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» Panther Creek Professional - Plaza II
» 4840 W. Panther Creek Drive
» The Woodlands, TX 77381
» Tel: (281) 528-4226
» Email: CS@addwoodlands.com |
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» 2277 Plaza Dr #300
» Sugar Land, TX 77478
» Tel: (281)528-4226
» Email: cs@addwoodlands.com |
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We are happy to announce our new location in Sugarland’s Town Center
Click here to book your Complimentary Consultation at our Woodlands or Sugarland office. |
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| Anxiety Disorders |
Anxiety is the fear or worry that we feel about events in our lives. It is a normal reaction to stress and can help us deal or cope with a situation. Most people can cope with everyday stress and their anxiety causes little disruption in their lives. Others become vulnerable to stress, particularly if it is intense and ongoing. Intense distress can disrupt and interfere with their daily activities. There is a distinct difference between being nervous about writing an exam and worrying to the point that you are not able to function or think clearly. Anxiety disorders are frequently accompanied by physiological symptoms such as headache, sweating, muscle spasms, palpitations, and hypertension, which in some cases lead to fatigue or even exhaustion.
There are a number of different categories of Anxiety Disorder:
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder: The most common type of anxiety disorder is called and affects approximately 5 percent of the American population.
• Panic Disorder: Attacks of anxiety and terror that normally last anywhere from 15 minutes to 30 minutes.
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): Constant thoughts or fears that cause the individual to perform certain rituals or routines. The disturbing thoughts are called obsessions, and the rituals are called compulsions.
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): PTSD is a condition that can develop following a traumatic and/or terrifying event, such as a natural disaster. People with PTSD often have lasting and frightening thoughts and memories of the event, and tend to be emotionally numb.
• Social anxiety disorder: Overwhelming worry and self-consciousness about everyday social situations. The worry usually involves a fear of being judged by others, or behaving in a way that might cause embarrassment or lead to ridicule.
• Specific phobias: A specific phobia is an intense fear of a specific object or situation, such as heights, or flying and may cause the person to avoid common, everyday situations.
Anxiety is considered to be a common co-existing condition with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), in fact studies indicate that 25-40% of people with ADHD also have anxiety, and that includes children. Anxiety can make ADHD symptoms much worse and more difficult to manage. It can disrupt your sleep, which will make ADHD symptoms more prominent. Also, it is difficult to treat both anxiety and Attention Deficit Disorder with medications. Most ADHD medications are stimulants, which makes anxiety more pronounced. Anxiety disorders can also co-exist with clinical depression, which may occur in as many as 60% of people with anxiety disorders. The fact that there is considerable overlap between symptoms of anxiety and depression, and that the same environmental triggers can provoke symptoms in either condition, may help to explain this high rate of co-existence.
The amygdala and the hippocampus play significant roles in most anxiety disorders. The amygdala is believed to be a communications hub between the parts of the brain that process incoming sensory signals and the parts that interpret these signals. It can alert the rest of the brain that a threat is present and trigger a fear or anxiety response. The hippocampus is the part of the brain that encodes threatening events into memories.
Treatment includes cognitive therapy and or medication therapy. |
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