Anxiety Disorder - Revealed

Anxiety is psychological and physiological state which affects all aspects of the body. It is also one of body's very effective coping mechanisms against stress and other disequilibrium. Anxiety helps the individual cope up by preparing the body in dealing with upcoming stressful situations, wherein survival is needed. Little dose of anxiety is very useful in an individuals body, but if anxiety become severe wherein it become irrational this kind of anxiety must be treated immediately. There are many sings of anxiety disorder one of them are the following; irrational fear, uncertainty and stress. Anxiety disorder affects almost 40 million American adults.

Anxiety disorders has its own types or categories and they are written below:

* panic disorder,

* obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD),

* post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),

* social phobia (or social anxiety disorder)

* specific phobias

* generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

Every types of the disorder have its own unique symptoms, but commonly they share the same symptoms of excessive irrational fear and dread. To initially diagnose an individual having anxiety disorder a good assessment is very important to start with, preferably using a standardized interview or questionnaire together with expert evaluation as well as the view and feelings of the patient must be considered. Moreover, a thorough medical examination must be done to recognize other potential conditions that can cause the symptoms of anxiety disorder.

Medical treatment of said condition includes drug therapy such as antidepressants, anti-anxiety and beta- blockers, these drugs are the common drugs that the physician usually prescribed for the patient to take. But these drugs only treats the symptoms of the disorder not the disorder itself, in short those drugs are for palliative treatment only. Other than medical treatment we also have the Psychotherapy, which particularly a cognitive- behavioral therapy. Psychotherapy is also a very effective way in knowing the cause of anxiety disorder in a certain patient as well as how to manage the present symptoms. Generally, in managing anxiety disorder, the combination of medical treatment and psychotherapy is the best way to control and deal with the signs and symptoms of anxiety disorder. But there are also cases wherein an existing condition like alcoholism, depression and others may interfere in the treatment of anxiety disorder, that sometimes we need to treat first the other coexisting conditions before full treatment of anxiety disorder can be started.

There are also other treatment of the condition like stress management, since stresses are the usual cause of the disorder. We have also meditation, wherein individuals with anxiety disorder can calm themselves and may also augment the effect of therapy.

Things to consider before taking medication for anxiety disorder:
- Inquire about the effects and the side effects of the drug that you may experience while taking it.
- Inform your physician of any alternative treatment that you have been using together with drug therapy or other over-the-counter drugs that you are taking in. so that you will know if there are contraindication and negative interactions between them.
- Ask your physician when and how the medication should be stopped. Some drugs can't be stopped abruptly but must be tapered off slowly under a physician's supervision.
- Be knowledgeable enough that there are medications wherein should be taken in a scheduled regular manner and no skips, because symptoms may recur if stop.
- And most importantly work with your physician when it comes to deciding what drugs to use for your condition.