What You Always Wanted To Know About Anxiety Disorders

,

• Publisher: Jazzybee Verlag
• Year: 2012
• eBook ISBN: 9783849622770
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Psychiatry & Mental Health

This volume of the Medical Basic Guides is about Anxiety Disorders "What You Always Wanted To Know About..." are straight-to-the-point, easily understandable and comprehensive medical ebooks and guides for everybody. Whether you are just interested in the topic of the book or you are directly affected by it, these books can really help you with the information you need. This is your step toward new insights and informations.Contents: IntroductionPanic DisorderObsessive-Compulsive DisorderPost-Traumatic Stress DisorderSocial Phobia (Social Anxiety Disorder)Specific PhobiasGeneralized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)Treatment of Anxiety DisordersMedicationAntidepressantsSSRIsTricyclicsMAOIsAnti-Anxiety DrugsBeta-BlockersTaking MedicationsPsychotherapyCognitive-Behavioral TherapyHow to Get Help for Anxiety DisordersWays to Make Treatment More EffectiveRole of Research in Improving the Understanding and Treatment of Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety Disorders

Contents:

Introduction

Panic Disorder

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Social Phobia (Social Anxiety Disorder)

Specific Phobias

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Treatment of Anxiety Disorders

Medication

Antidepressants

SSRIs

Tricyclics

MAOIs

Anti-Anxiety Drugs

Beta-Blockers

Taking Medications

Psychotherapy

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

How to Get Help for Anxiety Disorders

Ways to Make Treatment More Effective

Role of Research in Improving the Understanding and Treatment of Anxiety Disorders

Disclaimer: We have provided this material for your information. It is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your primary health care provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with your health care provider. We do not endorse or favor any specific commercial product or company. Trade, proprietary, or company names appearing in this document are used only because they are considered necessary in the context of the information provided. If a product is not mentioned, the omission does not mean or imply that the product is unsatisfactory.

Anxiety Disorders

Jazzybee Verlag Jürgen Beck

Loschberg 9

86450 Altenmünster

ISBN: 9783849622770

www.jazzybee-verlag.de

[email protected]

Frontcover: © M.Tomczak - Fotolia.com

Introduction

Anxiety Disorders affect about 40 million American adults age 18 years and older (about 18%) in a given year, causing them to be filled with fearfulness and uncertainty. Unlike the relatively mild, brief anxiety caused by a stressful event (such as speaking in public or a first date), anxiety disorders last at least 6 months and can get worse if they are not treated. Anxiety disorders commonly occur along with other mental or physical illnesses, including alcohol or substance abuse, which may mask anxiety symptoms or make them worse. In some cases, these other illnesses need to be treated before a person will respond to treatment for the anxiety disorder.

Effective therapies for anxiety disorders are available, and research is uncovering new treatments that can help most people with anxiety disorders lead productive, fulfilling lives. If you think you have an anxiety disorder, you should seek information and treatment right away.

This booklet will

• describe the symptoms of anxiety disorders,
• explain the role of research in understanding the causes of these conditions,
• describe effective treatments,
• help you learn how to obtain treatment and work with a doctor or therapist, and
• suggest ways to make treatment more effective.

The following anxiety disorders are discussed in this brochure:

• panic disorder,
• obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD),
• post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),
• social phobia (or social anxiety disorder),
• specific phobias, and
• generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

Each anxiety disorder has different symptoms, but all the symptoms cluster around excessive, irrational fear and dread.

Panic Disorder

“For me, a panic attack is almost a violent experience. I feel disconnected from reality. I feel like I’m losing control in a very extreme way. My heart pounds really hard, I feel like I can’t get my breath, and there’s an overwhelming feeling that things are crashing in on me.”

“It started 10 years ago, when I had just graduated from college and started a new job. I was sitting in a business seminar in a hotel and this thing came out of the blue. I felt like I was dying.”

“In between attacks there is this dread and anxiety that it’s going to happen again. I’m afraid to go back to places where I’ve had an attack. Unless I get help, there soon won’t be anyplace where I can go and feel safe from panic.”

Panic disorder is a real illness that can be successfully treated. It is characterized by sudden attacks of terror, usually accompanied by a pounding heart, sweatiness, weakness, faintness, or dizziness. During these attacks, people with panic disorder may flush or feel chilled; their hands may tingle or feel numb; and they may experience nausea, chest pain, or smothering sensations. Panic attacks usually produce a sense of unreality, a fear of impending doom, or a fear of losing control.

A fear of one’s own unexplained physical symptoms is also a symptom of panic disorder. People having panic attacks sometimes believe they are having heart attacks, losing their minds, or on the verge of death. They can’t predict when or where an attack will occur, and between episodes many worry intensely and dread the next attack.

Panic attacks can occur at any time, even during sleep. An attack usually peaks within 10 minutes, but some symptoms may last much longer.

Panic disorder affects about 6 million American adults and is twice as common in women as men. Panic attacks often begin in late adolescence or early adulthood, but not everyone who experiences panic attacks will develop panic disorder. Many people have just one attack and never have another. The tendency to develop panic attacks appears to be inherited.

People who have full-blown, repeated panic attacks can become very disabled by their condition and should seek treatment before they start to avoid places or situations where panic attacks have occurred. For example, if a panic attack happened in an elevator, someone with panic disorder may develop a fear of elevators that could affect the choice of a job or an apartment, and restrict where that person can seek medical attent...

Table of contents

• Introduction