Anxiety

When should I seek help for anxiety?

Anxiety is the feeling of fear or worry you experience when you’re under stress. You may face a dangerous or difficult situation in the present or anticipate and dread an upcoming event.

But anxiety is more than a feeling. Your stress triggers a physical response in your body. As a result, hormone levels rapidly rise, giving you the energy and focus needed to deal with or escape the situation.

Your emotions and hormones should return to a calm state after you deal with the circumstance. Anxiety becomes a problem when it:

• Appears frequently or constantly
• Disrupts your daily life
• Causes overpowering worry and fear
• Makes you change your activities
• Occurs even when you don’t face a dreaded situation

You should consider getting help at Calm Psychiatry, PC, if you feel overwhelmed with anxiety or experience any of the above challenges.

Are there different types of anxiety?

The four most common anxiety disorders include:

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

GAD causes constant anxiety over everyday activities and life challenges, such as finances, an illness, or children’s behavior problems.

Specific phobias

Specific phobias cause an intense fear of an activity or object, such as flying or spiders.

Social anxiety disorder

Social anxiety disorder causes severe dread when you must meet people, attend a social event, or perform in front of others (like giving a presentation at work or school).

Agoraphobia

Agoraphobia makes it hard or impossible to leave home because you fear being in places you can’t easily leave, where you may be embarrassed or ashamed, or have a panic attack.

What are the symptoms of anxiety?

In addition to fear, worry, and dread, anxiety causes physical symptoms, such as:

• Restlessness
• Insomnia
• Irritability
• Nausea
• Loss of appetite
• Headaches
• Muscle aches
• Difficulty concentrating
• Panic attacks

Panic attacks occur suddenly, causing symptoms like dizziness, shortness of breath, sweating, and chest pain.

How is anxiety treated?

Your Calm Psychiatry, PC, provider treats anxiety with medication management, psychotherapy, or both depending on the cause and severity of your symptoms.

While anti-anxiety medications help people with moderate-to-severe anxiety or panic attacks, most people overcome anxiety with therapeutic techniques proven to help, such as cognitive behavioral therapy.

You can conquer anxiety with treatment from the providers at Calm Psychiatry, PC. Call the office or connect online today to schedule a telehealth appointment.