About Anxiety Disorders
Whether they are big or small, real or imagined, anxiety and stress are part of the human experience. This normal human experience can become unhealthy and debilitating when the anxiety and fear response becomes out of proportion to the real or perceived danger that provokes it.
Anxiety disorder is a mental health illness that is characterized by intense, long-lasting anxiety that is not appropriate or reasonable, which leads to phobias that interfere with daily life (Bourne, 2010, p. 7).
Anxiety disorders are a generalized term used to describe the four main types of mental disorder associated with anxiety: Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), phobias, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD.
Anxiety affects your whole being. It is physiological, behavioral, and psychological reaction all at once (Bourne, 2010/1989, p. 6.
Symptoms include:
The traditional treatment for most anxiety disorders involves a combination of psychoactive drugs (such as Xanax, Prozak, etc.) and psychological “talk” therapy, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). “The current conventional medical view is that anxiety is a brain disorder caused by an imbalance or dysfunction in the neurotransmitters, the brain’s chemical messengers that enable communication between cells. Neurotransmitters are the targets of anti-anxiety drugs (such as Xanax) and anti-depressant drugs (such as Prozac), which attempt to manipulate brain chemistry,” (Marohn, 2003, p. 17).
With these traditional medication/talk treatments, there is often a long process of adjusting medications and tailoring the treatment before symptoms decline. There is also the discomfort and concern about side-effects of various types of drugs, including some with addictive properties. Furthermore, patients report difficulty in maintaining the regime of therapy and medications consistently enough for them to work completely, either due to time or finances.
Even with traditional treatments, relapse is common. Anxiety disorders may go away for a year or more, but often return in one guise or another, particularly when medication or talk therapy is discontinued (Marohn, 2003).
Treating anxiety disorders is very complicated because the condition itself is complex. Although the best method of psychological treatment is considered to be CBT, there may be a more effective way of changing the thoughts that lead to anxiety. Current medical opinion that drugs are the best method of treatment for anxiety disorder may also be largely due to the influence of the pharmaceutical industry, rather than evidence that it is effective (Orsillo, Roemer, 2011).