Anxiety
Help! I’m Feeling Anxious!
How do you know when anxiety is a medical problem?
Everyone feels anxious or nervous once in a while. If a bear runs at you in the woods, or you are crossing a busy street, it can be healthy to feel nervous or anxious. It becomes a problem when you feel anxious or worried on most days for 6 months or longer; that’s no longer normal. This is called "generalized anxiety disorder." The disorder can make it hard to do everyday tasks.
Generalized anxiety is just one anxiety disorder. There are others, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, and phobias. This handout focuses on generalized anxiety disorder, but it’s important to not get hung up on the diagnosis.
What is my “diagnosis”?
Many diagnoses are clear-cut: we can measure your blood pressure and see if it is high, check your blood sugar to see if you have diabetes, or perform an x-ray to see if you have a broken bone. Others aren’t as specific, and anxiety is unfortunately one of them. Your doctor or nurse can ask you questions that are designed to "measure" a person's anxiety level, but it is important to think of anxiety as a spectrum in which your thoughts are trapped in a cycle. Thinking too much about the future is usually labeled “anxiety.” Thinking too much about the past is usually labeled “depression.” These terms can be helpful for doctors to talk to each other, and for doctors to get insurance companies to cooperate, but aren’t as helpful for patients. For the sake of simplicity, this paper will refer to this whole spectrum of symptoms with the umbrella term of “anxiety.”
What are the symptoms of extreme or severe anxiety?
People with extreme or severe anxiety feel very worried or "on edge" much of the time. They can have trouble sleeping or forget things. Plus, they can have physical symptoms. For instance, people with severe anxiety often feel very tired and have tense muscles. Some even get stomach aches or feel chest "tightness."
Tell your doctor or nurse if you:
Are more anxious than you think is normal
Get overly anxious, or feel scared, about things that other people handle more easily such as meeting deadlines, making phone calls, or other day-to-day tasks
Find yourself lying awake for more than an hour a night replaying events in your head
Worried about being able to describe your symptoms well, to yourself or others? Many patients have success with a journal consisting of the severity of their anxiety.
Is there anything I can do on my own to feel better?
Yes! There are many things that you can do to improve your mood
Exercise can help many people feel less anxious. It's also a good idea to cut down on or stop drinking coffee and other sources of caffeine, as well as quitting all tobacco products. Caffeine and tobacco can make anxiety worse.
Apps like “BetterHelp” or “TalkSpace” can be helpful for busy folk who have a hard time seeing a therapist or counselor in person.
There are many books which can teach you coping methods. One that we recommend is The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook by Edmund J. Bourne
How is anxiety treated?
Treatments include:
Psychotherapy – Psychotherapy involves meeting with a mental health counselor to talk about your feelings, relationships, and worries. Therapy can help you find new ways of thinking about your situation so that you feel less anxious. In therapy, you might also learn new skills to reduce anxiety you come across in your daily life.
Medicines – Medicines that are used to treat depression (such as SSRI’s) can relieve anxiety, too, even in people who are not depressed. Your doctor will decide with you which medicines are best for your situation.
Many people have psychotherapy and take medicines at the same time - they are more effective together than either one alone.
There is no reason to feel embarrassed about getting treatment for anxiety. Anxiety is a common problem. It affects all kinds of people, and is no different than high blood pressure or diabetes.
Keep in mind that it might take a little while to find the right treatment. People respond in different ways to medicines and therapy, so you might need to try a few approaches before you find the one that helps you most. The key is to not give up and to let your doctor or nurse know how you feel along the way.
Are there “natural” treatments I can take?
Makers of herbal drugs sometimes claim that their products relieve anxiety. For example, herbs called kava kava and valerian are sold as treatments for anxiety. But there is no evidence that these treatments work. What's more, kava kava has been linked with serious liver damage. It might not be safe, so stick to proven healthy things such as green tea, exercise, and journaling.
What will my life be like?
People with anxiety disorders often have to deal with some anxiety for the rest of their life. For some, anxiety comes and goes, but gets bad during times of stress. The good news is, many people find effective treatments or ways to deal with their anxiety. The most important thing to realize is that you’re not alone, and you shouldn’t be embarrassed - either of your condition or of asking for help.
How Can I Find Someone to Talk To?
You can also find a therapist on Psychology Today That website will let you find counselors, therapists, and psychologists by searching and filtering through zip code, insurances that they accept, male vs. female counselors, and other information. Remember that unless you feel comfortable with the person you’re talking to, it will be difficult to get anything out of the experience.
There are also apps on your phone which can help you such as:
Seven Cups (Available for iPhone here and for Android here), which helps you to speak with volunteers 24/7 for free, or for a small fee connects you with a licensed psychologist
Booster Buddy (Available for iPhone here and for Android here), which helps teens and young adults improve their resilience and work towards physical and mental health and strength.
What's Up (Available for iPhone here and for Android here), which helps to monitor mood and provides some Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) principles to help you to re-frame thoughts and find a more positive outlook.