Anxiety disorders: an information guide

60 Pages·2016·0.287 MB·English

by  Centre for Addiction and Mental Health;Bourdeau, Danielle;Joseph-Massiah, Linda;Kitchen, Kate;Laposa, Judith Megan;Rector, Neil A

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Anxiety
everyonefeelsanxiety,butonlysomepeopleexperi- A
n
enceanxietydisorders.Thisguideexploresthedifference x
i
e
betweennormalanxietyandanxietydisorders,suchas t
y
panicdisorder,specificphobias,obsessive-compulsive d
is disorders
disorderandpost-traumaticstressdisorder.Itlooksatthe o
r
d
reasonswhysomepeopledevelopanxietydisordersand
e
r
presentsanoverviewofpsychologicalandmedication s
treatments.Theguidealsolooksatlong-termstrategiesto
helppeoplewithanxietydisordersmanagetheiranxiety A An
n
andsuggestswaysthatfamilymemberscanhelp.
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a information
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guide
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Anxiety
disorders
An
information
guide
Neil A. Rector, PhD
Danielle Bourdeau, MD
Kate Kitchen, MSW
Linda Joseph-Massiah, RN, PhD
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LibraryandArchivesCanadaCataloguinginPublication
Anxietydisorders:aninformationguide:aguideforpeoplewithanxiety
andtheirfamilies/NeilA.Rector...[etal.].
1.Anxiety—Popularworks. 2.Anxiety—Patients—Familyrelationships.
I.Rector,NeilA. II.CentreforAddictionandMentalHealth.
RC531.A6342005 616.85’22 C2004-907081-9
isbn:978-0-88868-481-3(print)
isbn:978-0-88868-795-1(pdf)
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CONTENTS
v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
vi INTRODUCTION
Anxiety and anxiety disorders
1 1
Whatisnormalanxiety?
Howdoesanxietyaffectus?
Whenisanxietyaproblem?
Whataretheanxietydisorders?
What causes anxiety disorders?
2 14
Psychologicalfactors
Biologicalfactors
Otherfactors
Treatments for anxiety disorders
3 21
Cognitive-behaviouraltherapy
Medicationoptions
Recovery and relapse prevention
4 33
Preventingrelapseandpromotingwellness
Relationshipwithapartner
Help for partners and families
5 37
Whathappenswhensomeoneyoulovehasananxietydisorder?
Whenyourrelativeisfirstdiagnosed
Howtorelatetoyourfamilymember
Partnersandfamiliesneedtotakecareofthemselves
Explaininganxietydisorderstochildren
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iv Anxietydisorders:Aninformationguide
REFERENCES 45
SUGGESTEDREADINGS 46
INTERNETRESOURCES 49
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v
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Wewouldliketothankthepeoplewhosharedtheirpersonal
experienceswithanxietywithus,andthepeoplewithanxiety
disorders,familymembersandmentalhealthprofessionalswho
reviewedearlierdrafts.ReviewersincludedSheilaGamblenand
VeronicaKing;professionalreviewerswereSandieLeith,msw,
rsw,MaryLalonde,ot,andDonnaWeick,msw,rsw.
Wewouldalsoliketothankpastauthorsofotherguidesinthis
serieswhoseworkprovidedafoundationfortheinformation
presentedhere.Inparticular,wewouldliketothankChristina
Bartha,CarolParkerandCathyThomson.
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vi vi
INTRODUCTION
Thisguideisforpeoplewithanxietydisorders,theirfamilies,
partners,friendsandanyoneelsewhomightbeinterested.
Themanyaspectsofanxietydisordersdiscussedinthisbook
willanswersomecommonquestions,andhelpreadersdiscuss
anxietydisorderswithtreatmentproviders.
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1
1. Anxiety and
anxiety disorders
Everyonefeelsanxietyfromtimetotime.Fewpeoplegetthrough
aweekwithoutsomeanxioustensionorafeelingthatsomething
isnotgoingtogowell.Wemayfeelanxietywhenwe’refacingan
importantevent,suchasanexamorjobinterview,orwhenwe
perceivesomethreatordanger,suchaswakingtostrangesounds
inthenight.However,sucheverydayanxietyisgenerallyocca-
sional,mildandbrief,whiletheanxietyfeltbythepersonwithan
anxietydisorderoccursfrequently,ismoreintense,andlasts
longer—uptohours,orevendays.
Unfortunately,anxietydisordersarecommon.Researchshows
thatuptooneinfouradultshasananxietydisordersometimein
theirlife,andthatonepersonin10islikelytohavehadananxi-
etydisorderinthepastyear.Anxietydisordersarethemostcom-
monmentalhealthprobleminwomen,andaresecondonlyto
substanceusedisordersinmen.Anxietydisorderscanmakeit
hardforpeopletoworkorstudy,tomanagedailytasksandto
relatewellwithothers,andoftenresultinfinancialstrainand
profoundpersonalsuffering.
Peopleoftenlivewithanxietydisordersforyearsbeforetheyare
diagnosedandtreated.Ifyoususpectthatyouhaveananxietydis-
order,itisimportanttoseekprofessionaltreatmentassoonas
possible.Anxietydisordersaretreatable,andearlytreatmentcan
helptoensuretreatmentsuccess.
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2 Anxietydisorders:Aninformationguide
Thesixmaincategoriesofanxietydisordersarephobias,panicdis-
order(withorwithoutagoraphobia),generalizedanxietydisorder,
obsessive-compulsivedisorder,acutestressdisorderandposttraumatic
stressdisorder(AmericanPsychiatricAssociation[apa],2000).
Eachoftheseanxietydisordersisdistinctinsomeways,butthey
allsharethesamehallmarkfeatures:
•irrationalandexcessivefear
•apprehensiveandtensefeelings
•difficultymanagingdailytasksand/ordistressrelated
tothesetasks.
Inthefollowingexamples,Susan,JohnandLinda*showthese
commonfeatures,althoughtheprecisenatureoftheirfearsdiffer.
Susanhashadrecurrentandunexpectedpanicattacksforthepast
fiveyears:
ItstartedonanightwhenIwasdrivinghomeintherain.I
begantofeelshakyanddizzy,andhadtroublefocusing.At
first,IthoughtitwassomethingthatIhadeatenearlier,but
thenmymindstartedtodrift,andIthought,“WhatifIpass
out?”and“WhatifI’mdying?”Istartedtoshakeallover,
anditwasasifmyentirebodywaswired.Iquicklypulledthe
caroverandcalledmydaughtertocomeandgetme.Since
then,I’vehaddozensanddozensoftheseattacks.Atfirst,the
attacksoccurredjustwhenIwasdriving,butnowIexperience
theminshoppingmalls,standinginline-upsandevenon
thebus.ItseemsasifIspendmostofmydayworryingand
waitingforthenextattack.
Johndescribesalifelongpatternofbeingexcessivelyshyandfear-
ingembarrassmentinsocialsituations:
ForaslongasIcanremember,andasfarbackaswhenIwas
*Allnamesandidentifyingdetailshavebeenchanged.