Our Services / Anxiety

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is one of many normal emotions, but for some people, it becomes a clinical disorder. Anxiety disorders can develop for various reasons, from genetics and brain chemistry to personality and events you experience in your life. They cause symptoms such as:

• Nervousness and restlessness
• Inability to relax
• Feelings of danger and dread
• Rapid heart rate
• Fast breathing or hyperventilation
• Increased sweating
• Muscle twitches
• Trembling
• Weakness and fatigue
• Problems focusing
• Difficulties sleeping
• Digestive problems
• Avoidant behavior

Anxiety disorders affect around 40 million people across the United States, meaning anxiety is the most common mental illness diagnosis.

Are there different types of anxiety?

There are several types of anxiety and related disorders, including:

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

If you have GAD, almost everything in life is a cause of anxiety. Instead of focusing on a specific fear, you see danger and threats in everything, which can become so disabling you're unable to leave your home.

Panic disorder (PD)

The key feature of panic disorder is repeated panic attacks, where your anxiety becomes so overwhelming you can't function normally.

Social anxiety disorder (SAD)

People with social anxiety disorder find that being with other people, especially in large numbers, triggers their anxiety.

Specific phobias

Around 19 million adults have phobias — fears of a specific object or situation that provoke terror and revulsion. Heights, flying, spiders, and confined spaces are all common phobias, but you could develop a phobia about anything.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

OCD is due to anxiety caused by unpleasant thoughts that won't go away. In an effort to control these thoughts or obsessions, people with OCD develop compulsions — behaviors they must complete in precisely the right way.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

PTSD can affect anyone who's endured or witnessed a traumatic event or lived in a dangerous environment, such as an abusive household. It causes extreme anxiety, flashbacks, nightmares, and anger.

How is anxiety treated?

At CyFair Psychiatry, the team treats all forms of anxiety and related disorders and understands that taking the first step can be frightening.

He might recommend talking therapies to get to the root cause of your anxiety so you can deal with it. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is useful, too, as it can teach you how to look at things differently so they don't provoke your anxiety.

Medication can also be helpful. Drugs like serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) can help reduce the intensity of your anxiety. Antidepressants may be beneficial as well, especially if you have depression in addition to anxiety, which is quite common.

People often benefit most from a combination of therapy and medication. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) could also help some people if they aren't responding to front-line treatments.

If you're living with anxiety and want to get your life back, call CyFair Psychiatry today or book an appointment online.