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Anxiety Disorders - Your Guide yourhealthinmind.org Anxiety disorders - your guide This guide provides information and advice about anxiety disorders. Table of contents It has been produced by psychiatrists – medical About anxiety disorders 2 doctors who are experts in mental health – with input from consumers and carers. It is based on up-to-date Types of anxiety disorders 4 scientific evidence. Treatment of anxiety disorders 5 This guide is for: Self-care for anxiety disorders 6 • people who have an anxiety disorder Helping someone with an anxiety disorder 7 • people who think they might have an anxiety disorder • their family and friends. Key facts • It’s normal and healthy to feel anxious • When anxiety becomes so overwhelming sometimes. Anxiety actually helps us. It that it affects your day-to-day life, it makes us alert and helps us do things well. becomes a disorder. • For example, if we are a bit anxious before • An anxiety disorder is where your anxiety playing sport or doing an exam, it can make gets out of control and starts to affect your us perform better. life. • If we are in danger, feeling anxious can help • Anxiety disorders are common. us escape from the situation. • Effective treatments for anxiety are available. • However, if we become too anxious, it can • For most people, it’s best to start with stop us thinking clearly. psychological treatment. Anxiety disorders Your Health in Mind Page 1 of 7 About anxiety disorders What is an anxiety disorder? People with anxiety often also have symptoms of depression. If you notice some of these symptoms, An anxiety disorder is when your anxiety gets out of and you’re concerned you might have an anxiety control and starts to affect your life. disorder, you should seek help. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health problem in Australia and New Zealand. Around 1 in 3 of us will have an anxiety disorder at some What’s a panic attack? point in our lives. A panic attack is where you suddenly feel Having an anxiety disorder can be distressing and extremely fearful. You might have a racing make it difficult for you to live your life the way heart, find it hard to breathe, or feel sweaty, you want. dizzy, shaky or like you might vomit. However, there are effective treatments available and Some people feel like they might collapse or effective ways to prevent anxiety. die. Others feel like they’ve lost touch with reality. Healthy anxiety The attacks come on very quickly, and can be Lasts only a short time over in just a few minutes. Sometimes they Happens in a stressful situation seem to happen for no reason – for example Feel anxious occasionally you might be just watching TV or relaxing on Doesn't affect daily life the couch. Worried about things that could cause problems Panic attacks aren’t dangerous, but they are Problem anxiety very scary. Lasts for months or years Just because you’ve had one panic attack, it Not always linked to a stressful situation doesn’t mean you have an anxiety disorder. But Feel anxious often it’s worth seeking help if: Stops you doing things Worried about things that aren't likely to cause problems • you’ve had several panic attacks, or • you’re so worried about having another one that it affects how you live your life. Signs and symptoms of anxiety disorders People with an anxiety disorder have very strong Who gets anxiety disorders? feelings of worry, unease or fear. They are more anxious than most people would be in the same Anxiety disorders most often start when people are situation. teenagers. They may go out of their way to avoid things, people, Anyone can get one, but they are more common events or places that make them anxious. among women and girls. They are also more common in people who were neglected/abused as children, or They can also: who are neglected/abused as adults. However, you • feel panicked don’t need to have suffered trauma to have anxiety. • have trouble breathing For some people stress from different sources can • have a racing heart or chest pain build up over time – for example from stressful events • feel dizzy, shaky or sick at home, work, and in relationships – until the worry and distress develop into an anxiety disorder. • blush or sweat • find it difficult to think clearly and concentrate. Anxiety disorders Your Health in Mind Page 2 of 7 Diagnosis of anxiety disorders “It’s a terrible feeling. You feel really frightened A diagnosis is usually made by a GP, psychiatrist or but you don’t know why. But it’s comforting just psychologist. to know that what you’re feeling has a name – anxiety.” Diagnosis might involve: • talking to you about how you feel, what’s worrying you, and how long you’ve had these feelings • tests of your thinking (psychological tests) Brian, Whangarei • a physical check-up. Your doctor will want to check that there isn’t another problem making you feel this way (e.g. a Getting help for anxiety disorders heart or thyroid problem), so they may also order Is feeling nervous, anxious or worried a problem for other tests. you? Does it stop you from doing things you need or For most anxiety disorders, you need to have had the want to do? symptoms for a few months to get a diagnosis. If you answered yes to both of these questions, it’s worth seeking help. As a first step, see your GP (family doctor). A GP can assess your symptoms and refer you to see a psychiatrist or psychologist if you need it. Anxiety disorders don’t usually go away by themselves. But effective treatments are available. ÑÑFind out where to get help yourhealthinmind.org/first Once I got help, I was able to deal with stressful“ situations and I started sleeping better. I’m now able to do so many things that once upon a time I would have avoided.” Louise, Sydney Anxiety disorders Your Health in Mind Page 3 of 7 Types of anxiety disorders Generalised anxiety disorder Agoraphobia People with generalised anxiety disorder worry much Agoraphobia is when someone is very fearful about of the time about all sorts of everyday things – to do certain situations, because they’re afraid that they with work, finances, health or family for example. might have a panic attack, or something awful might They worry something terrible might happen, even if happen to them. They then go out of their way to there’s no real reason to think so. avoid these situations. They can’t stop feeling anxious, even though it’s Someone with agoraphobia would be very anxious affecting their life. about: For example, they might not want to drive a car • using buses, trains, trams, or planes because they’re worried about having an accident. • being in open spaces (car parks, bridges, parks) They often ask for reassurance that the terrible things • being in enclosed places (shopping centres, they fear won’t happen. cinemas) • being in a crowd. People with generalised anxiety disorder don’t sleep well, and often complain of headaches and muscle Specific phobia tension in their necks and shoulders. If someone is very fearful of one particular thing or Social anxiety disorder situation, they might have a specific phobia. People can have phobias about things such as: Someone with social anxiety disorder worries about other people noticing their anxiety and thinking less • animals – for example spiders or dogs of them because of it. • flying in aeroplanes • Being the centre of attention is a problem for • heights them. • getting an injection. • For example, they might feel anxious about: • meeting new people The fear is usually out of proportion to the actual • speaking or performing in front of other people danger, and can cause problems with people’s day-to- day lives. For example, someone might refuse to go • going to meetings or parties for a walk in the park because they’re worried about • catching public transport dogs. • being watched while eating or drinking. Problems that are related to anxiety disorders are PTSD and OCD. They worry that they might do something embarrassing, or that other people might notice that they’re anxious. They will avoid situations where other people could notice their anxiety. “Anxiety creeps in over a long period of Normal shyness isn’t social anxiety disorder. time. I think I lived with anxiety for years and years before I knew what it was. ” Panic disorder Someone with a panic disorder has repeated panic attacks, which seem to happen for no particular reason, and then they worry a lot about having more Louise, Sydney panic attacks. A panic attack is a sudden surge of fear or anxiety in situations where others would not be afraid. Anxiety disorders Your Health in Mind Page 4 of 7 Treatment of anxiety disorders How are anxiety disorders treated? Face-to-face CBT The recommended treatment for anxiety disorders is You can do CBT face-to-face with a qualified psychological treatment (usually cognitive behavioural therapist – usually a psychologist or psychiatrist. therapy). Around 8–12 sessions are recommended. If this hasn’t worked, or if you have very severe ÑÑMore about psychological treatments. anxiety, your doctor might recommend medication as yourhealthinmind.org/psychological well. It’s best to try psychological treatments first. They can work just as well as medication. Discuss the options Online CBT with your doctor. You can get self-guided CBT online. It can be low cost or even free, and you can do it where What can a psychiatrist do for anxiety and when suits you.
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