Fear is a natural feeling that occurs in emergency situations, for example in the event of a road hazard or another, in our opinion, dangerous event. Fear triggers a reaction in our body – accelerated heartbeat, dilated pupils or tremors. In situations of danger, when fear appears, our body forces us to act – fight or flight. Although the terms fear and anxiety are used interchangeably, it is worth remembering that they are different concepts. Fear is caused by an external factor, a real threat. Fear, on the other hand, is internal, it is the fear of danger, but often only experienced. In this article we you will get to know about the anxiety disorder and treatments use to diagnose anxiety and how to get help for anxiety and the affordable anxiety therapy in London.
Symptoms of anxiety disorders
Anxiety can take many forms. We distinguish, among others, the fear felt, associated with the arrival of unpleasant, although unspecified events. On the other hand, implicit fear arises as a result of an imagined, not a real threat. Among the types of fears, one can also mention hidden fear, free-flowing fear, panic fear, phobic fear, and anticipatory fear. On the other hand, agitation is defined as strong fear accompanied by restlessness.
The occurrence of anxiety is most often accompanied by somatic symptoms, among which we can mention excessive sweating, tremors, increased muscle tension, breathing disorders, headache and abdominal pain, as well as tingling, palpitations. Diarrhea, incontinence, or fainting may also occur. These are called somatic masks of anxiety (similar to depressive masks in depressive disorders).
Diagnosis of fears
Causes of anxiety disorders
There is no one specific cause of anxiety. The source of the problem can be many different factors that make up the occurrence of anxiety disorders. The most common causes include family predispositions, if there was an anxiety disorder in the family before, as well as others such as: excessive stress, problems with mental health deterioration, personality factors. Substance abuse often co-occurs with anxiety disorders.
Types of anxiety disorders
There are many different anxiety disorders, and in fact no two conditions are the same. Most often, patients suffer from social phobias, which consist in isolating themselves from people. Often there are also specific phobias, consisting of fear of various objects or situations. These include claustrophobia, arachnophobia, dental phobia and others. Other types of anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and acute stress reaction.
Anxiety therapy
How to deal with fears
Treatment of anxiety disorders depends on their severity and cause. In some situations, it is possible to calm down the symptoms of anxiety through relaxation techniques, but intensified symptoms require the use of pharmacotherapy combined with psychotherapy. In the event of a serious exacerbation of the disease, pharmacotherapy will be recommended in combination with behavioral-cognitive psychotherapy and, subsequently, psychodynamic psychotherapy, especially in people whose anxiety disorders do not allow them to function normally.
Remember that the selected psychotherapist may recommend contacting a psychiatrist who will take care of the patient’s pharmacotherapy. It is suggested not to combine psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy with one therapist.
Psychotherapy in the treatment of anxiety
In the treatment of anxiety disorders, a psychotherapist can help, who during weekly meetings with the patient helps him understand the cause of the problems and overcome them. Thanks to psychotherapy, patients can get to the heart of their problem, drawing support from the psychotherapeutic relationship during the changes they make. It is worth emphasizing that the psychotherapist does not provide the patient with ready-made solutions to remove anxiety disorders, but strives for the patient to come up with the most appropriate solution for himself. Working together can be compared to a journey in which the patient is looking for new solutions (schemes of conduct), and the psychotherapist will follow the patient half a step in vigilant observation, paying attention when in the psychotherapeutic relationship they deviate from the previously chosen path or start to withdraw.
Leave a Reply