What is anxiety?

Anxiety is actually a normal protective response, alerting you to danger. Imagine coming home and finding your front door wide open when you know you locked it earlier. Your heart races. Your palms sweat. Your mind goes into overdrive. In this situation, anxiety provides an extra spark to help you get out of danger. In more normal but busy situations, anxiety can give you the energy to get things done. But sometimes anxiety can be out of control, giving you a sense of dread and fear for no apparent reason. This kind of anxiety is disruptive.

Are there different types of anxiety?

Yes. Anxiety can be a general feeling of worry, a sudden attack of panicky feelings, or a fear of a certain situation or object.

What is generalized anxiety disorder?

Generalized anxiety disorder is ongoing worry or fear that isn’t related to a particular event or situation, or is out of proportion to what you would expect–for instance, constantly worrying about a child who is perfectly healthy.

Symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder include muscle tension, trembling, shortness of breath, fast heartbeat, dry mouth, dizziness, nausea, irritability, loss of sleep and not being able to concentrate.

What is panic disorder?

Panic disorder is another type of anxiety. It occurs when you have repeated periods of extreme panic, called panic attacks.

Suppose one day you’re getting out of your car to go to work. Suddenly, your chest tightens. Your heart begins to race. You feel dizzy and faint. You cannot breathe. You feel as if you could be dying. Was it all in your head? No. Most likely, you had a panic attack.

Panic attacks, which can lead to phobias if they aren’t treated, typically last about 5 to 30 minutes and may include any of the symptoms listed below:

• Feeling like you’re going to choke
• Chest pressure or chest pain
• Pounding heart
• Racing pulse
• Dizziness or lightheadedness
• Shortness of breath or tightness in the throat
• Sweating
• Trembling or shaking
• Nausea
• Tingling or numbness in the hands or feet
• Hot flashes or chills
• Sense of unreality or dreamlike sensations
• Extreme fear of losing control, doing something embarrassing, going “crazy” or dying

What is a phobia?

A phobia is an extreme, unreasonable fear in response to something specific. There are lots of different phobias, including fear of crowds, bridges, snakes, spiders, heights, open places or social embarrassment.

A phobia is only considered a problem when it keeps you from living a normal life. An example is being afraid to leave home because you are afraid of one of the things listed above.

What causes anxiety disorders?

Suppose the fire alarm goes off in your home. You race around frantically to find the fire. Instead, you find that there is no fire–the alarm just isn’t working properly.

It’s the same with anxiety disorders. Your body mistakenly triggers your alarm system when there is no danger. This may be due to a chemical imbalance in your body. It may also be related to an unconscious memory, to a side effect of a medicine or to an illness.

Can anxiety disorders be treated?

Yes. Talk to your family doctor if you think you have an anxiety disorder. He or she can help you form a plan to develop skills to cope with your anxiety. Your doctor may also suggest counseling and prescribe medicine if needed. The following are some tips on coping with anxiety:

• Control your worry.
• Choose a place and time to do your worrying.
• Make it the same place and time every day.
• Spend 30 minutes thinking about your concerns and what you can do about them.
• Try not to dwell on what “might” happen. Focus more on what’s really happening.
• Let go of the worry and go on with your day.

Here are some additional self-help suggestions:

Learn ways to relax. These may include muscle relaxation, yoga, or deep breathing.

Exercise regularly. People who have anxiety often quit exercising. But exercise can give you a sense of well-being and help decrease feelings of anxiety.

Get plenty of sleep. Sleep rests your brain as well as your body, and can improve your general sense of wellbeing as well as your mood.

Avoid alcohol and drug abuse. It may seem that alcohol or drugs relax you. But in the long run they make anxiety worse and cause more problems.

Avoid caffeine. Caffeine is found in coffee, tea, soft drinks and chocolate. Caffeine may increase your sense of anxiety because it stimulates your nervous system. Also avoid over-the-counter diet pills, and cough and cold medicines that contain a decongestant.

