( Link in tabs) Anxiety disorders are severe medical disorders that affect approximately 5% of the population at any one time, affecting more women than men. Anxiety disorders often start in the twenties but may begin earlier and may cause people to several different physical and psychological problems. According to the WHO's Guide to Mental Health in Primary Care, anxiety disorders are generalised anxiety, panic attacks, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorders and post-traumatic stress disorders. Each anxiety disorder has its own distinct features, but they all have a common theme of excessive, irrational fear and dread
( Link in tabs) Some individuals suffer from anxiety and have exaggerated worry and tension about health, money, family or work even though there is little or nothing to provoke it. Generalised anxiety is much more than the typical anxiety people experience day-to-day. Having this disorder means it is difficult to get through the day, and individuals always anticipate disaster. The features of generalised anxiety are dizziness, sweating, fatigue, headaches, muscle tension, muscle aches, difficulty swallowing, trembling, twitching,
irritability hot flushes, poor concentration and insomnia.
Individuals with generalised anxiety seem unable to relax, and they may startle quicker than other People.Unlike individuals with several different anxiety disorders, those suffering from generalised anxiety do NOT avoid certain situations as a result of their disorder and can function in social settings or their job.
Generalised anxiety may be triggered by stress factors and rarely occurs alone; it is usually accompanied by another anxiety disorder, such as depression or substance misuse. Individuals who suffer from anxiety typically smoke more and may drink more alcohol, too increasing their risk of physical ill-health.
( Link in tabs) Another form of anxiety disorder is called a phobia. in which. people have problems in certain situations. Phobias are irrational fears of people, places, things and events. Some individuals with phobias have such restricted lives that they avoid normal activities such as shopping, driving or even going to work. The three most common phobias are simple phobia, agoraphobia and social phobia. Many individuals have minor phobias, particularly of animals or insects, but their lives do not become restricted, and they can carry on their social functioning. Agoraphobia is a severe form of phobia, and it involves fear of crowded shopping places, lifts, public transport or even open spaces. If this avoidance is carried to extreme lengths, it can be disabling. Social phobias are twice as common in women as in men and involve intense fear of doing something embarrassing or humiliating in public. For example, a fear of answering the telephone or eating in the public arena are everyday situations encountered by individuals with social
phobias
( Link in tabs) Panic Attack, for individuals who are suffering from panic attacks, the symptoms of anxiety develop suddenly and increase in intensity over a few minutes. Individuals characteristically believe that they will lose control and often have tears of collapsing. imminent heart attack, going mad or other personal or social disaster. Panic attacks are characterised by palpitations, chest pain, choking feelings, churning of the stomach, dizziness, feeling of unreality or fear of impending doom. Panic attacks tend to subside within a short period and individuals may develop intense anxiety between episodes. However, panic attacks may lead to avoidance of a situation or location where a previous attack occurred. But not everv individual who experiences panic attacks will develop panic disorder, for example, many people have one attack but never have another. Panic disorder is often accompanied by other severe conditions such as depression and drug or alcohol misuse. Panic disorder is one of the most treatable of the anxiety disorders, responding in most cases to medications or carefully targeted psychotherapy.
(Link in tabs) Obsessive-compulsive disorder involves anxious thoughts or rituals that lead to repetitive behaviour. Individuals with this disorder are overwhelmed by persistent, unwelcome thoughts or images, or by the urgent need to engage in certain rituals. The occurrence of obsessional ideas is characteristically associated with an increase in anxiety, leading to rituals and compulsions, such as excessive cleaning or hand washing. Most individuals with this condition recognise that what they're doing is senseless, but they are unable to cease it. Attempts to resist the thoughts and compulsions result in extreme tension and anxiety, which can only be relieved by carrying out the rituals or compulsions. But for individuals with the obsessive-compulsive disorder, the activities are time-consuming, very distressing and interfere with daily life.
Depression, other anxiety disorders or eating disorders may accompany the obsessional compulsive disorder.
(Link in tabs) Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating psychological condition that can develop following an extraordinarily distressing or terrifying event. Often, individuals with PTSD have persistent frightening thoughts and memories of their ordeal and feel emotionally numb, especially with people they were once close to. PTSD can result from any number of traumatic incidents such as mugging, rape or torture; being kidnapped or held captive; child abuse; serious accidents such as car or train crashes; and natural disasters such as floods or earthquakes. The event that triggers PTSD may be something that threatened the person's life or the life of someone close to them. Or it could be something witnessed, such as massive death and destruction after a building is bombed or a plane crashes.
Repeated flashbacks characterise it in the form of nightmares and disturbing recollections during the day..
Individuals with PTSD may also experience other sleep problems, feel detached or numb. lose interest in things they. used to enjoy and have trouble feeling affectionate. They may feel irritable, more aggressive than before or even violent.
