What Are Some Results of Untreated Anxiety?

For people that experience anxiety and panic attacks on a regular basis, it's not uncommon for these issues to go untreated for various reasons. Panic attack and anxiety sufferers may be so embarrassed, paranoid, and fearful that others may think they are "crazy" that they just do everything in their power to avoid situations that cause them to become anxious. Over time, many of these people start to lose hope that they will ever stop feeling anxious, and they may lock themselves away from the life and others that they once enjoyed, a mental disorder that's referred to as agoraphobia. When this happens, there can be some serious long-term consequences that the anxiety sufferer will end up with.

Psychological Concerns

Many of the results of untreated anxiety and panic attacks cannot only be devastating psychologically; they can be life threatening as well. A person who continually experiences the physical symptoms of anxiety, such as heart palpitations, stomach and digestive ailments or insomnia, can become physically ill as a result. The anxiety sufferer may become homebound out of fear of having a panic attack in front of peers at a job or in public. The person may decide to avoid the things that cause anxiety, such as driving or performing routine life activities like grocery shopping or spending time with friends and family. Worse yet, the anxiety sufferer may stop getting regular medical care for existing health issues they may have out of fear of being labeled as unstable.

Physical Concerns

In addition, anxiety can cause other health problems to become worrisome or increase in occurrence. In fact, the health problems may be at the root of their worrisome tendency - it's a vicious cycle that has no end. For example, a person who is anxious about their stomach pains may go on to develop ulcers, which are life threatening. The more they worry about dying from their stomach pain, the worse their physical condition becomes. Or the person may become so depressed from not wanting to leave the house may be so worried that they develop social phobias and then even suicidal tendencies.

Anxiety left untreated over time can cause high blood pressure, which can lead to premature heart failure. Anxiety can cause hormonal imbalances in both men and women, which is detrimental to health and well-being. This hormonal imbalance can contribute to thyroid function issues, diabetes, immune deficiencies, and other illnesses that can cause serious consequences. More often than not, people become anxious due to a seemingly small issue, but because they worry so much and can't control the anxiety, the build-up of endorphins causes their body to work overtime. This causes strain on the body as a whole.

Left untreated, anxiety is also a leading cause of obesity. People often eat out of emotional needs and stress. Being tense as a result of having anxiety is one reason that people may overeat and don't get enough exercise. Then the heavier that a person gets, the harder it is to leave the house to exercise, and the worse the anxiety symptoms become. The irony is that exercise has been shown to improve the symptoms of anxiety, and so it's actually beneficial for a person who has anxiety to exercise on a regular basis. Yet, without proper care from a health care professional, many fail to realize they need this regular exercise in order to combat their anxiety.

There are ways that the effects of anxiety can be reduced and in many cases eliminated. Living a healthy lifestyle that includes regular medical care, whole foods that are high in vitamins and nutrients, supplementing with natural products, and a good balance of exercise and rest is the best treatment for anyone experiencing anxiety.

Anxiety Disorder Causes - The Four Major Contributors Explained

The study of anxiety disorders began around the turn of the 20th century. Since that time, studies have compiled four major contributors for anxiety disorder causes. There is conjecture on other possible causes, but these remain the basis for most prognoses.

* Brain chemistry - Both clinical and animal studies highly indicate a relationship between difficulty in maintaining balance and anxiety disorders. The belief is that a malfunction causes signals to be confused within the medial temporal lobes of the brain. The exact area is in the amygdalae, which deal with memory of emotional reactions. Simply put, the person cannot balance a reaction to match a cause, resulting in fear of events that may not be fearful at all.

* Life experiences - Chronic physical illness or worries associated with finances, relationships, or work situations can lead to anxiety disorders. Between 4% and 10% of older adults are diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. This doesn't take into consideration the many who do not seek help because they don't want anyone to know.

* Heredity - Everyone receives genes from their parents and grandparents. Almost everyone who has an anxiety disorder has a parent, grandparent, or other relative with anxiety syndromes of some type. In cases where the child becomes separated from the parent at an early age, certain characteristics will surface that are like those of the parent. This indicates that the disorders are not solely based on life experiences as some have though. Clinical studies substantiate the pass-down-system of anxiety.

* Personality - People who have low self esteem and the inability to cope with life situations are more prone to become depressed and then develop anxiety disorders. The relationships between emotions in these cases are difficult to understand because the person with low self-esteem may be that way because of an anxiety at an earlier age. The origin of the anxiety is not always clearly understood.

Another contributor to depression and anxiety is alcohol abuse. Moderate and sustained alcohol use may increase the levels of depression and anxiety in some people. The good news is that the majority of these anxiety cases can be reversed with prolonged abstinence. Dependency on alcohol or benzodiazepine can lead to panic disorder or social phobias.