Confront the things that have made you anxious in the past. Begin by just picturing yourself confronting these things. By doing this, you can get used to the idea of confronting the things that make you anxious before you actually do it. After you feel more comfortable picturing yourself confronting these things, you can begin to actually face them.

If you feel yourself getting anxious, practice a relaxation technique or focus on a simple task, such as counting backward from 100 to 0.

Although feelings of anxiety are scary, they won’t hurt you. Label the level of your fear from 0 to 10 and keep track as it goes up and down. Notice that it doesn’t stay at a very high level for more than a few seconds. When the fear comes, accept it. Wait and give it time to pass without running away from it.

Use medicine if it helps. Your doctor may give you medicine to help reduce your anxiety while you learn new ways to respond to the things that make you anxious. Many types of medicine are available. Your doctor will decide which medicine is right for you.

Talk about your anxiety with your doctor. Your doctor can help you make a plan to cope with anxiety. Counseling can help you learn to express your needs and wants so you can feel more in control and hold in less of your anger and anxiety.

The most important thing is to take action. Action can help you gain a sense of control over your anxiety.

We hear a lot of people talking about stress these days, but what exactly do they mean? In all likelihood, each person has a different perception and a different answer to the question, “What is stress?”  In an effort to better understand stress and what it means to your well-being, read the  explanation below.

What Is Stress?

Stress is a feeling that occurs when we react to particular events. It’s the body’s natural way of rising to a challenge and preparing to meet a tough situation with focus, strength, stamina, and heightened alertness.

The events that provoke stress are called stressors, and they cover a whole range of situations - everything from outright physical danger to making a class presentation or taking a semester’s worth of your toughest subject.

The human body responds to stressors by activating the nervous system and specific hormones. The hypothalamus signals the adrenal glands to produce more of the hormones adrenaline and cortisol and release them into the bloodstream. These hormones speed up heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure, and metabolism. Blood vessels open wider to let more blood flow to large muscle groups, putting our muscles on alert. Pupils dilate to improve vision. The liver releases some of its stored glucose to increase the body’s energy. And sweat is produced to cool the body. All of these physical changes prepare a person to react quickly and effectively to handle the pressure of the moment.

This natural reaction is known as the stress response. Working properly, the body’s stress response enhances a person’s ability to perform well under pressure. But the stress response can also cause problems when it overreacts or fails to turn off and reset itself properly.
Good Stress and Bad Stress

The stress response (also called the fight or flight response) is critical during emergency situations, such as when a driver has to slam on the brakes to avoid an accident. It can also be activated in a milder form at a time when the pressure’s on but there’s no actual danger - like stepping up to take the foul shot that could win the game, getting ready to go to a big dance, or sitting down for a final exam. A little of this stress can help keep you on your toes, ready to rise to a challenge. And the nervous system quickly returns to its normal state, standing by to respond again when needed.

But stress doesn’t always happen in response to things that are immediate or that are over quickly. Ongoing or long-term events, like coping with a divorce or moving to a new neighborhood or school, can cause stress, too.

Long-term stressful situations can produce a lasting, low-level stress that’s hard on people. The nervous system senses continued pressure and may remain slightly activated and continue to pump out extra stress hormones over an extended period. This can wear out the body’s reserves, leave a person feeling depleted or overwhelmed, weaken the body’s immune system, and cause other problems.

A New Website from Mental Health America

“Every day, Americans are affected by the myriad challenges, stresses and demands on their lives. And every day, they seek help in responding to them.

The good news is there are tested and effective tools that are readily available and free that anyone can use to help them cope better and improve their well-being.

Now, Mental Health America is encouraging Americans to use these tools, which form the “Live Your Life Well” campaign.

“Live Your Life Well” is a national public education campaign dedicated to helping people better cope with stress and enhancing their well-being. Stress can take a huge toll on a person’s health, mood, productivity and relationships, but specific, evidence-based tools can help counterbalance these effects.

