In today’s fast-paced world, high-pressure jobs, demanding households and unbalanced lifestyles can put a great deal of mental strain on the average human being. This, coupled with several other factors, can lead to various abnormal phobias, panic attacks, and other mental conditions categorized as anxiety disorders. While they are often considered trivial and are ignored, they can be seriously incapacitating and damaging to not only the victim’s life but also to others around him or her. Hence medical attention and therapy are required for those suffering from such disorders to continue leading normal lives.
The symptoms of anxiety disorders are so commonly experienced and non-threatening that one is prompted to underestimate the occurrence of such disorders and therefore assume them to be just a minor stress-related anomaly. The causes of such disorders are just as varied and commonly found in our everyday lives. Theoretically, hypersensitive brain receptors react abnormally to normal stimuli. Different regions of the brain such as the amygdala, hypothalamus, and brainstem are thought to house ‘fear areas’ that suffer from aberrant electrical/metabolic activity resulting in anxiety attacks. Low levels of GABA (Gamma Amino-Butyric Acid), a neurotransmitter that is responsible for suppressing the central nervous system is one ‘internal’ cause of anxiety. Alcohol, caffeine, and drug abuse are the biggest ‘external’ contributors to such disorders. Benzodiazepines are specifically known to be responsible for causing or aggravating panic attacks. Ironically, alcohol might be taken by the victim to relieve minor stress, which ends up prolonging and worsening the existing condition. Other chemical causes include stimulant drugs and possibly prolonged exposure to organic solvents, varnishes, and paints.
The term ‘anxiety disorder’ covers several different forms of mental disorders, all of which have the following in common: they all involve some form of irrational fear or anxiety. In this regard, they can be differentiated from other forms of mental disorders such as psychosis. Perhaps the most well-known form of anxiety disorder is phobias. A phobia is an unreasonable and extreme fear of a specific stimulus. Examples include fear of heights, confined spaces, blood, spiders, etc. Exposure to stimuli provokes an exaggerated anxiety response, and the patient either avoids the situation or endures it with great difficulty.
One form of anxiety disorder is known as Acute Stress Disorder (ASD). Patients are said to be suffering from ASD if they have had some kind of traumatic experience (which could be witnessing someone’s death, suffering from an injury, or any kind of experience during which one’s physical integrity was threatened) following which they exhibit three or more of the following symptoms – a ‘numbing’ of the senses, emotions, and responsiveness, being in a daze or confusion regarding one’s surroundings, derealization, depersonalization and dissociative amnesia (being unable to recall an important part of the traumatic incident). The patient regularly experiences flashbacks, dreams, and other forms of mental reminders of the incident, and intentionally avoids any stimuli which may relive memories of the incident. Several of the typical symptoms of stress, such as irritability, difficulty sleeping, and exaggerated startle response are seen in the patient. The onset of symptoms lasts from 2 days to 4 weeks and occurs within 4 weeks of the incident. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is similar to ASD but is different in that the symptoms last for over four weeks. If the symptoms last for less than 3 months then the condition is acute, otherwise, it is chronic. The symptoms can be delayed for as much as 6 months after the traumatic incident.
Panic attacks are an important form of anxiety attacks. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, developing any four of the following symptoms, in less than 10 minutes and quite abruptly, together with worrying over these attacks and their consequences persistently (for over a month) is suggestive of panic disorder. The symptoms are palpitations or accelerated heart rate, sweating, trembling or shaking, shortness of breath or smothering/choking, chest pain, nausea or abdominal distress, feeling dizzy, unsteady, lightheaded, or faint, derealization or depersonalization (feeling detached from oneself), fear of losing control or going crazy, fear of dying, numbness or tingling sensations and chills or hot flashes. Panic attacks often accompany but are different from agoraphobia, or ‘fear of open spaces. This kind of phobia is characterized by the avoidance of any place outside one’s home or ‘safe zone’.
Generalized anxiety disorder comprises typical anxiety symptoms, along with other symptoms such as insomnia, fatigue, irritability, poor concentration, and hypertension. The patient finds controlling the worries to be difficult and finds himself or herself worrying about almost everything in his or her life – school or workplace, finances, and deadlines to name a few. The onset lasts from a few days to about 6 months.
Another major form is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Such a disorder causes one to experience temporary obsessions or repeated thoughts about usually inappropriate things and/or feel a strong urge to carry out a certain action or ritual. Usually, the patient is completely aware that the obsession or compulsion is a product of his or her own mind, attempts to ignore or neutralize the obsession or compulsion by other thoughts or actions, and even feels that the actions and thoughts brought upon by such a disorder are excessive or unreasonable. However, children seem to be exempt from such control over the disorder. The actions or obsessions are distressing to the patient and time-consuming – usually take about an hour a day.
All of the aforementioned anxiety disorders do not occur due to the use of drugs or an existing medical condition. What differentiates them from a simple bout of anxiety or a minor, temporary obsession or fear is that they make the patient’s life very difficult, embarrassing, and miserable – in all its social, marital, professional, and personal aspects.