Things that remind them of the trauma may be very distressing, which could lead them to avoid certain places or situations that bring back those memories. Anniversaries of the traumatic event are often very difficult. PTSD is diagnosed only if the symptoms last more than a month and, occasionally, the illness doesn't show up until years after the traumatic event.
The disorder is often accompanied by depression, substance misuse or one or more other anxiety disorders.
( Link in tabs) Depression is the most common mental disorder, and each year one woman in every fifteen and one man in every thirty will be affected by depression. Most of the 4000 suicides committed in England are attributed to depression.
A recent review of the literature concluded that depression could be a major risk factor both for the development of cardiovascular disease and for death after myocardial infarction. A depressive disorder is an illness that involves the body, mood and thoughts, and affects lifestyle and behaviour. It affects the way an individual eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things. It is reported that depression in people from black and ethnic minority groups, refugees and asylum seekers is frequently overlooked, although the rate is 60% higher than in the white population, with the difference being twice as high for men. Depressive disorders come in different forms: major depression, bipolar or unipolar depression, dysthymia, postnatal depression, seasonal affective disorder and chronic fatigue syndrome. However, within these types, there are variations in the number of symptoms, their severity and persistence.
Major depression is manifested by a combination of symptoms that interfere with normal daily activities and result in the inability to work, study, sleep, eat and enjoy once pleasurable activities.
The signs and symptoms of depression are:
Low or sad mood
Loss of interest or pleasure
Insomnia, early-morning awakening or oversleeping
Disturbed appetite and weight loss or overeating and weight gain
Feelings of hopelessness, pessimism
Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, helplessness
Loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities
Decreased libido.
Decreased energy, fatigue, being 'slowed down.'
Difficulty concentrating, remembering, makina
Suicidal thoughts and acts
restlessness, iritability
Some physical illnesses such as Parkinsonism, multiple sclerosis and hypothyroidism and some drugs (beta-blockers, oral contraceptives, corticosteroids) produce depressive symptoms, and these conditions should be excluded before a diagnosis of depression is made.
DYSTHYMIA
A less severe type of depression, dysthymia involves long-term, chronic symptoms that lower the mood but do not disable.
Many individuals with dysthymia continue to function, but interpersonal relationships may be affected. Individuals suffering from this condition may also experience major depressive episode sat some time in their lives.
(Link in tabs) Bipolar depression, also known as manic-depressive illness, involves cyclical mood swings between severe depression and high elation. Sometimes the mood switches are dramatic and rapid, but most often they are gradual. When in the depressed cycle, an individual can have any or all of the symptoms of a depressive disorder. When in the manic period, the individual may be overactive, over-talkative and have a great deal of energy.
Mania often affects thinking, judgement and social behaviour in ways that cause serious problems and embarrassment. Some of the symptoms of mania are:
Abnormal or excessive elation
Irritability
Decreased need for sleep
Grandiose notions
Increased talking
Racing thoughts
Heightened sexual desire
Markedly increased energy
Poor judgement
Inappropriate social behaviour
Unipolar depression is depression without the accompanying cyclical mood
(Link in tabs) Many women are particularly vulnerable after the birth of a
baby. The hormonal and physical changes as well as the added responsibility of caring for the new-born, can be factors that lead to post-natal depression in some women.
Post-natal depression is identical to low, and the majority of onsets occur during the first one to three months following childbirth. Some women will also develop psychotic illness within four weeks of birth, and this disorder is characterised by symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions and gross impairment and functioning. The onset is rapid and requires emergency hospitilisation , severley depressed mothers may resort to suicide , which is the second most common form of
maternal death in the vear after birth.
Schizophrenia ( Link in tabs)
is the most common psychotic disorder and is characterised by apprehension, confusion, perceptual abnormalities, abnormal thought processing and expression, strange beliefs and fears, and hallucinations. The disease can be divided into acute and chronic features. In the acute phase of the disorder, psychotic symptoms (such as hallucinations and delusions) usually emerge in men in their late teens and early twenties and women in their mid-twenties to early thirties. Hallucinations are of frequent occurrence. Individuals with schizophrenia may hear voices other people don't understand or believe that others are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts or plotting to harm them. These experiences are terrifying and can cause fearfulness, withdrawal or extreme agitation. Delusional
beliefs are also widespread, particularly those with ideas of persecution.
For example, the individuals may believe that they are being poisoned by others, receiving messages from radio or television or being watched and observed. Cognitive impairments often interfere with the patient's ability to lead a healthy life and earn a living and can cause great emotional distress. The symptoms of schizophrenia fall into three broad categories:
POSITIVE TRAIT( or cognitive deficits): poor executive functioning (the ability to absorb and interpret information and make decisions based on that information), inability to sustain attention, and problems with working memory (the ability to keep recently learned information in mind'
and use it right away)