Mental Health
Anxiety
What is anxiety?
Anxiety is a term, which describes a normal feeling people experience when faced with threat or danger, or when stressed.
This is sometimes called the fight or flight response (sweating, heightened awareness, heart racing). This is unpleasant and distressing when it persists in the absence of a defined event.
Experiences of life, such as job loss, relationship breakdown, serious illness, war experiences, major accident or the death of someone close causes feelings of anxiety. Feeling anxious is appropriate in these situations and usually we feel anxious for only a limited time. These feelings are not regarded as clinical anxiety, but are part of everyday life.
Anxiety disorders
What are anxiety disorders?
Anxiety disorders are a group of illnesses, each characterised by
persistent feelings of high anxiety. There are feelings of continual
or extreme discomfort and tension, with the fear of panic attacks, usually
without discernible cause.
People are likely to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder when their level of anxiety and feelings of panic are so extreme that they significantly interfere with daily life and stop them doing what they want to do. This is what characterises an anxiety disorder as more than normal feelings of anxiety.
Anxiety disorders are common and affect 1 in 20 people at any given time.
Anxiety disorders affect the way a person thinks, feels and behaves and, if not treated, cause considerable suffering and distress.
They often begin in early adulthood and can be triggered by a series of significant life events.
Generalised anxiety disorder
People with this disorder worry constantly about harm affecting themselves or loved ones, for example, financial disaster, their health, work or personal relationships. The irrational worry is accompanied by feelings of constant apprehension.
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Many people who have experienced major traumas such as war, torture, vehicle accidents, fires or personal violence continue to feel terror long after the event is over. They may experience nightmares or flashbacks for years. The flashbacks are often brought about by triggers related to the experience, but not necessarily central to it.
Diagnosis of PTSD is difficult and requires intervention from skilled and experienced clinicians.
The
Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health (ACPMH) have published
a booklet:
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and War-Related Stress - for veterans and their families.
To receive a copy of this book:
Phone: (03) 9496 2922
E-mail: acpmh@austin.unimelb.edu.au
Or visit: www.acpmh.unimelb.edu.au
Obsessive compulsive disorder
People with this condition feel an overwhelming compulsion to perform specific tasks over and over again. They feel intense anxiety, which is partially relieved by performing the activity. Tasks may include washing, checking, or other rituals. They may also have persistent compulsive thoughts.
Specific phobias
Fear of snakes, spiders, lifts, blood, flying. Agoraphobia - fear of crowds and crowded places. Social phobia - for example fear of what others may think of you, fear of eating in front of people, fear of blushing or sweating in front of people - so people with social phobia deliberately become socially isolated to avoid facing up to their social phobia/s.
What causes anxiety disorders?
The causes of each disorder may vary and it is not always easy to determine the causes in every case.
It is common for anxiety and depression to co-exist, but it is also possible to experience high anxiety without being depressed. Similar strategies may help both.
What treatment is available?
Anxiety disorders, if they are not managed, continue to interfere significantly with the person's thinking and behaviour, causing considerable suffering and distress.
Many professionals such as your GP, psychologists, social worker, counsellors or psychiatrist can assist in the treatment of anxiety disorders.
Treatment will often include education and counselling, to help the person understand their thoughts, emotions and behaviour.
People develop new ways of thinking about anxiety and how to deal more effectively with feelings of anxiety.
Medication is sometimes used to help the person control their high anxiety levels, panic attacks or depression.
Modern anti-depressant medication can be part of the treatment for both anxiety and depression. It is not addictive.
Where can I go for help?
- Your GP, psychiatrist / psychologist
- Your community health centre
- Your community mental health centre
- VVCS
For information on each of these services, check the Community Help and Welfare Services and 24-hour emergency numbers in you local telephone directory.
For immediate counselling assistance, contact:
- LifeLine on 13 1114
- Veterans Line on 1800 011 046
Further reading
- Mental Health Brochures, available from the Department of Health and Ageing.
- Understanding troubled minds, by Sidney Bloch and Bruce S Singh.
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and War-related Stress, for veterans and their families, Australian Centre for Post-traumatic Mental Health (ACPMH).