Millions of people suffer from anxiety everyday, however, what they experience is a normal everyday thing. What others experience is a persistent excessive anxiety that can last for days or weeks on end. They can be overwhelming and deblitating, which often interferes with everyday life.
The most common of anxiety disorders is Generalized Anxiety Disorder. The main characteristic of this disorder is excessive uncontrollable worry about everyday things. It can become so bad that physical symptoms will be present. The worry will often shift from one subject to another and will cause the person to avoid certain situations, they will constantly ask for reasurrance. Often more than not, the person is sort of a perfectionist. The worry can range from mild to extreme/severe.
Some physical symptoms include:
Muscle tension
Sweating
Nausea
Gastrointestinal discomfort or diarrhea
Cold, clammy hands
Difficulty swallowing
Jumpiness
Suffers often complain about feeling on edge, becoming easily tired, have trouble sleeping. Mostly the sleep habits will range from having a hard time falling asleep, having a restless sleep, no sleep at all, or extreme sleep disturbance, such as waking up several times a night.
Anxiety disorders are usually treated with medication, or therapy which exposes them to stressors, if no stressors are identified, medication and talk therapy are used.
