Anxiety Disorder

  • Anxiety Disorder
    As many as 450 million people suffer from this disorder and nearly 1 million people commit suicide every year. 1 in 4 families worldwide is likely to have at least one member with this disorder. Fifty percent of those who develop this disorder have developed it by the age of 11 and 80% have developed it by age 20. It is more common in women than men. 
Submitted by PatientsEngage on 25 November 2014

What is anxiety disorder

Everyone feels anxious at some points in their life. But the anxiety passes once the stressful situation is over. For people with anxiety disorder, the feelings of anxiety are ongoing and don’t subside. They cause great distress and get in the way of them leading a normal life.

As many as 450 million people suffer from this disorder and nearly 1 million people commit suicide every year. 1 in 4 families worldwide is likely to have at least one member with this disorder. Fifty percent of those who develop this disorder have developed it by the age of 11 and 80% have developed it by age 20. It is more common in women than men.

Anatomy of anxiety

Anxiety disorders appear to be caused by an interaction of biopsychosocial factors, including genetic vulnerability, which interact with situations, stress or trauma to produce clinically significant syndromes. The feeling is thought to arise in the amygdala, a brain region that governs many intense emotional responses. As neurotransmitters (adrenalin and noradrenalin from the adrenal glands on the kidneys) carry the impulse to the sympathetic nervous system, heart and breathing rates increase and blood flow is diverted from the abdominal organs to the brain. In the short term, anxiety prepares us to confront a crisis by putting the body on alert.

But its physical effects can cause light-headedness, nausea, diarrhoea and frequent urination. And when it persists, anxiety can take a toll on our mental and physical health.

What causes anxiety: http://www.patientsengage.com/conditions/anxiety-disorder/causes-risk-factors

Signs and Symptoms of anxiety: http://www.patientsengage.com/conditions/anxiety-disorder/signs-symptoms

Different types of anxiety: http://www.patientsengage.com/conditions/anxiety-disorder/types-stages

Diagnosis and Tests: http://www.patientsengage.com/conditions/anxiety-disorder/diagnosis-tests

Treatment options for anxiety disorders: http://www.patientsengage.com/conditions/anxiety-disorder/treatments

Can anxiety be prevented: http://www.patientsengage.com/conditions/anxiety-disorder/prevention

Managing anxiety:  http://www.patientsengage.com/conditions/anxiety-disorder/management

Community
Mental Health and Wellbeing
Condition
Anxiety Disorder
Changed
Fri, 09/25/2015 - 16:41

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