Anxiety
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About Anxiety
From time to time everyone has temporary feelings of anxiety or worry, but you may have an anxiety disorder if persistent worry and anxiety interferes with your life. Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) is a condition where you have excessive anxiety most days. If your anxiety makes you feel ill and tired, and affects your day-to-day life, you probably have GAD. GAD is when you worry or feel anxious most of the time and these feelings last for at least six months. It is a real illness and, although there is no cure, it can be successfully treated. It is a long-term illness that can last for many years before it is diagnosed. It is often present with another mental illness such as depression or panic disorder. You will often have the following symptoms:
restlessness and difficulty relaxing, feeling tired most of the time, finding it difficult to concentrate on any one task and a tendency for your mind to go blank, feeling irritable most of the time, muscle tension, sometimes leading to muscle pains. The tension can also make you feel shaky, and poor sleep (insomnia) - you may have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. Anxiety disorder can also cause physical symptoms:
headaches, pains in your joints, feeling breathless, palpitations (when you can feel your heart beating too fast), tightness or pain in your chest, dry mouth, sweating, flushing, nausea, stomach pains, and diarrhoea.
Western Medicine View
The cause of generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) is not known, but is thought to be linked to certain factors, such as your genetic make-up. Some people have a more anxious personality than others which can run families. Also someone with an anxiety disorder may have experienced a difficult childhood. People who have been abused or experienced a traumatic event as a youngster, such as the death of a parent or close friend, are more likely to be anxious when they become older, and a major stressful experience. Those who have had a problematic familial or marital relationship, have been bullied or raped, or have survived a disaster are more likely to develop long-term anxiety. Women are twice as likely as men to have an anxiety disorder. It is also more common if you are unemployed, a housewife or are separated, divorced or widowed. The chemical make-up in your brain may be another factor that contributes to the development of anxiety. Brain chemicals such as serotonin or noradrenaline affect your mood and thinking. GAD may be associated with altered levels of these chemicals. There are a number of options for the long-term treatment of generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) that can help you get better and stay better. These include psychological therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), drug treatment (e.g. paroxetineand) and self help. You should discuss the choice of treatment with your GP who may recommend a combination of psychological therapy and drug treatment. If you have GAD, it's very likely that you've already had another mental health problem, such as depression or schizophrenia (a major psychiatric disorder).
Chinese Medicine View
Anxiety takes away kidney-Qi (kidney energy) and makes Qi (energy) go down. Situations of chronic anxiety will have different effects on Qi (energy) depending on the state of the Heart. If the heart is weak, it will cause Qi (energy) to become Empty-Heat. Anxiety weakens Kidney-Yin (in the yin-yang system of philosophy and medicine, Yin is an insufficiency of body fluid) and give rise to Empty-Heat of the Heart with such symptoms as palpitations, insomnia, night-sweating, a dry mouth, flushing and a rapid pulse. Liver-Blood deficiency and Gall Bladder deficiency can also cause anxiety.
Treatment Options
Acupuncture and Chinese herbs.
Lifestyle Advice
Avoid excessive thinking and emotional strain. Reduce the consumption of hot-energy foods and drinks (especially alcohol) as this leads to Fire and will easily upset the mind. Damp-producing foods can cause Phlegm, which when combined with Fire disturbs the mind. Avoid drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, LSD and others, as they can contribute to mental-emotional problems.
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