Anxiety Disorders - Let's Fight Them!

Anxiety is one of the various emotions of the body. According to the definition of the American Psychological Association (APA), anxiety is an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes like increased blood pressure. Well, it is normal to feel anxious in some stressful situations; we all do. Whenever an individual senses danger, s/he feels anxiety. Anxiety is not similar to fear. Anxiety is a worry about future events and fear is a reaction to current events. But severe cases of anxiety are referred as anxiety disorders. Let’s discuss them.

Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders are a group of mental illnesses, with severe conditions of anxiety and fear such that they affect the normal functioning of a person. According to data collected by Anxiety and Depression Association of America, it is the leading mental disorder all over the world, with 284 million people suffering from it all around the globe. There are various disorders which come under this umbrella group, each having different symptoms and causes, but united by the feeling of anxiety. Five such disorders are:-

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Meaning – It is an anxiety disorder that is characterized by excessive and uncontrollable worry about future events or activities. There is an irrational and overemphasized fear of various simple life situations like financial problems, relationship issues, educational problems, work-life issues, or even daily life activities.
Symptoms – The disorder is characterized by excessive worry, restlessness, trouble sleeping, feeling tired, irritability, fatigue, nausea, head and body aches, excessive sweating, shortness of breath, and dizziness.
Causes – There is no specific cause that can be associated with the disorder. Yet, some common risk factors include a family history of anxiety; recent or prolonged exposure to stressful situations, including personal or family illnesses; excessive use of caffeine or tobacco, which can make existing anxiety worse; or childhood abuse.

2. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Meaning – This disorder has two parts to it – obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are the certain repeated thoughts in the mind of the patients and compulsion is the feeling the person needs to perform certain routines repeatedly to get rid of them.
Symptoms – The symptoms are anonymous in this disorder. But there are five major domains of OCD. a) Cleanliness: Patient might have fear of contamination which forces them to wash their hands and clean the house. b) Order: A patient might be obsessed with symmetry and order and they can rearrange every item repeatedly. c) Hoarding: Some patients find it impossible to dispose of anything, hence collect unimportant objects. d) Counting: Such people repeatedly count their belongings and other objects used in daily life. e) Safety: Patients might have irrational fears about safety, so they are constantly checking the locks of doors and if the windows are secure or the stove.
Causes – It sometimes has some genetic origins as shown in twin studies. Other risk factors include a history of child abuse or other stress-inducing events.

3. Panic Disorder

Meaning – Panic disorder is characterized by recurring unexpected panic attacks.
Symptoms – A panic attack is itself a symptom. It is a sudden period of intense fear that may include palpitations, sweating, shaking, shortness of breath, numbness, or a feeling that something terrible is going to happen.
Causes – Like many other anxiety disorders, it does not have a specific cause. Some risk factors include a family history of panic attacks or panic disorder; major life stress, such as the death or serious illness of a loved one; a traumatic event, such as sexual assault or a serious accident; major changes in your life, such as a divorce or the addition of a baby; or smoking or excessive caffeine intake.

4. Phobia

Meaning – Phobia is an excessive, irrational, and persistent fear of an object or social situation.
Symptoms – A person has fear inside himself/herself. S/he goes to extreme length to avoid the object or situation. If s/he confronts it, they might have panic attacks, dizziness, and severe anxiety or even may faint.
Causes – Generally, phobia develops due to a learned experience or observation of others. They also could be due to a particular incident or trauma; long term stress or genetically.

5. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Meaning – It is a mental disorder that is developed after a person is exposed to an extremely traumatic event, like a sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, or other threats on a person’s life.
Symptoms – The general symptoms include some disturbing thoughts or feelings, bad dreams related to the specific event, mental or physical distress, attempts to avoid trauma-related cues, alterations in thinking patterns, and an increase in the fight-or-flight response.
Causes – It is developed due to a traumatic or stressful event.

Now, when we know about various anxiety disorders, let’s discuss some techniques to overcome them.

Strategies to Reduce Anxiety

Though severe cases of anxiety need an expert opinion, there are some simple strategies that we can follow at home to reduce anxiety. Let’s start with the basics.

Yoga

Yoga is a set of physical, mental, and spiritual exercises, practices, and discipline as a method of meditation. Originated in ancient India, it consists of many exercises and postures in a sequential order alongside the regulation of breathing. It also includes mediation, relaxation, and controlled muscle tension.

Yoga and Anxiety – Regular yoga practice can help you stay calm and relaxed in daily life, and can also give you the strength to face events as they come without getting restless. Yoga comprises of many activities that have been proven to reduce anxiety, like breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, and visualization. Yoga also eases stress, reduces feelings of nervousness, and enhance mindfulness. Yoga asanas help to ease physical discomforts caused by anxiety. As mentioned, it also helps to overcome negative thoughts, one of the major reasons for anxiety.

Some major practices –

Asanas- These are the postures that can help to achieve a happy and healthy mind and release tension and negativity from the body. Some major asanas are Dhanurasana (Bow Pose), Matsyasana (Fish Pose), Janu Shirsasana (One-Legged Forward Bend), Setu Bandhasana (Bridge Pose), Marjariasana (Cat Stretch), Paschimottanasana (Two-Legged Forward Bend), Hastapadasana (Standing Forward Bend), Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog), Sirsasana (Headstand) and Shavasana (Corpse Pose).
Breathe Regulation Techniques- Breathing exercises help to achieve a free mind without any unnecessary clutter of thoughts that breed anxiety. Kapal Bhati Pranayama (Skull-Shining Breathing technique), Bhastrika Pranayama, Nadi Shodhan Pranayama (Alternate Nostril Breathing), and Bhramari Pranayama (Bee Breath) are some major breathing exercise.
Meditation and Devotion- After asana and pranayama, dhyana and dharana follows. These include concentration and meditation. Concentration means focusing on a point with the awareness of surrounding while meditation means ultimate concentration without any awareness of the environment.

2. Mindfulness Meditation

Mindfulness is the process of purposely bringing one’s attention to experiences occurring in the present moment without judgement which one develops through the practice of meditation and through other training.

Meditation and Anxiety – The practice of mindful meditation involves sitting comfortably, focusing on your breathing, and then bringing your mind’s attention to the present without drifting into concerns about the past or future. It can help ease psychological stresses like anxiety, depression, and pain. As people with anxiety have a problem dealing with distracting thoughts, mindfulness teaches them to recognize that it is just a thought and not a part of one’s core self.

Steps to achieve –

The person should open the attention to the present moment and relieve their self from all the thoughts of the past or future.
Focusing on the breath is the next step.
The last step is to bring all the attention to the body.

3. Guided Imagery

Guided imagery is a simple anxiety and stress-reducing relaxation technique. This technique uses the imagination of the subject and asks him to picture a person, place, or time that makes him feel relaxed, peaceful, and happy. Imagery relies on the use of all the senses of an organism. It can be incredibly effective in lowering the stress level. It can easily be practiced at home.

Steps to achieve –

Sit down at a comfortable place in a relaxed position. There should not be any disturbances and noises in the surrounding. Wear light clothes and if possible no accessories. To better the environment, you can play slow peaceful instrumental music at low volume.
Start with taking deep breaths. Try to relax each and every body part slowly. Loosen the clothes.
With each breath, try to get rid of all the thoughts and tension in the mind. Empty the mind completely.
Now imagine a peaceful place by closing the eyes. The place can be a beach, a forest, a mountain, a park or anything, but preferably in the lap of nature.
When you are clear of the place, add details to the place. The details should not only be visual but from all the senses. You can listen to birds or flowing water. You can smell the rain and flowers. You can feel the cool breeze or the splash of the water. You can see all the colours of the butterfly. You can taste the natural fruits and clean water of the river.
It will be better to add some action to the scene. Use your best imagination. A path in the scene is also helpful.
When you have entered deep into the scene, take deep breaths, and relax. You are no longer in the room but that place, living it in the very moment.
When you are relaxed enough, bring yourself back to reality slowly. Open the eyes very slowly and warm them before opening by rubbing the hands.

4. Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Progressive muscle relaxation is a non-pharmacological method of deep muscle relaxation, based on the premise that muscle tension is the body’s psychological response to anxiety-provoking thoughts and that muscle relaxation blocks anxiety.

The technique involves learning to monitor the tension in specific muscle groups by first tensing each muscle group and then relaxing, and attention is directed towards the differences felt during tension and relaxation.

Steps to achieve –

First, get comfortable. You can either sit or lie down. Get away from distraction and close the eyes.
Breathe deeply and slowly.
Now, starting with your feet, tighten and release your muscles. First tense the muscle of the feet and then relax it with your breathing.
Similarly, move up the body muscle by muscle. Repeat any areas that feel especially stiff.
End the practice by taking a few more deep breaths, noting how much more calm and relaxed you feel.

5. The Inner Child Healing

An inner child is an individual’s childlike aspect. It includes what a person learned as a child, before puberty. In this technique, a person makes an effort to contact, listen to and communicate with, and nurture its inner child. This will help to find and heal the roots of your issues as an adult.

Steps to achieve –

The first step is to find the inner child. Try to reach it.
Try to understand the reason for anxiety in that inner child. This is in cases of abuse or traumatic events. Acknowledge the event.
Identify the neglect you then experienced. The needs of that point.
Try to overcome the emotions of the moment. Find a way to console those emotions.
Identify the current manifestation of the problem.
Take necessary steps to fill those gaps and heal it.
Recreate what you loved to do as a child.
Help others with similar problems, to satisfy yourself.

All these techniques will help to overcome the anxiety that haunts a person. If the condition is severe, professional help should be taken.