Anxiety Treatment

Social anxiety disorder , also called social phobia, is a psychological condition that causes an overwhelming fear of social situations that require interacting with or performing in front of others. But if you often feel anxious without reason and your worries disrupt your daily life, you may have generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Generalized anxiety disorder causes excessive or unrealistic anxiety and worry about life circumstances, usually without a readily identifiable cause. However, more than 20 million Americans suffer from anxiety disorders - a collection of psychological problems characterized by unnatural and unhealthy anxiety or irrational fears. Externally, somatic signs of anxiety may include pale skin, sweating, trembling, and pupillary dilation . Emotionally, anxiety causes a sense of dread or panic and physically causes nausea, and chills. These behaviors are frequent and often maladaptive, being most extreme in anxiety disorders . However, anxiety is not always pathological or maladaptive: it is a common emotion along with fear, anger, sadness, and happiness, and it has a very important function in relation to survival. The emotions and fears surrounding these disorders can dominate an individual's life, interfering with the ability to work, socialize or maintain relationships with people. Social anxiety disorder significantly impacts a person's daily life. It may even cause withdrawal from social activities and missed work or school. Living with generalized anxiety disorder can be difficult, but treatment is available. Medications and professional counseling or therapy can help you cope with the effects of generalized anxiety disorder.

Treatment of Anxiety

• Anxiety disorders are readily treated by a number of modern techniques, usually including a combination of time-limited psychotherapy and anti-anxiety medications.
• Doctors use antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications to treat generalized anxiety disorder and other various types of anxiety disorders.
• The important thing to remember is that effective treatments are available for anxiety disorders, and no one should feel the need to retreat from life because of overwhelming anxiety.
• Currently, evidence does not support an increased risk of suicide in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) or other anxiety disorders treated with SSRIs.
• Several types of medications are useful in treating anxiety disorders and are usually used in conjunction with other forms of therapy.