Mental Health America created “Live Your Life Well” to increase the number of people who take action to protect their mental health, both in the face of ongoing stress and in times of great personal challenge.

The heart of the program is the “Live Your Life Well” website-that provides 10 research-based, straightforward tools and ways to apply them in everyday life. From relaxation techniques to journaling exercises to simple ways to get better sleep and improve eating habits, the materials offer a wide range of resources to build resiliency and well-being.”

Please take the time to visit Live Your Life Well and learn more about stress, how you manage it and how to manage it better.

As a reminder to those who already know a lot about the disease, and as a resource to those just learning the details, I’ve posted the following facts about bipolar disorder as published at bringchange2mind.org

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. Symptoms of bipolar disorder are severe. They are different from the normal ups-and-downs that everyone goes through from time to time. Bipolar disorder symptoms can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance, and even suicide. But bipolar disorder can be treated. A combination of professional counseling and medication helps most people return to productive and fulfilling lives.

Bipolar symptoms may seem like separate problems, not recognized as parts of a larger problem, so it can be years before a person is properly diagnosed and treated. Bipolar disorder often develops in a person’s late teens or early adult years, and it has been reported that at least half of all cases start before age 25. Some people have their first symptoms during childhood, while others may develop symptoms late in life. Like diabetes or heart disease, bipolar disorder is a long-term illness that must be carefully managed throughout a person’s life.

Bipolar mood changes are called episodes, and people usually shift from manic to depressive episodes.

Some common symptoms of a manic episode are:

* Excessively “high”, euphoric mood
* Extreme irritability
* Unrealistic beliefs in one’s abilities and powers, such as feeling able to control world events
* Decreased need for sleep without feeling tired
* Racing thoughts or fast speech
* Distractibility or difficulty concentrating
* Agitation

Some common symptoms of a depressive episode are:

* Spending sprees
* Feeling very “down” or sad
* Feeling worried and empty
* Having trouble concentrating
* Forgetting things a lot
* Losing interest in fun activities and becoming less active
* Having trouble sleeping
* Thinking about death or suicide

If you or someone you know suffers from several of the above symptoms,  a visit to the doctor is in order. Bipolar disorder is treatable. Help is available. Seek it out.

Advice from Dr. Steven A. Weisblatt

Dr. Steven A. Weisblatt, MD, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at S.U.N.Y. Downstate Medical Center who also has private practices in New York and Pennsylvania, recently wrote the following article for  bp Hope Magazine.  He is a leading consultant regarding accurate psychiatric diagnoses and effective treatments.

“Treating someone with bipolar disorder without meds is as primitive as treating a patient with a seizure disorder without medication. If anyone advises you to avoid medication, run-don’t merely walk away-from such dangerous counsel. Although not by any means the only ingredient in a comprehensive strategy to live a life free of any bipolar symptoms, it is an essential and necessary component. What follows are some answers to common questions about medication treatment that may make your path to remission faster and more comfortable:

What is the goal of treatment with meds?
Optimally, the goal is getting rid of all your symptoms over the long term (remission), while having no adverse effects. Meds may give you partial relief from symptoms within several days or weeks, but full remission can take months or even years of active treatment.

What if my meds don’t work?
If you feel this way, rest assured it’s not usually because your disorder is failing to respond to appropriate treatment. More often, I see the problems as being misdiagnoses, clinicians who may be unfamiliar with specifically helpful combinations of meds, and patients who are challenged in their ability or willingness to follow through with treatment.

Aren’t meds dangerous in the long term?
Appropriate medication therapy may be lethal in one patient out of two hundred thousand (the same odds of getting hit by lightning). In contrast, people with untreated or partially-treated bipolar dis- order have up to a 25 percent lifetime risk of suicide. Far more have lost years of their lives, jobs, friends and family connections due to ongoing symptoms. It’s a bit of an unreasonable comparison to claim that one doesn’t want to take medication due to the risks, when not taking medication itself increases the risk of suicide, let alone the risk of other losses. Weigh risks and benefits fairly.

