ANXIETY

Hadiza Mohammed

U14MM1130

American psychological association (APA) defines anxiety as “an emotion, characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical change, like increased blood pressure” in other words, anxiety is the constant feeling of dread, tension, and agitation. Humans, right from time, have always been faced with imminent danger that sets off alarms in the body like sweaty palms, rush of adrenaline which causes the victim to run to safety or tackle the provocation.

Anxiety disorder on the other hand is when the anxiousness becomes so severe that one could experience nausea, increased blood pressure and “having reoccurring intrusive thoughts and concerns” (APA). These days the main cause of anxiety revolves around school, work, family, life etc.. It affects about 1 in 13 people globally and the most common of all mental disorders. There are various types of anxiety disorders, they include;

· Panic Disorders: this occurs when one experiences reoccurring unexpected panic attacks; which is characterized by sweating, numbness, shortness of breath and shaking caused by intense fear. Panic attacks tend to last for hours, it escalates rapidly and peak after 10 minutes.

· Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD): people suffering from this know that their compulsion is irrational and unreasonable. They tend to clean a lot, check light switches and put things in a particular order. Its like trying to fix aspects of their physical life to see if their mental health will improve.

· Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): this is a chronic disorder that causes the victim to experience intense worries about situations they imagine, objects or events. people who suffer from this do not usually know the cause of their agitation.

· Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: this occurs when one has experienced a very terrible incident, like rape, physical assault, murder etc., this causes the victim to have frequent flashbacks which triggers behavioural changes in them.

Treating anxiety disorder varies on the type, depending on its intensity or mildness. If its mild, the victim can talk to a trusted friend or family member who shows love and support. Or distract themselves from their worrisome thoughts by taking long baths, meditation, yoga e.t.c. while chronic ones should seek therapy from a psychotherapist, who could either recommend some medications to help the patient, or talk deeply with the patient or both.

Treating anxiety disorder varies on the type, depending on its intensity or mildness. If its mild, the victim can talk to a trusted friend or family member who shows love and support. Or distract themselves from their worrisome thoughts by taking long baths, meditation, yoga etc.. while chronic ones should seek therapy from a psychotherapist, who could either recommend some medications to help the patient, or talk deeply with the patient or both.