Most sufferers of anxiety disorders have combinations of these causes. The ability to treat a syndrome of anxiety is only possible by removing as many of these causes as possible and then focusing on treating what is left. Unfortunately, the human is a complex and diverse being with no set standard to allow a structured common treatment. It is the task of the professional to probe and assess each person individually. In this way, he/she can devise a plan of attack that works.

Anxiety disorder causes are much easier to identify than they are to rectify. Few suffers are able to help themselves, and must be cajoled to seek medical attention.

Anxiety Disorders - Their Form And Manifestation

Every person in her/his life encountered manifestations of anxiety, felt the symptoms of anxiety, saw close ones suffering from it. And this is not surprising. According to the estimations of some experts almost everyone on the planet experienced neurosis of anxiety and each second suffers from anxiety at the present moment.

However what is an anxiety? The simplest definition of anxiety is a feeling of groundless internal uneasiness, agitation. If "anxiety" has a specific reason it is called fear or phobia. Literature describes huge set of fears and phobias like fear of closed spaces, sharp objects, height, darkness, solitude, public appearances, blood, thirteenth number, snakes, spiders, illness, etc. But only when agitation is not related to a specific subject doctors speak about anxiety disorder.

Depending on appearance and nature of manifestation doctors define three basic types of the anxiety: paroxysmal, constant and after-stress (reactive). Manifestations (symptoms) of anxiety can be subdivided into mental and somatic. Most frequently anxiety is recorded in women, especially older than 40 years. However, it can be developed also at the young age and in men. After happening once, anxiety has a tendency toward the prolonged, repetitive (relapsing) flow. Person usually cannot hold anxiety in control, and as a result her/his normal lifestyle is disrupted. Moreover, as a result of continuous fears and agitations, tension, fatigue and increased irritability relationship with close ones can suffer.

Together with the unjustified agitations, anxiety disorders are characterized with increased excitability or the timidity, which is accompanied by the excessive reactivity of the vegetative nervous system. The disturbances of sleep are noted very frequently (suddenly falling asleep or awakening during the night). It is also characterized by fussiness, retardation or awkwardness.

Diverse complaints of the physical health are typical for the anxiety: weakness, head and muscular pains, pain in the spin and the back (frequently treated as "osteochondrosis"), muscular twitching, etc. These symptoms are caused by a chronic increase in the muscular tone, which accompanies pathologic anxiety.

Anxiety is frequently accompanied by other somatic symptoms. Among them are heart palpitations, a feeling of pressure or compression in the breast, heart pain, sensation of air shortage, increase in the arterial pressure, trembling, sweating, "ant" or "goose" skin, nausea, diarrhea, spastic abdominal pains, dryness in the mouth. Other frequent symptoms are vertigo, palling or reddening, itch, hives, suffocation, disturbance of sexual functions.

Anxiety Disorder - The True Causes of Anxiety

The exact cause of anxiety disorder is unknown. Some people think anxiety is a result of weakness or some kind of character flaw. This is not the case. Research shows that these disorders can be caused by changes in the brain or environmental stress. People who are in situations such as unemployment can get anxiety disorder because of the stress connect to it.

Anxiety disorders may also be caused by chemical imbalances in the brain. Long-lasting stress can change the balance of the chemicals in the brain and cause anxiety disorder. People with certain types of anxiety have changes in the brain that control memory or mood. Anxiety disorders can be inherited. Sometimes several members of a family may have tendencies toward these disorders.

Millions of Americans have anxiety disorders. Many of these disorders begin in childhood, teenage years, or early adulthood. Women have them more than men. They occur with the same frequency in whites, African-Americans, and Hispanics.

These disorders are diagnosed by an evaluation by a doctor. He will ask questions about medical history and may perform a physical exam. The doctor may do tests to find out if there is a physical cause for the symptoms.

If no cause is found, you may be referred to a psychiatrist or psychologist. These are mental health professionals that are trained to treat mental illness. They will use an interview and other assessment tools to evaluate people for anxiety disorder.

Diagnosis will be based on a patient's report of how intense the symptoms are. They will also look at the duration of the symptoms. This will include daily functioning with the symptoms and observation of the patient by the doctor. They will look for the behavior and determine if the symptoms and degree indicate a specific disorder.

Progress had been made in this area in the last few years in mental illness including anxiety disorders. The exact treatment approach will depend on the type of disorder, one or a combination of several therapies may be used. These include:

Medication: medicines used include anti-depressants and anxiety-reducing drugs.

Psychotherapy: This is a type of counseling which addresses the emotional response to mental illness. A trained mental health professional will help the patient by talking through strategies for understanding and dealing with their disorder.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy--People can participate in the type of therapy in which the person learns to recognize and change thought patterns and behaviors that lead to troublesome feelings.

