About anxiety disorder and panic attacks
Anxiety has a signal function and is a reaction of your body to prepare itself for dangerous situations. Your heart rate and breathing increase, your blood pressure rises and your muscles tighten. Your body prepares for action. There are three common reactions to anxiety: fighting, running and freezing.
Does fear hinder your life?
In theory anxiety is a useful mechanism. It becomes a problem when the anxiety system is activated too quickly or remains active for a long time. The alarm may go off faster than necessary or in situations where most people would not feel afraid. You may already feel alert when you only think about potentially dangerous situations. Living with this constant alertness can be very difficult.
An anxiety disorder is more than occasionally feeling nervous or worried. It is a condition that interferes with your daily life.
Different types of anxiety disorders
Social anxiety disorder
A social anxiety disorder is also called a social phobia. If you are extremely concerned about what other people think of you, or if you fear the reactions or criticism of others, you may be dealing with a social anxiety disorder. You may worry that others will find you strange or that you will embarrass yourself.
Examples include fear of a negative judgement, fear of showing physical signs such as blushing, stuttering, shaking or sweating, fear of making mistakes, or fear of speaking in front of a group. Because of this fear, people often start avoiding these situations.
Generalized anxiety disorder
Generalized anxiety disorder is characterized by persistent and excessive worrying about everyday situations. You may constantly expect the worst to happen, even when there is no clear reason for concern. People often worry about their health, work, finances, family or friends.
Sometimes even the thought of getting through the day can cause anxiety. People with generalized anxiety disorder often feel trapped in a cycle of worry and feel unable to control it, even when they realize their fears are stronger than the situation requires.
Panic attacks
A panic attack is a sudden and intense feeling of fear that triggers strong physical reactions even when there is no real danger. Panic attacks can be very frightening. During an attack you may feel like you are losing control, having a heart attack or even dying.
Some people experience only one or two panic attacks in their life. Often the problem disappears when a stressful situation ends. However, if panic attacks occur repeatedly and you live with constant fear of another attack, you may be dealing with panic disorder.
Symptoms of anxiety disorder
During an anxiety attack you may experience symptoms such as heart palpitations, sweating, chills, dizziness, trembling, feelings of panic, tingling in the hands, stomach pain, headaches, confusion or the feeling that you are losing control.
In addition to anxiety attacks you may experience a combination of the following symptoms:
- Excessive worrying
- Restlessness
- Irritability
- Concentration problems
- Feeling tense
- Fatigue
- Muscle tension
- Sleep problems
Consequences of an anxiety disorder
An anxiety disorder can have a major impact on your daily life. It may become difficult to work, build a social life, travel or maintain stable relationships. Many people start avoiding certain people, places or activities, such as driving, flying, taking elevators, visiting crowded places or attending social events.
Avoiding fear can feel logical, because running away is a natural response to danger. However, when you start avoiding situations that are not actually dangerous, such as everyday places or your own thoughts and feelings, it can become a major obstacle in daily life. In extreme cases people may barely leave the house and feel isolated.
Treatment of anxiety disorder
An anxiety disorder can be treated effectively. First we investigate what type of fear controls your life. Based on this, we propose a treatment plan that may include:
- Identifying the cause of the fear
- Linking the fear to possible past experiences
- Reducing chronic stress or overload
We often work with behavioral therapy. You learn to recognize your physical reactions to anxiety and how to influence them through breathing exercises and other techniques. Depending on your situation, we work on breaking patterns such as avoidance behavior, escape behavior, excessive work, drinking behavior or the use of medication.
Treatment helps reduce anxiety, physical complaints and worries. Sleep improves and avoidance behavior decreases.
Contact Psychologen Amsterdam
Do you recognize your symptoms and do you need help or do you have a question about the treatment of anxiety disorder? Call for an appointment or send a message to Psychologen Amsterdam.
