Do you know that anxiety is a mental health condition that requires treatment? You may have thought that anxiety is part of our everyday lives. We worry about certain things like work, family matters and academics. But persistent anxiety that interferes with daily activities is considered unhealthy. This kind of anxiety can destroy relationships and prevent one from enjoying life. In the long run, it could potentially result to more serious health problems.

Signs And Symptoms

There are many symptoms of anxiety that you may dismiss at first as trivial. The feelings of apprehensive and powerless are common signs and symptoms of this mental health disorder. People who often think that they are always to face danger or doom have general anxiety attacks. Likewise, physical manifestations of anxiety include increased heart rate, sweating, rapid breathing, trembling and exhaustion.

Types

There are different types of anxiety disorders. One of these is agoraphobia which refers to anxiety about places or situations where one may feel helpless. Panic attacks is another form of anxiety disorder that is characterized by heart palpitations, chest pains and shortness of breath. People who feel like they’re being choked or that an impending doom is about to happen experience panic attacks.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common anxiety disorder. If you have persistent and recurring thoughts, or feel an irresistible desire to undertake useless acts or rituals, then you may be suffering from OCD. On the other hand, there is post-traumatic stress disorder that happens to a person who had been subjected to an extremely traumatic event. It can cause intense emotions and a strong feeling to avoid anything that reminds someone of the traumatic event.  Acute stress disorder is similar to post-traumatic stress disorder.

Phobias are considered a form of anxiety. When you are exposed to any object or situation and you have a strong desire to avoid it, then you have a phobia to the said thing or situation. In some cases, phobias result to panic attacks. Social phobias, meanwhile, pertain to a major anxiety to a certain type of social situation.

Treatment

When is anxiety considered to be serious and thus require medical help? It is recommended that you see a doctor if you feel like your anxiety has interfered with the important facets of your life like relationships and work. If you are constantly depressed to the point that you have been using too much alcohol or drugs, then you should seek medical help immediately. Lastly, see emergency treatment if you entertain suicidal thoughts.

Psychotherapy is an important component of an anxiety treatment program. It involves working with a therapies to reduce the symptoms of anxiety.  It can also be complemented with medications like antidepressants such as Prozac. Prozac works to control the symptoms of anxiety by acting on serotonin, which is the chemical in the brain that is responsible for the delivery of messages between nerve cells. Aside from anxiety, it is also prescribed for controlling symptoms of various conditions such as bulimia.