Anxiety disorders cannot be prevented, however, there are things that can be done to control or lessen the symptoms. These include stopping or reducing the consumption of caffeine in coffee, tea, cola, or chocolate.

Ask the doctor before buying over the counter medicines or herbal remedies. Some of these may contain ingredients that can increase anxiety symptoms.

Seek counseling.

Anxiety and Associated Disorders

"For god's sake, I am not insane." Yes, you are absolutely right. It's just anxiety.

Every single person who forms a part of this modern pandemonium blabbers these statements more than a few times in their lives. It is absolutely normal to do so. Just because you check on the doors to see if they're locked more than once, have butterflies in your stomach before a meeting or a presentation, forget important things because you are preoccupied with something or scream at a person for no particular reason need not necessarily mean that you are on the verge of insanity. These are just your body's natural way of responding to some threats, changes or new situations. You can call it anxiety.

When and how does anxiety become a disorder? To examine this, we should first have a look at what the term anxiety means.

The dictionary defines anxiety as "distress or uneasiness of mind caused by fear of danger or misfortune; earnest but tense desire; eagerness." It is derived from the Latin word 'angere' meaning to choke, or strangle. Anxiety becomes synonymous with panic which in turn is derived from the Greek god Pan; who legend-wise could inspire overwhelming and irrational fear, especially when disturbed from his sleep. This explanation clearly dispels our mistaken notion of anxiety being of modern twentieth century origin.

Anxiety has been there since time immemorial, only then it did not enjoy the status it seems to enjoy today. Today anxiety and anxiety-related disorders are discussed extensively in medical and non-medical spheres. According to 2010 statistics reports, one and a half percent of the world's population suffers from anxiety disorders. Some famous personalities who were also anxiety disorder victims include Abraham Lincoln, Lord Tennyson, Isaac Newton, John Stuart and Michael Jackson. Among the modern-day victims we have Oprah Winfrey, Johny Depp, Naomi Campbell and Nicholas Cage.

Anxiety as we have seen is a perfectly normal human reaction. It becomes a disorder only when it reaches the extreme. The moment your anxiety interferes with your daily life and prevents you from living life the way you want it, you can confirm that you are having anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorder, in medical terms can be defined as "chronic condition characterized by an excessive and persistent sense of apprehension with physical symptoms such as sweating, palpitations, and feelings of stress."Anxiety disorders can be diagnosed by a self-help test. When you are in a fix as to whether you are suffering from anxiety or anxiety disorder, just take a moment to answer the following questions.

Ask yourself

Do you worry constantly and appear tense for no reason?

Do you feel that something bad is always round the corner?

Do you avoid everyday places and situations out of anxiety?

Do you have trouble concentrating?

Do you always imagine the worst?

Do you sweat profusely; feel tired, restless and irritable most of the time?

If your answers are in the positive for most of these questions, then it's possible that you may be suffering from anxiety disorder.

Different people react differently to anxiety and stress. Medical experts have identified six major types of anxiety disorders.

Six types of Anxiety Disorders

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): In simple terms if you are a person possessed by an excessive irrational fear and worry about ordinary everyday things like money matters, health issues, family problem or workplace problems, you are likely to have GAD. Insomnia, stomach upset, restlessness and fatigue are some tell-tale symptoms of GAD. If the above combination of emotional and physical symptoms continue to persist for a period of 6 months or more, then you can be diagnosed for GAD. Recent studies in GAD reveal that heredity and disposition play an important role in GAD. If you have a parent or relative suffering from chronic worry, there are chances that you may also develop it. When a child sees his mother worrying all the time out of stress, he may also do the same in times of stress. Other reasons include traumatic experiences, abuse or family feuds.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Checking on the door locks once or twice is normal anxiety but waking up in the middle of the night several times to do the same action is an anxiety disorder. OCD is characterised by recurring unwanted thoughts or behaviours that simply refuses to leave you alone. They haunt you to a point where you cannot control them. OCD is caused by the dysregulation or dysfunctioning of a circuit in the brain which in turn is affected by an imbalance in the neurochemical serotonine.

Panic Disorder: Repeated panic attacks or the acute fear and anxiety of experiencing another panic episode are the characteristics of panic disorder. Panic attacks can also cause people to withdraw or avoid certain places and situations like airplanes, social gatherings and the like. Genetics, imbalance in brain's chemical messengers and the sudden trigger of the body's alarm system called the fight-or-flight response are some known factors for causing panic disorder.

Phobia: Unrealistic fear of an object, activity or situation that in reality is of no or little danger is called phobia. Fear of spiders, crowded places and heights are a few examples. You fear them to the extent of completely avoiding them. Certain genetic and environmental factors contribute to the cause of this disorder.

