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AnxietyFirstly it is important to realise that in some circumstances anxiety is a perfectly healthy response and that a small amount can even be valuable in certain circumstances. However it is when this anxiety grows and becomes excessive that problems can occur. Sigmund Freud recognized anxiety as a "signal of danger" and a cause of "defensive behavior". He believed we acquire anxious feelings through classical conditioning and traumatic experiences. We maintain anxiety through operant conditioning; when we see or encounter something associated with a previous traumatic experience, anxious feelings resurface. We feel temporarily relieved when we avoid situations which make us anxious, but this only increases anxious feelings the next time we are in the same position, and we will want to escape the situation again and therefore will not make any progress against the anxiety. Types of anxiety Existential anxiety: A 1987 tranquilizer advert with an indirect reference to existential anxiety: "In a world where certainties are few...no wonder Ativan® (lorazepam)C-IV is prescribed by so many caring clinicians." Theologians like Paul Tillich and psychologists like Sigmund Freud have characterized anxiety as the reaction to what Tillich called, "The trauma of nonbeing." That is, the human comes to realize that there is a point at which he or she might cease to be (die), and their encounter with reality becomes characterized by anxiety. Religion, according to both Tillich and Freud, then becomes a carefully crafted coping mechanism in response to this anxiety since they redefine death as the end of only the corporal part of human personal existence, assuming an immortal soul. What then becomes of this soul and through what criteria is the cardinal difference of various religious faiths. Philosophical ruminations are a part of this condition, and this is part of obsessive-compulsive disorder. They are typically about sex and religion or death. According to Viktor Frankl, author of Man's Search for Meaning, when faced with extreme mortal dangers the very basic of all human wishes is to find a meaning of life to combat this "trauma of nonbeing" as death is near and to succumb to it (even by suicide) seems like a way out. Test anxiety: Test anxiety is the uneasiness, apprehension, or nervousness felt by students who have a fear of failing an exam. Students suffering from test anxiety may experience any of the following: the association of grades with personal worth, embarrassment by a teacher, taking a class that is beyond their ability, fear of alienation from parents or friends, time pressures, or feeling a loss of control. Emotional, cognitive, behavioural, and physical components can all be present in test anxiety. Sweating, dizziness, headaches, racing heartbeats, nausea, fidgeting, and drumming on a desk are all common. An optimal level of arousal is necessary to best complete a task such as an exam; however, when the anxiety or level of arousal exceeds that optimum, it results in a decline in performance. Because test anxiety hinges on fear of negative evaluation, debate exists as to whether test anxiety is itself a unique anxiety disorder or whether it is a specific type of social phobia. In 2006, approximately 49% of high school students were reportedly suffering from this condition. While the term test anxiety refers specifically to students, many adults share the same experience with regard to their career or profession. The fear of failing a task and being negatively evaluated for it can have a similarly negative effect on the adult. Stranger anxiety: Anxiety when meeting or interacting with unknown people is a common stage of development in young people. So-called "stranger anxiety" in younger people is not a phobia in the classic sense; rather it is a developmentally appropriate fear by young children of those who do not share a 'loved-one', caretaker or parenting role. In adults, an excessive fear of other people is not a developmentally common stage. Anxiety in palliative care: Some research has strongly suggested that treating anxiety in cancer patients improves their quality of life. The treatment generally consists of counselling, relaxation techniques or pharmacologically with benzodiazepines. Anxiety is a physiological state characterized by cognitive, somatic, emotional, and behavioural components (Seligman, Walker & Rosenhan, 2001). These components combine to create the feelings that we typically recognize as fear, apprehension, or worry. Anxiety is often accompanied by physical sensations such as heart palpitations, nausea, chest pain, shortness of breath, or headache. The cognitive component entails expectation of a diffuse and uncertain danger. Somatically the body prepares the organism to deal with threat (known as an emergency reaction): blood pressure and heart rate are increased, sweating is increased, blood flow to the major muscle groups is increased, and immune and digestive system functions are inhibited. Externally, somatic signs of anxiety may include pale