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Anxiety Disorder Essay, Research Paper

Everybody has it. It is a natural part of life. Fortunately for most of us it isn t

intense and persistent. It is anxiety. When speaking in front of a class, when peering

down from a ledge, when waiting to play in the big game, anyone of us might feel

anxious. But when this occasional uneasiness becomes overwhelming and an everyday

occurrence, one might be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders are

psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive

behaviors that reduce anxiety. According to David Myers there are five different types

of anxiety disorders. They are Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Phobias,

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and Panic

Disorders. Accurate diagnosis is important, since treatment varies from one disorder to

another. Depending on the disorder, behavior therapy, drugs, or psychotherapy, alone

or in appropriate combinations, can significantly relieve the distress and dysfunction for

most people.

The Surgeon General declares that the medications typically used to treat

patients with anxiety disorders are benzodiazepines, antidepressants, and buspirone.

The benzodiazepines are a large class of relatively safe and widely prescribed

medications that have rapid and profound antianxiety and sedative-hypnotic effects.

The four benzodiazepines currently widely prescribed for treatment of anxiety disorders

are diazepam, lorazepam, clonazepam, and alprazolam. Benzodiazepines have the

potential for producing drug dependence or behavioral symptoms after discontinuation

of use. Most antidepressant medications have substantial antianxiety and antipanic

effects in addition to their antidepressant action. Fluoxetine, sertraline, paroxetine,

fluvoxamine, and citalopram have emerged as the preferred types of antidepressants for

treatment of anxiety disorders. When effective in treating anxiety, antidepressants

should be maintained for at least four to six months, then tapered slowly to avoid

discontinuation-emergent activation of anxiety symptoms. Unlike the benzodiazepines,

buspirone is not habit forming and has no abuse potential. Buspirone takes four to six

weeks to exert therapeutic effects, like antidepressants, and has little value for patients

when taken on an as needed basis.

Harold Bernard, author of Psychology of Learning and Teaching, states that

anxiety disorders are responsive to counseling and to a wide variety of psychotherapies.

The hallmarks of cognitive-behavioral therapies are evaluating apparent cause and

effect relationships between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, as wells as implementing

relatively straightforward strategies to lessen symptoms and reduce avoidance behavior.

A critical element of therapy is to increase exposure to the stimuli or situations that

provoke anxiety. Without such therapeutic assistance, the sufferer typically withdraws

from anxiety-inducing situations, inadvertently reinforcing avoidant or escape behavior.

The therapist provides reassurance that the feared situation is not deadly and introduces

a plan to enhance mastery. This plan may include approaching the feared situation in a

graduated or stepwise hierarchy or teaching the patient to use responses that dampen

anxiety, such as deep muscle relaxation or coping one fundamental principle is that

prolonged exposure to a feared stimulus reliably decreases cognitive and physiologic

symptoms of anxiety.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is characterized by six months or more of

chronic, exaggerated worry and tension that is unfounded or much more severe than the

normal anxiety most people experience. People with this disorder usually expect the

worst; they worry excessively about money, health, family, or work, even when there

are no signs of trouble. They are unable to relax and often suffer from insomnia. Many

people with GAD also have physical symptoms, such as fatigue, trembling, muscle

tension, headaches, irritability, or hot flashes. About three to five percent of adults

have it at some time during a given year. Statistics from the National Institute of

Mental Health report that women are twice as likely as men to have GAD. It often

begins in childhood or adolescence but may start at any age. For most people, the

condition fluctuates, worsening at times, and persists over many years. Medication is

the primary treatment for GAD. Benzodiazepines are usually prescribed, but buspirone

is another effective drug for treating GAD. Behavior therapy isn t usually beneficial

because no clear-cut situations trigger the anxiety. Relaxation and biofeedback

techniques may be of some help. For some people psychotherapy may be effective in

helping to understand and resolve internal psychological conflicts.

Phobias involve persistent, unrealistic, intense anxiety in response to specific

external situations, such as looking down from heights, or coming near a small dog.

People who have a phobia avoid situations that rigger their anxiety, or they endure them

with great distress. However, they recognize that their anxiety is excessive and

therefore are aware that they have a problem. Two of the most common phobias are

agoraphobia and social phobia. Agoraphobia literally means fear of the marketplace or

open spaces, the term more specifically describes the fear of being trapped without a

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