Psychological Well Being

Anxiety Issues – Dealing with worry

Anxiety is a natural and normal emotional reaction to threats and situations that are perceived as dangerous. If we however overestimate danger and at the same time underestimate our own ability to cope, different types of anxiety disorders may arise.

Anxiety Disorders that can affect your life

Worried all the time even when you have no reason to be? You may be suffering from anxiety disorder. It’s not uncommon for people to be anxious, but certain types of anxiety are far from helpful, and can often be an indication of a real underlying issue that is affecting your life today.

Types of anxiety:

• Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
• Panic attacks
• Social phobia
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)  

Four different components of anxiety

We can differentiate between four different components of anxiety: Cognitive, emotional, behavioural and the physical component.

• The cognitive component of anxiety describes the negative automatic thoughts and images we have about threatening or unpleasant events. The threatening event can be something in the very near future, and then the thoughts tend to get panic-like, or it can be more vague about something might happening in the future and then the thoughts are often more like ‘ongoing worries’
• The emotional component describes the particular ways we feel when we experience anxiety (could be panic, worry, despair, anger etc.)
• The behavioural component is about the ways we act and react in relation to anxiety. Some typical types of behaviour are avoidance and escaping from the feared situation as well as safety behaviours where we do something to protect or prepare ourselves for the situation (e.g. always asking for others advice and reassurance or over-rehearsing the sentences we are going to say in social situations)
• The physical component describes all the bodily sensations that are related to anxiety, such as nausea, hyperventilating, increase in pulse and blood pressure, dizziness etc. Some people are also anxious about how they appear to others and fear that the physical symptoms of anxiety will make others judge them in a negative way for blushing, trembling etc

Depression will affect 15% of people in the UK

Depression is the fourth leading cause of disability and disease worldwide. World Health Organization (WHO) projections indicate that depression will be the highest ranked cause of disease burden in developed countries by the year 2020. Depression is the third most common reason for consultation in general practice in the UK. Each year 6% of adults experience an episode of depression, and over the course of their lifetime more than 15% of the population will experience an episode. About two-thirds of adults will at some time experience depressed mood of sufficient severity to interfere with their normal activities.

Depression covers a range of mental health conditions

Depression refers to a range of mental health conditions characterised by persistent low mood, loss of interest and enjoyment in ordinary things and experiences, and a range of associated emotional, cognitive, physical, and behavioural symptoms. Symptoms occur continually and day to day functioning is often impaired.

The most common symptoms of depression are:

• Persistent sadness or low mood. This may be with or without weepiness
• Marked loss of interest or pleasure in activities, even for activities that you normally enjoy
• Disturbed sleep compared with your usual pattern. This may be difficulty in getting off to sleep or waking early and being unable to get back to sleep. Sometimes it is sleeping too much
• Change in appetite. This is often poor appetite and weight loss. Sometimes the reverse happens resulting in comfort eating and weight gain
• Fatigue (tiredness) or loss of energy
• Agitation or slowing of movements
• Poor concentration or indecisiveness. For example, you may find it difficult to read, work, etc. Even simple tasks can seem difficult
• Feelings of worthlessness, or excessive or inappropriate guilt
• Recurrent thoughts of death. This is not usually a fear of death, more a preoccupation with death and dying. For some people despairing thoughts such as “life’s not worth living” or “I don’t care if I don’t wake up” are common. Sometimes these thoughts progress into thoughts of and even plans for suicide.

Alcohol Addiction can affect anyone at anytime

Alcohol may be accepted in many cultures; however, it is widely recognised as a significant contributor with issues relating to emotional, physical and social factors. Alcohol is a psychoactive substance that can lead to physical and psychological dependency. Alcohol addiction is regularly mistaken to affect individuals who are weak and lack will power. The reality is alcohol addiction is a chronic disorder that can affect anyone regardless of any age, race, creed social status or religion.

Alcohol Addiction and Health Problems

For some individuals, drinking can be a pleasurable and social experience, but for others it can cause significant consequences. Drinking alcohol is associated with a risk of developing health problems such as depression, anxiety, liver cirrhosis and cardiovascular diseases. If left untreated, alcohol addiction can progress and worsen over time and can cause harm, both to the individual and to their loved ones.

The most common symptoms of alcoholism are:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Stress
• Extreme mood swings
• Difficulty stopping and continuing to stop
• Feeling hungover when not drinking
• Choosing to drink over other responsibilities and obligations
• Engaging in risky behaviour, such as drink driving
• Being in denial about the extent of the alcohol abuse problem
• Becoming distressed at the prospect of not having access to alcohol

Drug addiction is a progressive condition

Drug addiction is a progressive condition that can worsen over time, causing damage to emotional and physical well-being. An individual who is addicted is unable to control their use of the drug, leading to potentially fatal consequences. Individuals may often begin using drugs socially, however as tolerance to the drug develops, they find themselves using more frequently and for longer periods of time. As tolerance develops drug addiction causes some individuals to become psychologically and/or physically dependent on the drug, which may include illegal drugs or prescription medication.

Drug Addiction and Health Problems

Individuals can experience a compulsion to use drugs despite experiencing negative consequences as well as the inability to stop by willpower alone. Chronic drug abuse can have significant short- and long-term effects on an individual’s psychological and physical health. Symptoms can differ depending on the type of substance. For example, how much and how often the drug is taken, and the individual’s general health.

The most common symptoms of drug addiction are:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Mood swings
• Isolation
• Withdrawing from family and friends
• Changes in daily routines
• Changes in personality and behaviour
• Lack of motivation, irritability and agitation
• Difficulty stopping and staying stopped
• Engaging with risky activities when under the influence of the drug