skin, sweating, trembling, and pupil dilation. Emotionally, anxiety causes a sense of dread or panic and physically causes nausea, and chills. Behaviourally, both voluntary and involuntary behaviours may arise directed at escaping or avoiding the source of anxiety and often maladaptive, being most extreme in anxiety disorders. However, anxiety is not always pathological or maladaptive: it is a common emotion along with fear, anger, sadness, and happiness, and it has a very important function in relation to survival. Anxiety Disorder: Generalized anxiety disorder is a common chronic disorder that affects twice as many women as men and can lead to considerable impairment (Brawman-Mintzer & Lydiard, 1996, 1997). As the name implies, generalized anxiety disorder is characterized by long-lasting anxiety that is not focused on any particular object or situation. In other words it is unspecific or free-floating. People with this disorder feel afraid of something but are unable to articulate the specific fear. They fret constantly and have a hard time controlling their worries. Because of persistent muscle tension and autonomic fear reactions, they may develop headaches, heart palpitations, dizziness, and insomnia. These physical complaints, combined with the intense, long-term anxiety, make it difficult to cope with normal daily activities. Some of these anxiety disorders are as follows: Panic disorder: In panic disorder, a person suffers brief attacks of intense terror and apprehension that cause trembling and shaking, confusion, dizziness, nausea, difficulty breathing, and feelings of impending doom or a situation that would be embarrassing. One who is often plagued by sudden bouts of intense anxiety might be said to be afflicted by this disorder. The American Psychiatric Association (2000) defines a panic attack as fear or discomfort that arises abruptly and peaks in 10 minutes or less, and can occasionally last hours. Although panic attacks sometimes seem to occur out of nowhere, they generally happen after frightening experiences, prolonged stress, or even exercise. Many people who have panic attacks (especially their first one) think they are having a heart attack and often end up at the doctor or emergency room. Even if the tests all come back normal the person will still worry, with the physical manifestations of anxiety only reinforcing their fear that something is wrong with their body. Heightened awareness (hypervigilance) of any change in the normal function of the human body, will be noticed and interpreted as a possible life threatening illness by an individual suffering from panic attacks. Normal changes in heartbeat, such as when climbing a flight of stairs will be noticed by a panic sufferer and lead them to think something is wrong with their heart or they are about to have another panic attack. Some begin to worry excessively and even quit jobs or refuse to leave home to avoid future attacks. Panic disorder can be diagnosed when several apparently spontaneous attacks lead to a persistent concern about future attacks. Agoraphobia: A common complication of panic disorder is agoraphobia - anxiety about being in a place or situation where escape is difficult or embarrassing (Craske, 2000; Gorman, 2000). It seems that the definition of the word has expanded to refer to avoidance behaviours that sufferers often develop. If a sufferer of panic attacks seems to have them while driving, for example, then he or she may avoid driving, this relieves the anxiety, and subsequently makes future driving more difficult, as a result of behavioral reinforcement. Derealization: "Sufferers of Depersonalisation or Derealization feel divorced from both the world and from their own body. Often people who experience depersonalisation claim that life "feels like a dream", things seem unreal, or hazy; some say they feel detached from their own body. Another symptom of this condition can be the constant worrying or strange thoughts that people find hard to switch off." DP/DR builds up slowly with the underlying anxiety, but is noticed suddenly often after a panic attack, and difficult or impossible to ignore until recovery is made. This symptom of anxiety can be crippling to the sufferer and may lead to avoidance behaviour. Sufferers of DP/DR often see this strange phenomenon as being something catastrophic, and may become obsessed with an explanation they have come up with in their mind. It is often difficult to accept that such a disturbing symptom is a result of anxiety, and the sufferer is often thinking it must be something more, or something worse. Phobias: This category involves a strong, irrational fear and avoidance of an object or situation. The person knows the fear is irrational, yet the anxiety remains. Phobic disorders differ from generalized anxiety disorders and panic disorders because there is a specific stimulus or situation that elicits a strong fear response. A person suffering from a phobia of spiders might feel so frightened by a spider that he or she would try to jump out of a speeding car to get away from one. People with phobias have especially