Is Anxiety Ruling Your Life?

Anxiety disorders are primarily on overwhelming fear. Everyone experiences the tingle of fear and anxiety, especially when encountering an anxiety provoking experience like public speaking or a first date. However, the difference of an anxiety disorder is the difference between an occasional feeling of apprehension and a constant and dominating force in your life. If anxiety is all consuming, it is a disorder and you need to take steps to correct it.

One of the most familiar and studied forms of anxiety disorder is the panic attack. The patient usually feels his or her heart race and also pain or pressure in the chest. Generalized anxiety disorder is another of the more commonly diagnosed forms. It manifests as constant worry that is beyond normal bounds. Other symptoms include a lengthy event lasting six months or longer, muscle tension, difficulty staying focused on a subject, trouble sleeping, and feeling continuously irritated. Panic attacks don't usually result from general anxiety disorder, but it can still make life difficult. That type of worry is exhausting, takes away interest in one's life, and can cause mood swings. Some other anxiety disorders include social anxiety, obsessive compulsive behavior, various phobias, and post- traumatic stress syndrome.

Diagnosing these disorders is not easy as they incorporate brain functions and there is still a lot to be learned about them. No one in the medical profession has yet learned why a particular person's fear response is amplified so much more than another's. Researchers do know that five neurotransmitters become disturbed in these disorders and medications have been developed to treat them. They include anti-depressants and anti- anxiety drugs.

Anxiety disorders are sometimes painful and exhausting, but there are many options for treatment and healing. The typical Western response to anxiety combines medication with psychotherapy. Patients may elect to go to a psychologist, who guides them through the therapeutic process, or a psychiatrist who prescribes medication. Medication is a very effective method of treating anxiety disorders. The best selling medications are tranquilizers in the benzodiazepines family -- which go by the more recognizable names such as Xanax, Valium and Ativan. These drugs are very effective in limiting anxiety or quelling panic, especially for a short-term duration. However, for patients who require medication to overcome acute anxiety, antidepressants have produced better results, especially the selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRI's), such as Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil and Celexa.

There are a number of alternative medicines being practiced today and some people prefer not to take pharmaceuticals. If you are in this category it may take trial and error as well as time and patience to find relief. Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is an approach that zeroes in on the thought processes that cause us to worry. Its goal is to help separate realistic thoughts from those that are overblown. Some other things to try are relaxation training, desensitization, breathing, meditating, acupuncture, homeopathy, and biofeedback. Massage therapy, chiropractics, and just walking can also be of help.

Nansia Ressi is the manager and webmaster of Pharmacy Lane, LLP - a guide to pharmaceutical resources on the internet. To read more of Nansia's work, please visit: http://www.pharmacylane.com

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