Anxiety

Anxiety is the reaction of our bodies and minds to something that upsets their normal balance. Almost everyone feels anxious from time to time. When there is a threat of some kind, adrenaline and cortisone are released in the bloodstream; heart rate quickens; breathing becomes shallow and rapid; muscles tense; sugar is released by the liver; and the mind goes on full alert. But when anxiety is not tied to an identifiable threat or is more severe and long lasting than warranted, it becomes a debilitating and disruptive clinical disorder. Many different anxiety disorders are recognized. Among them are generalized anxiety disorder, panic attacks, phobia, and agoraphobia. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is chronic and exaggerated worry and tension, even though nothing seems to provoke it. People with GAD always anticipate disaster, often worrying excessively about health, money, family, or work. The patient can't seem to shake their concerns, even though they usually realize that their anxiety is more intense than the situation warrants. They often have trouble falling or staying asleep. Their worries are accompanied by physical symptoms, especially trembling, twitching, muscle tension, headaches, irritability, sweating, or hot flashes. Panic attacks are a sudden onset of extreme fear or tension, for no evident reason. Attacks can occur any time, even during non-dream sleep. While most attacks average a couple of minutes, occasionally they can go on for up to 10 minutes. People with panic attacks can't predict when an attack will occur, and many develop intense anxiety between episodes. In between times there is a persistent, lingering worry that another attack could come any minute. Phobias include specific phobias, which are irrational fears of certain things or situations--dogs, closed-in places, heights, escalators, tunnels, highway driving, water, flying, etc. Social phobia is an intense fear of becoming humiliated in social situations, specifically of embarrassing yourself in front of other people. Anxiety disorders can vary greatly in their severity; they may be mild or completely immobilizing. The incidence of the different disorders also varies: panic attacks, and phobias occur less frequently than generalized anxiety. The disorders usually become noticeable during the teen years or early adulthood and are considerably more common among adults than children. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental conditions in America. More than 19 million people are affected by these debilitating illnesses each year. It is twice as common in women as in men. It can appear at any age -- in children or in the elderly -- but most often it begins in young adults. Not everyone who experiences panic attacks will develop panic disorder; many people have one attack but never have another.

Physically, anxiety is usually expressed through a series of responses that include:

•  Proper counseling and seeking professional help when the symptoms of anxiety start surfacing can help to prevent this serious condition from becoming worse.
•  If anxiety attacks run in your family, be smart enough to educate yourself on anxiety disorders. 
•  Get counseling if you need it and don’t let panic attacks compromise the quality of your life. 
•  Manage stress and learn to relax each day by using different relaxation techniques. 
•  Eating well, getting exercises and becoming involved in enjoyable activities can go far in preventing the onset of anxiety. 
•  People with anxiety can relieve their symptoms by avoiding alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and food allergens. 
•  Take care of your body by eating a well-balanced diet.
  
  
  

There are many potential causes of anxiety disorders. The most important cause is a recognizable stress -- such as an accident, a death in the family, or the loss of a job. In some cases, adjustments to the situation, along with the passage of time, will have an ameliorating effect. In other cases, the stress is invisible -- a buried memory of some unhappy or frightening facet of childhood, lurking below the surface of the conscious mind and revealing its presence in anxiety. 
Family history and genetics play a part in the greater likelihood of someone getting an anxiety disorder in their lifetime. Food sensitivities also contribute to anxiety. Caffeine has been implicated in increasing anxiety levels, especially in individuals predisposed to anxiety. In addition, anxiety frequently follows a sudden withdrawal from alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs. 
Biochemistry plays also a role in anxiety. The most significant biochemical disturbance noted in people with anxiety is an elevated blood lactic acid level and increased lactic to pyruvic acid ratio.
There are at least six nutritional factors that may be responsible for elevated lactate levels or lactic acid to pyruvic acid ratios:

1.  Alcohol
2. Caffeine
3. Sugar
4. Deficiency of the B-vitamins niacin, pyridoxine, and thiamin
5. Deficiency of calcium or magnesium
6. Food allergens
   

Specific anxiety disorders are diagnosed based on the severity and duration of symptoms and on additional behavioral characteristics that accompany the symptoms of anxiety.
For a proper diagnosis of Generalized Anxiety Disorder, at least three of the following four categories of anxiety symptoms must be present for a minimum of a month: 
Restless, cannot relax, trembling, shaky, jumpy, facial tics. 
Sweating, cold, heart pounding, clammy hands, dry mouth, dizzy, light headed, hands/feet tingling, upset stomach, diarrhea, frequent urination, shortness of breath. 
Fear, constant worry and anticipation of misfortune to self and others. 
Distractible, poor concentration, insomnia, irritable, impatient, feeling "on edge" and constantly on the lookout. 
Phobias are often, but not always present in Anxiety Disorders. Anything can be the subject of a phobia, but there are three main types: 
Agoraphobia: fear of being in a public place from which escape or help might be difficult in the case of sudden illness e.g. crowds, public transport, malls, bridges. 
Social Phobia: fear of social situations in which the person worries that he/she may be scrutinized by others and be exposed to embarrassment or humiliation. 
Simple Phobia: Fear of anything else, which does not fall into the above categories e.g. animals, spiders, heights, flying, water, illness, germs, AIDS, etc.
In all the above cases, the fear is irrational and out of proportion and affects the individual's functioning to various degrees.
For Panic Disorder to be diagnosed, at least three panic attacks must have taken place within a three-week period. Some people do, however, experience panic attacks, which come and go, usually linked to stress and anxiety.
Panic attacks have at least four of the following symptoms: 

• Food and nutrition are key factors in the brains poor behavior and well being therefore a poor diet is often the cause of anxiety in people.
•  Avoid caffeine in any form. 
•  Do not eat sugar or highly sweetened foods. 
•  Keep a record of what you eat and anxiety attacks, in this way you can rule out food allergies.
•  Take carrot juice.
•  Eliminate all preserved refined and junk foods.
•  Avoid sweets alcohol and drugs. 
•  Drink bottled water several studies indicate that treated water can cause neurotransmitter imbalances.
  

•  Support groups can provide a forum for sharing feelings and counseling. 
•  Try to consciously see the positive side of every situation. 
•  Learn to control your thoughts. A therapist or support group can provide a long list of possible and helpful phrases to use. 
•  Try to help yourself. If your mind is powerful enough to create feelings of overwhelming panic when there is no real danger then it is also powerful enough to quell those fears. 
•  Exercise daily. It is a wonderful outlet for pent up tension and anxiety. Choose something you enjoy and learn to release your emotional fears in a constructive way such as jogging, swimming walking etc. 
•  Get a deep shoulder and neck massage when your feel an attack is coming. 
•  Investigate therapies such as self-hypnosis, breathing exercises, music therapies; any of these can control your mind and subsequently the body in avoiding feelings of panic or anxiety.
  

Anyone who has trouble with panic and anxiety attacks believes that something terrible is about to happen and they have the least ability to control it. For this reason they refrain from going into public. As a result of their impaired social function, many victims become irritable, increasingly dependent on others, easily fatigued, withdrawn, frustrated and may also suffer from insomnia and bad dreams. It is vital to be compassionate to anyone who battles this disorder. Don’t try to diminish the reality of the fear because it will only make the person feel worse. Learning to pray in situations where emotions are involved can be very empowering. Exercising helps fight anxiety disorders, as it is a nutrient in itself. Do breathing exercises and stop smoking.