What is Anxiety?

Anxiety is an emotional state that varies in intensity and is often accompanied by physical symptoms such as muscle tension, tremors, sweating, heart palpitations or increased pulse rate.  Anxiety is a protective reaction modulated by a number of bodily systems triggered by awareness of some real or imagined threat. 

What is Generalized Anxiety Disorder?

Generalized Anxiety Disorder is excessive, unrealistic worry and anxiety that  lasts six months or more.  The anxiety may be focused on everday issues such as job, money, or health concerns, or the reason for the anxiety may be unclear.  Symptoms are chronic and can impair all aspects of a person's life. 

What about Phobias?

Phobias are characterized by fear and anxiety around certain object or situations.  The individual fear is exaggerated and is recognized as irrational.  The avoidance of common everday situations like driving and elevators can be especially impairing.

What is Social Phobia?

This condition is significant anxiety provoked by exposure to or the expecation of being in performance or social situations.  The anxiety is to the degree that the individual avoids situations to the extent that their life is impaired.

What is Agoraphobia?

Agoraphobia is anxiety about being in places or situations from which escape might be difficult or embarrassing or in which help might not be available in the event of having an unexpected or situationally predisposed Panic Attack.

What is a Panic Attack?

A panic attack is a period of intense fear or discomfort in the absence of real danger with symptoms that include palpitations, sweating, trembling or shaking, sensations of shortness of breath or smothering, chest pain and a number of other physical symptoms.

What causes Anxiety, Phobias and Panic Attacks?

The above conditions are thought to be caused by a biochemical imbalance in the brain, or their may be a genetic component to some anxiety disorders.  Symptoms may be related to learned or conditioned events in childhood or traumatic events from the past.  Some phobias may be related to unconcious imprints that have been consciously forgotten.  And anxiety may be related to medical difficulties such as thyroid conditions and cardiac arrhythmias.  It is important to rule out medical causes or side effects from any substances or medications used.  Many medications may cause anxiety and some persons are hypersensitive to substances such as alcohol and caffiene.  And even food or environmental allergies may excacerbate existing anxiety.  Anxiety may be also be related to other psychological conditions.

How is Anxiety Treated?

A therapist might use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, teaching an individual to identify self defeating thoughts and beliefs and helping to change them.  Relaxation therapy might help a person to regulate the physiological symptoms of anxiety with breathing or visualization.   Insight-oriented psychotherapy can help an individual become aware of the origin of the anxiety or psychological issues related to it.  Clinical hypnosis can potentiate or magnify a relaxation response and pair it with certain cues.  It can help a person relax at a much deeper level and can also be used to resolve the unconcious conditioning behind symptoms.  For  phobias an individual might use systematic desensitation, pairing relaxation or hypnosis with the distressing object or situation.   And a doctor or psychiatrist can prescribe medication to manage symptoms.