Is it OK to miss my meds occasionally?
Compliance is key. Assuming your illness is in remission and you are having no adverse effects, there is little reason to consider altering your treatment, except in certain circumstances of weight change, aging, pregnancy, or specific medical treatments. Just as in
controlled diabetes, where any change in insulin dose (or missed doses) is likely to result in instability, the same is true in bipolar disorder. However, unlike in the case of diabetes, where blood sugar will stabilize quickly when meds are resumed, in bipolar disorders a medication that was previously effective may no longer work.

Do I need to do more than take meds to achieve and stay in remission?
You can do a lot more! Along with lifestyle changes like Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy (IPSRT), yoga, exercise, and healthy eating, various supportive individual, family, and group psychotherapies are associated with better short- and long-term outcomes.

Do I really have to tell all my clinicians about all the medicines I’m taking?
Absolutely! The reason for this is that there are many effects of non-psychiatric medicines on bipolar disorder (e.g. steroids, antihypertensives, etc.) as well as interactions between other medicines and psychiatric medications that are not necessarily available for review in texts or on the Web, but will hopefully be familiar to your clinician. It is critical to avoid nutritional supplements, over-the-counter meds, even prescribed medications until the prescriber has reviewed the new medicine with your psychiatric clinician.

Can I still have a drink from time to time?

That’s a really bad idea. While this may not be the best-received advice, it is important to abstain completely from alcohol, illegal substances, herbal medicines and even caffeine. These substances can actually make you more ill, in addition to confounding the question of whether or not you can be treated to remission with less medicine. You will be relieved to know that chocolate is still OK!

As always, active treatment requires collaboration between an engaged and informed patient and a psychiatric clinician skilled in the treatment of bipolar disorders. You can increase the odds of being treated properly by being well- informed and actively participating with your clinician at regular appointments.”

—–

For more information on the diagnosis and treatment of bipolar disorder, visit the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance website.

Borderline Personality Disorder often co-occurs with other mental illnesses. For many, the associated behaviors develop as coping mechanisms to deal with inherent symptoms of an existing, biologically-driven illness. NAMI spokespoeple have said this about the cause of BPD:

“At this point in time, clinical theorists believe that biogenetic and environmental components are both necessary for the disorder to develop.  These factors are varied and complex.  Many different environments may further contribute to the development of the disorder.  Families providing reasonably nurturing and caring environments may nevertheless see their relative develop the illness. In other situations, childhood abuse has exacerbated the condition. The best explanation appears to be that there is a confluence of environmental factors and a neurobiological propensity that leads to a sensitive, emotionally labile child.”  

Just two days ago, representatives from some of the nation’s premiere mental health research and advocacy organizations met on capitol hill to share new information regarding Borderline Personality Disorder. Here is an excerpt from a NAMI press release regarding that session:

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and the National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder co-sponsored a congressional briefing on Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) on May 19.

Borderline Personality Disorder affects more than two million people and is just as common as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. People living with BPD can face additional challenges due to the complicated nature of symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. The high risk of self-injury and suicide make proper treatment all the more urgent.

Do your part to end the stigma associated with Borderline Personality Disorder-
Leading mental health experts, including Thomas Insel, M.D., director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and John Oldan, M.D., president-elect of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), spoke with the congressional group about the challenges people living with BPD face and treatment options.

At the briefing, NAMI Executive Director Michael Fitzpatrick said:

Borderline Personality Disorder is a serious mental illness that can cause a lot of challenges, carries a significant risk of suicide and requires an accurate diagnosis along with targeted treatment.

We know that treatment works, but too often stigma discourages people living with mental illness from getting the help that they need. Untreated mental illness has significant personal, social and economic implications. We urge Congress to increase funding of research, treatment and services for those living with BPD and their families.

