StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Treatments and Symptoms of Anxiety Disorders - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The author states that negative thoughts can cause connected thoughts which forces a person to become anxious. This paper briefly analyses how the symptoms of anxiety disorder can affect the quality of life and treatment options available for various types of anxiety disorders. …
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER96.9% of users find it useful
Treatments and Symptoms of Anxiety Disorders
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Treatments and Symptoms of Anxiety Disorders"

 Anxiety Disorders Anxiety and Depression are some of the common psychological disorders seen mostly among old people. According to Barlow & Durand (2009),“anxiety is closely related to depression” (Barlow & Durand, 2009, p. 121). In other words, both anxiety and depression have almost similar symptoms and reasons. Even though many reasons were cited, unpleasant life experiences and emotions seem to be the most important reasons behind anxiety disorders. Pleasant emotions and life experiences always provide positive energy to a person whereas unpleasant emotions and life experiences always provide negative energy and negative thoughts to a person. Negative thoughts can cause connected thoughts which forces a person to become anxious. This paper briefly analyses how the symptoms of anxiety disorder can affect the quality of life and treatment options available for various types of anxiety disorders. Symptoms of anxiety disorder Anxiety occurs as a response to stress. Current generation have more commitments and responsibilities than the past generation and it is difficult for them to fulfil their professional, personal and social commitments in a satisfactory way. As a result of that most of the current generation are leading their lives under immense stress. No two individuals are alike; some people may have strong mental abilities whereas some others may have weaker mental abilities. Effective stress management is possible only for people with strong will power whereas mentally weak people will struggle to cop up with the pressure exerted by various types of life stresses. People who fail to manage their stresses effectively or positively will develop depression and anxiety disorders. According to Richard J. Davidson (2000), major symptoms of anxiety disorder are; “decreased motor activity, decreased eating and drinking, weight loss, lack of weight gain, decreased grooming, decreased competitive behaviour, increased errors in choices, decreased responses, sleep disturbances or reduced sleep, early morning awakening etc” (Davidson, 2000, p.4). People with anxiety disorders will show no interest in any of the activities in their life. They often react slowly to the incidents and may not show much interest even for taking food, bathing, brushing teeth etc. They will try to live in an imaginary or virtual world and isolate themselves from the realities of the real world. They do not like the intrusion of others in their virtual world. They always respond slowly to the problems and may not show much interest in talking or revealing their personal problems or difficulties to others. They never realise the defects in their thoughts and may not hear the advices of others. Because of less appetite for food and drinks, they eat less and subsequently loss a substantial amount of their body weight. People with anxiety disorders may show strange behaviours. They may quite often put their hands on head and examine their body parts suspiciously. Some of the other symptoms observed among people with anxiety disorder are mentioned by Dr. Vasudevan (2006). He has pointed out “rapid or pounding heartbeat, difficult breathing, tremulousness, sweating, dry mouth, tightness in the chest, sweaty palms, dizziness, weakness, nausea, diarrhea, cramps, insomnia, fatigue, headache, loss of appetite, and sexual disturbances” etc as the other major symptoms of anxiety disorder (Dr. Vasudevan, 2006). Treatments of anxiety disorder According to Barlow & Durand, (2009), “same types of drugs (antidepressants) are useful for treating anxiety and depression. In one recent study, CBT and the drug paroxetine were found effective in the treatment of anxiety and depression” (Barlow & Durand, 2009, p.175). As the name suggests, cognitive-behavioural therapy focuses on thoughts—or cognitions—in addition to behaviours. When used in anxiety disorder treatment, cognitive-behavioural therapy helps you identify and challenge the negative thinking patterns and irrational beliefs that are fuelling your anxiety. In exposure therapy for anxiety disorder treatment, you confront your fears in a safe, controlled environment. Through repeated exposures, either in your imagination or in reality, to the feared object or situation, you gain a greater sense of control. As you face your fear without being harmed, your anxiety gradually diminishes (Anxiety Attacks and Disorders: Signs, Symptoms, and Treatment, 2010) Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or CBT is found to be effective in the treatment of many of the psychological disorders like anxiety disorders, depression, mood disorders, personality problems, eating disorders etc. It is a kind of counselling to solve problems related to emotions and behaviour. In CBT, the counsellor or the therapist tries to identify the problems of the patient with the help of different counselling sessions. After the identification of the causes of anxiety disorder, the therapist suggests way to overcome such problems. Different sessions of minimum one hour duration are normally adopted by the therapist while treating anxiety patients with the help of CBT. Even though the patient may show reluctance in revealing the causes of his anxiety initially, different sessions of free association between the patient and the therapist will force the patient to open his mind gradually. Along with CBT, psychoactive drugs like benzodiazepines and antidepressants are also used in the treatment of anxiety disorder. Psychoactive drugs help the patients to suppress the negative thoughts and the possibilities of rapid mood changes. Some of the biological problems or the changes in hormone levels can also cause anxiety disorder. In such cases, medicines should be sued to correct such body problems before treating the mental disease. For example, thyroid problems can cause psychological disorders like anxiety. CBT and psychoactive drugs will not be effective in the case of such patients. Thyroid hormone levels should be controlled first before treating such patients with CBT or other psychoactive drugs. Conclusions Anxiety disorder is one of the major psychological disorders found across the world. Even though many reasons can be cited for the occurrence of anxiety disorder, lack of control over emotions seem to be the major reason behind this problem. People with anxiety disorder will try to make a world of their own and they will try to continue their lives in that imaginary world. They will show lack of interests in normal life activities, eating, drinking and responding. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in conjunction with some psychoactive drugs found to be effective in the treatment of anxiety disorder. References Anxiety Attacks and Disorders: Signs, Symptoms, and Treatment. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.helpguide.org/mental/anxiety_types_symptoms_treatment.htm Barlow D.H & Durand V.M (2009). Abnormal Psychology: An Integrative Approach Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing Davidson, R.J. (2000). Anxiety, Depression, and Emotion. Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1 edition (July 15, 2000) Dr.Vasudevan S. (2006). Different theories of anxiety. Retrieved from http://www.shvoong.com/medicine-and-health/neurology/116671-different-theories-anxiety/ Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Anxiety Disorders Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/psychology/1430919-anxiety-disorders
(Anxiety Disorders Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words)
https://studentshare.org/psychology/1430919-anxiety-disorders.
“Anxiety Disorders Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/psychology/1430919-anxiety-disorders.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Treatments and Symptoms of Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety Disorder as a Popular Emotional Condition

The paper discusses three common anxiety disorders, signs and symptoms, available treatments and various factors related to the disorders.... This study investigates the acute disabilities related with anxiety disorders.... Similarly to various other mental disabilities, anxiety disorders emanates from a various factors combination such as psychological, personal and physical factors.... Studies suggest that changes in certain brain activity may cause anxiety and most anxiety disorders that exist in families mainly have genetic aspects....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Generalized Anxiety Disorder Treatment

The individual's tasks such as school, work or performance, can be significantly affected by anxiety disorders (Evans et al.... Moreover, people can control normal anxiety using a variety of coping techniques, but it is difficult for people with generalized anxiety disorders to cope on their own.... Another difference between the two types of anxiety is that while the symptoms of normal anxiety are mild and at times unnoticeable, generalized anxiety disorder is followed by manifestation of other symptoms such as light-headedness, headaches, dizziness, trembling, nausea, heart pounding, and sweating....
12 Pages (3000 words) Research Paper

Anxiety Disorders Symptoms

"anxiety disorders Symptoms" paper focuses on these mental illnesses that disrupt the day-to-day activities of people.... People all over the world are suffering from anxiety disorders.... nbsp; Unlike the relatively mild, brief anxiety caused by a stressful event such as a business presentation or a first date, anxiety disorders are chronic, relentless, and can grow progressively worse if not treated.... (anxiety disorders section, para....
8 Pages (2000 words) Coursework

Types and Treatment of Anxiety Disorders

This essay will discuss the types and treatments of anxiety disorders. The anxiety disorders consist of post-traumatic stress isorder, acute stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social phobia, specific phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, and panic disorder (Soggie, 2008).... If the behavioral disorders and symptoms of the acute stress disorder continue for more than a month, and if these characteristics are accompanied by severe trauma or functional injury to the victim, the diagnosis is transformed to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Soggie, 2008)....
5 Pages (1250 words) Term Paper

How To Analyze Psychological Disorders

hile studying the symptoms of Schizophrenia, various researches have found a significant difference in the structure of the brain affected by the disorder.... This essay "How To Analyze Psychological disorders" discusses how analyzing psychological disorders has been most difficult for medical science and the field of psychology because there is no single theoretical reference by which all the disorders can be understood.... The other two disorders (anorexia and anxiety) under our observation, however, have been studied for its biological, social, and psychological influences and hence have been appropriated by the field of biopsychology....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

Psychological Disorders

People with bipolar disorder are marked by symptoms of both depressive and manic periods (Weiten, Lloyd and Dunn, p.... Psychologists, when dealing with or discussing on… When it comes to social life, psychological disorder is an extremely dangerous situation as society may think of him ‘threatening' or ‘acting like criminal', This piece of research paper presents a brief outline in to various psychological disorders and its respective treatments can effectively cure the mental illness or reduce the dangers of it....
5 Pages (1250 words) Term Paper

The Causes and Treatments of Anxiety Disorders

hellip; Anxiety disorders are caused by numerous factors - psychological, environmental, and biological that interact with each other to influence the development of anxiety disorders.... The essay "The Causes and Treatments of anxiety disorders" talks about the anxiety disorders that pertain to a group of psychological problems which affect thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, and behavior.... The current classification asserts that extremely traumatic events contribute to the onset of anxiety disorders....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Week 10 - Final Project: Psychopathology and Treatment

? She feels as if she's having a heart next attack). The symptoms of Panic Disorder… The patients with Panic Disorders also suffers from the symptoms of sweating, sensations of shortness of breath, feeling dizzy and the most common symptom of Panic Disorder is that the patient has fear of dying. The treatment of Case While  teaching  her  one  day,  Theresa  suddenly  begins having  difficulty  breathing.... iagnosis: Panic DisorderSymptoms of Panic Disorder: The symptoms of Panic Disorder include increased heart beat as well as heart rate....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us