Post-Traumatic-Stress Disorder (PTSD): As the name suggests, PTSD occurs in the aftermath of a traumatic or life-threatening incident. Death of a parent in a terrible accident can cause PTSD in the child who suffers from flashbacks and nightmares about that incident. Such victims tend to startle easily, hyperventilate and also withdraw from others.

Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD): SAD is characterised by the intense fear of being looked upon negatively by others. You are so scared of being embarrassed in front of your interviewer that you simply avoid giving interviews for jobs. The thought of not measuring up to others in comparison and lack of self confidence leads to this disorder. 

Back to Life

Anxiety disorders needn't scare you anymore. Modern breakthrough in medicine and psychiatry has come out with effective medication and behavioural therapies capable of eliciting positive responses from Anxiety disorder victims. Apart from this, learn to find time for yourself, read good books, talk to loved ones, eat healthy, drink lots of water, exercise regularly and most important, sleep well. Positive changes in your lifestyle can go a long way in reducing anxiety and anxiety related disorders in your life.

Anxiety Disorders - How to Cure and Eliminate Without Medication

True or false, anxiety disorders are simply random, mysterious, and uncontrollable diseases. Here's a hint: the answer is FALSE! In fact, the exact opposite is true from what has been gathered by the medical profession, but as a previous sufferer, I know it usually feels like they are.

The truth of the matter is that the anxiety is not an illness alone, but actually becomes a condition when an individual becomes physically, and/or mentally, distracted and upset over it.

The move from a "normal" anxiety to full-blown disorder happens after the affect on the mind and body becomes an issue over time. This is typically when a medical professional becomes involved due to it effect on day-to-day life.

Now don't let me get you down in the dumps over this, because there actually is a positive side to this article: this condition can be beat! It is 100% controllable and this can be down without popping pills and spending a fortune on doctors!

That being said medication does have its pros and cons in the fact that it can help lower the amount of power the symptoms have should you suffer an attack, but they should not be viewed as a "cure" or answer for treatment of anxiety disorders.

When the "behind the scene" issues that trigger anxiety attacks are targeted, the disorder will simply fail to exist! This is why medication does nothing but keep you wasting money, it masks the symptoms...but cures the issue? Nope. Elimination of the disorder can be done with proper information and coaching!

By seeking out quality advice from an experienced professional, and targeting the source of the anxiety, you will see positive results and the end to current, and future, attacks. One source that I used was the Treatment for Anxiety Disorders website.

Anxiety and Panic Attack Disorder

In today's society anxiety disorders are more understood and effectively diagnosed and treated than at any other time in human history. These disorders are debilitating and can lead to other illnesses such as substance abuse, depression, and another mental illness called agoraphobia. Treatments are effective and have cured many anxiety disorder sufferers.

Anxiety disorders are America's most common mental illness. Unlike in past centuries, it is now more socially understood. Sufferers should seek out help. It is fear induced and can put the sufferer in serious mental and physical trauma.

For many, panic attacks are the most frightening thing they have ever experienced. It is usually sudden and provoked by an unreal or imagined threat. Some symptoms are chest tightening, hyperventilation, fast pulse, intense fear or the feeling that something bad is about to happen. Many feel they are having a heart attack and about to die. Symptoms usually last 10 minuets sometimes more. It becomes a disorder when this happens multiple times and not just once or twice in a lifetime.

Other disorders are associated with panic attacks. Generalized anxiety disorder(GAD) is usually a pre-requisite to suffering panic attacks. If the issue persists, agoraphobia can become and issue. Interpreted as a "fear of the market place" the individual avoids situations or places were panic attacks make them feel embarrassed or trapped. This is usually in open places and in public. Agoraphobia can happen without first having panic attacks. Social anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder have similar symptoms to agoraphobia.

If someone has excessive worry about multiple things for at least six months, than they may have GAD. In ancient times anxiety was thought to be just nerves and stress and was only a women issue. Today it is common knowledge that GAD is more than just nerves and stress and that it can happen to both men and women. Women do have a higher chance of being diagnosed with anxiety than men.

The exact cause of anxiety disorders are not well defined. It could be related to generic inheritance. If a persons family has a history of anxiety disorders than they are more likely to have it themselves. Anxiety disorders occur most often in adolescence but can happen at any age. Substance, physical and mental abuse may also be a cause. Traumatic situations may also cause anxiety. Anxiety stems from fear so anything associated with fear may be a trigger for an anxiety disorder. In the 19th and 20th century laxatives were prescribed as anxiety medication because it was thought that it was caused by toxins in the bowels.

Treatments are out there. There is medication that is best prescribed by a medical doctor and then there is therapy. There is professional therapy that can be prescribed by a doctor or there is self help therapy from people like Charles Linden, Joe Berry, and John Mercer. Anxiety can be cured. Sufferers can put get the help they need and put their anxiety behind them.