Conditions

Anxiety Disorder

Anxiety disorder is a treatable condition that manifests as feelings of anxiousness, fear, excessive worry, and dread without any apparent cause. The symptoms can range from mild to intense, even incapacitating anxiety and panic.

Signs and Symptoms:

There are two forms of anxiety disorders ­ acute and chronic. With acute anxiety, the person experiences random panic attacks.

The symptoms of a panic attack are:

• Overwhelming sense of impending disaster/death
• Shortness of breath
• Smother/claustrophobic sensation
• Heart palpitations
• Chest pain
• Dizziness
• Hot flashes and/or chills
• Trembling
• Numbness/tingling in the extremities
• Sweating
• Nausea
• Distorted sense of the passage of time

A person with chronic anxiety may experience panic attacks but not with the frequency associated with acute anxiety. Instead, a person with chronic anxiety tends to have a general sense of unease all of the time. The feelings may increase around large gatherings of people. Headaches and chronic fatigue are also common with this disorder.

Diagnosis:

To diagnosis anxiety disorders, a doctor must review the patient's complete medical history (with a focus on stresses and possible drug use) and rule out other possible causes.
The doctor may have the patient hyperventilate to reproduce the symptoms and differentiate the disorder from cardiac and neurologic conditions.

Treatment Options:

With treatment, most people who suffer from an anxiety disorder can lead normal lives. Treatment can take several forms and often involve a combination of therapies.

Traditional Therapy:

• Benzodiazepine class of tranquilizers ­ clonazepam (Klonopin), diazepam (Valium), Iorazepam (Ativan), and oxazepam (Serax). These drugs have been used for years but they can promote dependency and have several undesirable side effects. Warning: These drugs have been known to cause liver damage. If you are taking any of these you should avoid all alcohol.
• Buspirone ­ is an anti-anxiety drug that does not appear to have the dependency side effect that Benzodiazepines can have. However, it takes longer for the effects to be felt.
• Doctors may also recommend different forms of therapy or counseling.

Complementary and Alternative Therapies:

Alternative treatments are very desirable for anxiety disorders as they can often alleviate the anxiety without the side effects that traditional medications have.

Nutritional Supplementation:

Alternative Therapies:

• Kava kava (Piper methysticum) helps in mild to moderate anxiety (if your anxiety is not due to over production of adrenaline).
• Bupleurum and dragon bone combination formula is an old Chinese remedy with strong calmative powers.
• St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) can alleviate anxiety associated with depression.
• Valerian is a strong calmative that is useful as a physical calmative that is useful for the physical manifestations of the illness.
• Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) is an excellent relaxant and is particularly helpful in cases of anxiety with insomnia.
• Oatstraw (Avena sativa) nourishes the nervous system.
• Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) for anxiety with depression and heart palpitations.
• Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) for nervous exhaustion and restoring the nervous system.
• Fennel can relieve gastrointestinal upsets due to anxiety.
• Feverfew can help with anxiety-induced headaches.
• Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora) relaxes and revitalizes the nervous system.
• There are many aromatherapy treatments that have a calming effect. Among the best known are bergamot, frankincense, geranium, lavender, myrrh, neroli, vetiver, and ylang ylang.
• The homeopathic treatment, Ignatia, is good if you have suffered a panic attack.
• Acupressure works wonders with anxiety. The major points are: all bladder points, liver 3, and the points along either side of the spine.
• The Bach Flower Remedy, Aspen, is good for anxiety and vague, nameless fear.

General Recommendations:

• Try eating small, frequent meals rather than the traditional three meals a day.
• Do not consume caffeine (this includes coffee, black tea, cola, and chocolate).
• Learn relaxation techniques such as deep breathing and visualization.
• Regular exercise can help reduce stress and anxiety.

Warnings:

• The condition of the patient with anxiety is often complicated with other psychiatric or behavioral problems. The treatment of underlying or associated conditions is necessary along with symptomatic relief of anxiety.
• S-Adenosylmethionin (SAMe) should not be used with prescription anti-depressants.
• The benzodiazepine class of tranquilizers can cause liver damage. If you are taking one of these medications you should avoid all alcohol.