powerful imaginations, so they vividly anticipate terrifying consequences from encountering such feared objects as knives, bridges, blood, enclosed places, certain animals or situations. These individuals generally recognize that their fears are excessive and unreasonable but are generally unable to control their anxiety. Social anxiety disorder: Social anxiety disorder is also known as social phobia. Individuals with this disorder experience intense fear of being negatively evaluated by others or of being publicly embarrassed because of impulsive acts. Almost everyone experiences "stage fright" when speaking or performing in front of a group. Since occasionally there are artists or performers with social anxiety disorder who are able to perform publicly without significant anxiety, their love of performing and practicing their art may be diminishing their anxiety. Even such high-functioning phobic’s such as Glenn Gould experience anxiety in performance. But people with social phobias often become so anxious that performance, if they are not natural performers, such as children playing musical instruments from a young age, is out of the question. In fact, their fear of public scrutiny and potential humiliation becomes so pervasive that normal life can become impossible (den Boer 2000; Margolis & Swartz, 2001). Another social phobia is love-shyness, which most adversely affects certain men. Those afflicted find themselves unable to initiate intimate adult relationships (Gilmartin 1987). Obsessive compulsive disorder is a type of anxiety disorder primarily characterized by obsessions and/or compulsions. Obsessions are distressing, repetitive, intrusive thoughts or images that the individual often realizes are senseless. Compulsions are repetitive behaviours that the person feels forced or compelled into doing, in order to relieve anxiety. The OCD thought pattern may be likened to superstitions: if X is done, Y won't happen—in spite of how unlikely it may be that doing X will actually prevent Y, if Y is even a real threat to begin with. A common example of this behaviour would be obsessing that one's door is unlocked, which may lead to compulsive constant checking and rechecking of doors. Often the process seems much less logical. For example, the compulsion of walking in a certain pattern may be employed to alleviate the obsession that something bad is about to happen. Lights and other household items are also common objects of obsession. Post-traumatic stress disorder: Post-traumatic stress disorder is an anxiety disorder which results from a traumatic experience. Post-traumatic stress can result from an extreme situations, such as being involved in warfare, rape, hostage situations, or involvement in a serious accident. It can also result from long term (chronic) exposure to a severe stressor, for example soldiers who endure individual battles but cannot cope with an unceasing sequence of battles. The sufferer may experience flashbacks, avoidant behavior, and other symptoms. Separation Anxiety: Separation Anxiety affects school aged children who struggle to socially engage or participate in the absence of their care-giver. It can also be difficult to distinguish separation anxiety from school phobia. Treatment: The choices of treatment include behavioural therapy, alternative therapies, lifestyle changes, and/or pharmaceutical therapy (medications). Sometimes a change in lifestyle is all that a person needs to treat the anxiety. With most, however, getting relief can be far more complex. There is some controversy over how to treat anxiety disorders. Mainstream treatment for anxiety consists of the prescription of anxiolytic agents and/or antidepressants and/or referral to a cognitive-behavioural therapist. Treatment controversy arises because, while some studies indicate that a combination of the medications and behavioural therapy can be more effective than either one alone, other studies have shown that the majority of anxiety disorder sufferers benefit most from pharmaceutical therapy (and not so much from behavioural therapy). The right treatment may depend very much on the individual's genetics and environmental factors. Therefore, to get the best treatment results, it is important to work closely with a psychiatrist, therapist or counsellor who is familiar with anxiety disorders and current treatments. Aromatherapy offers alternative treatments to relax and help to de-stress the person. Many essential oils have sedative or relaxing properties and often if an aromatherapist is involved in helping to treat the person their caring approach can assist with these feelings. As with all essential oils it is important to take into consideration the person’s likes and dislikes as this can often reflect which are the best oils to use for their anxiety. A selection of the best sedative oils are Bergamot, Chamomile Roman, Cedarwood, Clary Sage, Cypress, Frankincense, Geranium, Hyssop, Jasmine, Juniper, Lavender, Marjoram, Melissa, Neroli, Patchouli, Rose, Sandalwood, Verbena & Ylang Ylang. |
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