checklist to make sure that you are suffering from it

  • Ask these questions to yourself first:
  • Are you feeling nervous or edgy?
  • Is it that you cannot stop worrying?
  • Are you worrying too much over the optimum level?
  • Are you worried about all the petty things in life?
  • Do you have trouble relaxing?
  • Are you feeling restless?
  • Are you finding it hard to sit still?
  • Are you suffering from Restless leg syndrome?
  • Do you get annoyed or irritable quite often?
  • Do you have fear in your heart?
  • Do you feel afraid that something bad will happen?

If your answer is “YES”, it’s time to take action against anxiety. Take some preventive steps to take care of anxiety which can work for you. If there is no improvement after that then shift to medicines such as traditional treatment like Ayurveda and homeopathy which can help with holistic treatment. If you are suffering from these symptoms for more than 2 weeks, make sure that you voice out your concern to the counselor who can go ahead and help you with some motivational sessions.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder. (GAD)

A patient feels anxious and worried most of the time for a lot of different things and this becomes his regular routine of staying anxious by nature. He generally learns to live with anxiety for a period of more than 6 months. This is Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Social Anxiety Disorder(SAD)

With this type of anxiety disorder, the person has an intense fear of being humiliated or feel embarrassed in front of others. They find it difficult to appear in public like eating in public or talking in public. They feel like staying home rather than going to work or social gatherings.

Specific phobias

Phobia is fear of unknown or known origin. It could be a fear of a certain situation or object like traveling in a car may lead to negative thoughts of an accident or traveling by plane. There are a lot of different types of phobia. There is fear to avoid places that can make you feel panicked, trapped, helpless, or being left alone. 

For example

Agoraphobia: It is fear of open places. Someone with Agoraphobia may have fear of traveling by plane where there is no way to escape.

Drug-induced anxiety

This is quite common in people who are addicted to alcohol, drugs, and smoking. Anxiety can be treated by eliminating the drugs from your life. Rehab centers can help you with overcoming withdrawal symptoms. 

Here are some mental hacks that can help you overcome anxiety

  • Breathe slowly 
  • Meditate 
  • Practice Mindfulness 
  • Have a healthy diet 
  • Exercise well 
  • Sleep well 
  • Take regular breaks after continuous work. 
  • Self-talk 
  • Counseling 
  • Reduce the worry time
  • Raise out your concern with your loved ones 
  • Be kind to yourself 
  • Reward yourself 
  • Indulge in motivational sessions
  • Try natural therapies like destressing tea
  • Take Ayurveda and homeopathy medicines.