Click here for more information about Borderline Personality Disorder.

For even more information, click here for a downloadable PDF pamphlet.

Openness by Friends, Family and Celebrities Reduces the Stigma of Mental Illness

This is the finding of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), as elaborated in the article below, taken from their site:

Stigma associated with mental illnesses continues, though more than a third of Americans **surveyed on behalf of the American Psychiatric Association  said that, in their view, stigma has declined, and openness about personal experiences by friends, family and public figures was influential.

Increased openness about personal experience with mental illnesses on the part of friends and family members was identified by most respondents (79 percent) as at least moderately influential in reducing the stigma sometimes associated with mental illnesses, according to the online survey conducted for the APA by Harris Interactive in April among 2,285 adults age 18 and older.

Other factors at least moderately influential are:

• the increase in the amount of mental health information available online, 75 percent

• accurate portrayals of mental illnesses on television and in movies, 72 percent

• public figures or celebrities talking about their experiences with mental illnesses, 71 percent

• social networking sites related to the topic of mental illnesses, 61 percent

When asked how concerned they are about the possibility that they would ever be diagnosed with a mental disorder, 38 percent were at least somewhat concerned while 48 percent said they were at least somewhat concerned for a family member.

Two-thirds of Americans surveyed agree that people with mental illnesses can get better.

The APA conducted the survey as part of its Healthy Minds. Healthy Lives. campaign, which was established to improve understanding of mental illnesses, psychiatry and successful treatment options, as well as to reduce the stigma sometimes associated with seeking mental health care.

If you have a story to share regarding mental illness, the media and/or stigma, please share it with us in the comments section here!

I sometimes consider shutting down this site to focus on other writings, particularly when I look at cost. I’ve resisted monetizing through ads because I want to remain unbiased. I don’t want my readers to think I endorse particular drugs or treatment approaches, and pharmaceutical companies are the only big money donors interested in “pay per click” support for sites like this.  But every time I think I’ll just pull the plug, I get a letter like the one below: and I realize that every bit of advocacy and support contributes to improvements in treatments and in the lives of others. And so for now, we’ll continue.

Please read on…

and if you have a positive story of tale of support to share email me!

Hi Kate!

I’m a 28-year old doctor from the Philippines & I have a sister who has bipolar disorder. I’d just like to say thank you for creating this website & thank you for pursuing your advocacy.

Viewing this site brought tears to my eyes & I deeply feel that something has to be changed about the stigma of mental health. Seeing the videos here made me realize that society must be liberated by this stigma, as much as there was also discrimination for people before w/ leprosy or even for black people.

This is a start & I am positive that change is coming & little by little, we’ll all grow as a better society by accepting this change.

Thank you again so much & never tire of doing good, cuz you never know how many lives you have touched every single day.

Kudos & God bless!

About Hear Me NOW:

A Celebration of Resiliency Through the Performing Arts

Tonight, Thursday, May 7, 2009, 7 p.m. ET | Washington, DC

The Awareness Day national event will be held at the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Harman Center for the Arts on Thursday, May 7, at 7 p.m. ET. Featuring co-hosts Sabrina Bryan of Disney Channel’s “Cheetah Girls” and Solomon Trimble of the film “Twilight,” the goal for the event is to inspire, and most important, teach their peers and others that youth with mental health needs can and do thrive at home, at school, and in the community The event will feature performances by systems of care youth from across the country.

The theme for 2010 National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week is:

Promoting Positive Mental Health from Birth to Adulthood

Let’s join forces to send the following messages across the nation:

• Mental health is essential to overall health and well being.

• Serious emotional and mental health disorders in children and youth are real and treatable.

• Children and youth with mental health challenges and their families deserve access to services and supports that are family driven, youth guided and culturally appropriate.

• Values of acceptance, dignity and social inclusion should be promoted throughout all communities for children, youth and families.

• Family and youth voice is a valued asset in determining appropriate services and interventions.

For more information, click the icons below: