Your foot taps. You rub your sweaty palms. You play it over and over again in your mind. Your heart races and you don’t know how to escape.
Now, imagine that happens all the time. Imagine that every time you manage to catch your breath, another fearful thought crawls inside you and makes everything bad again. That’s anxiety.
We all get anxious sometimes. Perhaps we’ve got a big presentation at work, we’re expecting a test result, or you’re meeting someone you very much admire. But what do you do when those sorts of nerves are with you all the time, when all you want to do is go about an average day?
There’s anxiety in the general sense, and then there are specific subtypes, like social anxiety disorder. That’s when your troubles are with interacting with other people. Having to speak to them – or even just having them notice you – may be an unbearable pressure. It tends to be particularly common with adolescents, so some people may just grow out of it. Others, however, may need a bit of help.
People with social anxiety disorder may sweat or shake at the mere thought of interacting with others. They may feel sick or even have panic attacks. For some, this can lead to potentially harmful attempts at self-medication, such as drinking and drugs. Recognized treatments include cognitive behavioral therapy and SSRIs.
Then there are phobias. A phobia is generally defined as an irrational fear of something. Maybe it’s spiders (arachnophobia), small spaces (claustrophobia) or open spaces (agoraphobia). These are some of the most common, but it could be pretty much anything. You might even hear social anxiety disorder called social phobia. Sometimes they’re brought about by a bad experience, but sometimes they just seem to pop up for no reason.
If you have a phobia, you may go to what some might call excessive lengths to avoid encountering it, like taking a huge detour just to avoid the room where you once saw a spider. That can make everyday life difficult. Treatment often involves gradual and controlled exposure to the source of fear until the negative reaction loses its power.
Several types of anxiety can lead to panic attacks, but they are a major feature of panic disorder. During an attack, fear becomes particularly intense, as do your physical responses such as palpitations and difficulty breathing. Most panic attacks last minutes at the most, but some may last up to an hour. Again, a combination of therapy and medication may be used to treat them.
Anxiety can be caused by a variety of things, and that’s also true of anxiety disorders. There may be a genetic component, as you’re more likely to develop one if there’s a family history. If you have a particularly stressful life, perhaps unsurprisingly, you’re more at risk. Smoking, drink and drugs can all be an influence, as can other medical conditions. Whatever the cause, if you look for help, it is out there.
