Anxiety

What are anxiety disorders?

Anxiety disorders are common mental health conditions causing anxious feelings in everyday situations. While nearly everyone experiences anxiety from time to time, anxiety disorders negatively affect the ability to live your best life — and sometimes cause physical health problems or panic attacks when left untreated.

What are the symptoms of anxiety disorders?

Examples of anxiety disorder symptoms include:

• Sweating
• Trembling
• Ongoing or extreme anxiousness 
• Fear or dread
• Pounding heart rate
• Panic attack (shortness of breath and difficulty breathing)
• Irritability
• Difficulty concentrating
• Obsessive, uncontrollable thoughts
• Heart palpitations
• Restlessness
• Muscle tension
• Ongoing stress
• Problems sleeping

Your symptoms may be mild or severe and debilitating. See the Doran mental health experts at the first sign of ongoing fear that interferes with maintaining a superior quality of life. 

What are the different types of anxiety disorders?

The following are specific types of anxiety disorders:

• Agoraphobia: intense fear of being unable to escape certain situations
• Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD): consistently being worried, overwhelmed, or fearful
• Specific phobias: fear of specific things or situations, such as heights or enclosed spaces
• Panic disorder: unexpected panic attacks that may feel like you’re having a heart attack
• Separation anxiety disorder: anxiety when being separated from a loved one
• Social anxiety disorder: fear of being judged and avoiding social situations

It’s common to have other mental health disorders (in addition to anxiety disorders), such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 

How are anxiety disorders diagnosed?

Diagnosing anxiety disorders at Doran requires a mental health evaluation. Your provider meets with you in person or via telehealth to ask about your medical history, symptoms, lifestyle, medications, thoughts, mood, emotions, and behaviors using DSM-5-TR criteria. They tailor a treatment based on your specific diagnosis and preferences.

How are anxiety disorders treated?

Treating anxiety disorders (and any co-existing mental health conditions) with the Doran team may consist of one or more of the following:

• Medication management
• Lifestyle change counseling
• Nutrition counseling
• Psychotherapy 
• Individual therapy
• Family therapy 
• Couples therapy
• Mindfulness-based therapy
• Narrative therapy
• Internal family systems therapy (IFS)
• Eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy
• Exposure therapy 
• Rational emotive behavioral therapy (REBT)
• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
• Psychedelic integration therapy
• Ketamine therapy 

Your provider follows up to complete therapy whenever necessary and ensures an effective, lasting outcome free from stress and anxiety. 

Schedule an in-person or telehealth anxiety evaluation today with the Doran experts by calling the office or booking an appointment online.