Anxiety Disorders

General Information: It is often difficult to tell how severe a condition is and whether it will pass on its own or whether you should be asking for outside help. A general guide for gauging the severity of a condition is to consider how much your normal functioning has been interrupted and reduced by the condition, and for how long it has been going on. In addition to how severe it feels like to you, you should also consider some of the following:

• Does the condition cause you problems with normal sleep?
• Does the condition cause you to have a loss of normal energy and ability to do things?
• Is there a significant change to your appetite and other bodily functions?
• How much has the condition reduced your ability to function in your normal daily roles and routines?
• Have others close to you noticed and commented on changes in you?

Clinical Symptoms: There are a number of types of anxiety conditions and a Physician or Mental Health professional will have to help you determine specifically what you are experiencing. In general, the most commonly experienced symptoms are as follows:

• Excessive anxiety and worry most days during at least six months
  
• Difficulty in controlling the worry
  
• Feeling keyed up, restless, or on edge
  
• Irritability
  
• Muscle tension with body or head aches
  
• Sleep disturbance

• Intense fear or emotional discomfort with sudden occurrence
  
• Rapid and pounding heart rate
  
• Sweating
  
• Trembling or shaky
  
• Feeling dizzy, unsteady, light-headed or unreal

What Helps:

• If you think that you are in trouble with certain symptoms such as inability to breathe properly, chest pain or prolonged agitation, go to the local hospital Emergency Department for assessment and treatment. If you judge your symptoms to be less severe and not requiring immediate help, you should arrange to be examined by a Physician, or you can call the Community Mental Health Service for an assessment and planning appointment.

• It is important during attacks of anxiety to maintain good breathing and to avoid panting with shallow and rapid breathing. This can bring on hyperventilation and a series of bodily sensations such as numbness, tingling and faintness. This is likely to make you worry more and raise the anxiety. Breathe moderately deeply from the abdomen and try to maintain a comfortable and normal number of breaths of around 10 -12 per minute.

• Remove yourself from any environment that is over stimulating to the senses, but maintain some quiet sounds that can help you to focus on something external and not just your anxiety symptoms. Quiet music or low volume and low visual effect television can be effective in helping with this.

• Use tried and true methods that have helped you before to manage anxiety symptoms. Recall times when you faced a fearful or anxiety provoking situation and got through it. Remember what helped you cope with the anxiety and use these techniques. Anxiety symptoms occur in the body, the mind and the emotions and they have a way of feeding off each other to create a cycle of anxiety. To break this cycle, learn to use a relaxation technique that helps to settle your body, mind and emotions. Specific relaxation methods, meditation, Tai Chi, visualization and guided imagery are some examples of these methods. Many techniques are available on audiotape or CD and can be purchased in bookstores, and similar retail outlets.

What Doesn't Help:

• Anxiety symptoms, particularly jittery feelings and sleep problems, are made worse by excessive use of certain substances such as caffeine in coffee, tea, chocolate or soft drinks. Minimize the amount of daily use of these to a moderate level.

• It is not good practice to use over the counter substances that have a sedating effect, such as cold medicines or codeine products. For some people, these products can create the opposite effect and make the anxiety worse. Since they are not indicated for use in managing anxiety symptoms, it is better to avoid use of these altogether.

• Use of alcohol and illicit drugs can also make the anxiety a lot worse and lead to secondary addictions problems.

Additional Internet Resources:

• The Anxiety Disorders Association of Manitoba
• The National Institute of Mental Health (For the Public)