Severe Anxiety Disorder

What is Severe Anxiety Disorder?

Severe anxiety is any type of anxiety disorder with persistent and intense symptoms.

One example of severe anxiety disorder is an individual diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that experience frequent, vivid and very intense flashbacks during which he loses touch with reality.

Symptoms of Severe Anxiety

• Severe anxiety attacks • Insomnia • Severe flashbacks • Overwhelming fear • Severe eating disorder ( anorexia , bulimia) • Enuresis • Severe social phobia • Thinking there is no way out • Suicidal thoughts • Dramatic mood swings • Intense fear of going crazy • Desensitization

There are many other possible symptoms of severe anxiety disorder. In fact it is almost impossible to number all of them. What makes a certain symptom severe is its intensity and debilitating effect on an individual. If one person cannot function due to his or her symptoms then we say that they suffer from severe symptoms of anxiety.

What causes severe anxiety disorder?

Severe anxiety can be caused by many factors and in most cases is caused by cluster of different factors. This means that there is almost always more than one cause of anxiety disorder.

Causes of anxiety disorder can be solely biological (biochemical) due to specific brain injuries or brain tumors, however this is very rare. Most, severe anxiety causes are psychological such as experiencing traumatic events.

Alcohol and drug abuse causes brain damage which in return can cause severe anxiety disorder together with many other illnesses such as dementia. It is very unfortunate that many people who suffer from anxiety disorder self medicate with alcohol or drugs. This is because by doing so they are deepening and prolonging their illness and their suffering.

The last thing that an individual diagnosed with anxiety disorder should do is to self medicate with alcohol, legal or illegal drugs. If one suffers from anxiety disorder and have alcohol or drug problems he or she should be treated for alcohol or drug addiction and anxiety disorder simultaneously.

An alcoholic cannot be successfully treated for severe anxiety or any mental disorder if not treated for alcoholism. It is very important to emphasize that alcohol and drugs will never do anything good for you.

An important thing to note is that onset of an anxiety disorder is almost never sudden and severe in its beginning phase. In fact the severe or alarming stage of an illness represents a third phase of pathogenesis. First two forms of an illness are mild and moderate. The problem is that many people are not aware of their illness when it is in mild or even moderate stage of pathogenesis.

Treatment for Severe Anxiety

Anxiety disorder is best treated in psychotherapy. Psychotherapy is a process in which causes of an anxiety disorder are discovered and appropriately addressed. Also in psychotherapy a patient is provided with professional guidance support advice and care all of which are essential for patient’s recovery.

In case of severe anxiety an anxiety medication is strongly recommended. This is because patient’s symptoms are overwhelming and causing a great deal of suffering to the patient, which in return makes it almost impossible for a patient to participate in psychotherapy.

The important thing to know is that medication should be always taken as prescribed. This is because when medication is abused or in any other way misused, that is always contra productive and it can be even fatal. One frequent example of medication misuse is taking medication off and on or combining it whit alcohol.

Prognosis for Severe Anxiety

The prognosis for severe anxiety disorder is in most cases optimistic provided that an afflicted individual is in appropriate treatment. The outcome of the treatment does not depend only on therapist but also on a patient’s willingness to work on his or her disorder.

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