Can Anxiety be Cured
Everyone has their fears. However, if you are always consumed by these fears, then help must be sought from a specialist who can aid in dealing with your phobias effectively.
Do you always feel consumed by your fears? Is this interfering with your daily activities like schoolwork or job performance? If yes, then you could be suffering from anxiety. To get an accurate diagnosis and treatment, you can consult the best psychiatrist in Bangalore or book an online psychiatrist consultation session.
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What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is defined as a feeling of dread, fear and uneasiness. As a reaction to stress, it is normal to experience restlessness, sweating and a rapid heartbeat. However, if this feeling doesn’t go away or gets worse with time, affecting your concentration level, sleep and ability to carry out ordinary tasks, it may indicate anxiety.
Symptoms of Anxiety
Here are some physical symptoms that can affect individuals dealing with anxiety:
- Nausea
- Shortness of breath
- Dizziness
- A racing or pounding heart
- Sweating
- Problem sleeping
- A churning stomach or feeling butterflies in the stomach
- Feeling lightheaded
- Trembling
- Feeling extremely thirsty
- Feeling restless
Also, people with anxiety display the following thought patterns:
- Believing that the worst will happen
- All-or-nothing thinking
- Making assumptions based on a single event
- Persistent worry
Further, you will notice a person dealing with anxiety displaying these common behaviours:
- Seeking reassurance
- Second guessing
- Avoiding feared situations
- Irritability and frustration in feared situations
Causes of Anxiety Disorder
While the causes of anxiety are not fully understood, the following factors are thought to trigger the condition:
- Family history of mental health conditions
- Having certain personality traits like having low self-esteem or needing to be in control
- Life-threatening events
- Ongoing stressful situations, including relationship breakdown and family grief
- Physical, sexual or verbal abuse
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Physical health issues like thyroid disorders and chronic (ongoing) problems
- Substance use, particularly cannabis, alcohol, amphetamines and sedatives
- Withdrawing from alcohol and drugs
As everyone is different, there may not be one but a combination of factors that can trigger anxiety issues.
Treatment and Management of Anxiety
While anxiety cannot be cured, steps can be taken to not only improve symptoms but also function in a better way. Also, it is to be noted that the treatment for anxiety is time-consuming, but the condition can be managed by doing the following things:
- Engaging in activities that you used to previously enjoy
- Practising relaxation techniques like mindfulness and meditation
- Using distraction techniques like counting backwards from 10, to stay in the present moment and avoid thinking about terrible things that might happen
- Performing controlled breathing exercises to lower the risk of symptoms that can worsen into a panic attack
- Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) can help change problematic thinking patterns that lead to anxiety
- Desensitisation, a method of slowly exposing oneself to feared situations, can also help
- Interpersonal, narrative, and acceptance and commitment therapies can help ease anxiety symptoms too
- Medication like antidepressants may be prescribed in some cases
- Online tools like online psychiatrist consultation may be suitable for mild to moderate anxiety cases
While many different things like any kind of abuse, family history and stress can make people anxious, it is always a good idea to connect with a specialist like the best psychiatrist in Bangalore or book an online psychiatrist consultation to deal with the condition in a better way.
