Understanding Your Anxiety

"Worry is a misuse of imagination" (author - Dan Zadra)

Counseling techniques to control, reduce and eliminate anxiety can be very effective when using a cognitive-behavioral approach. This is because, at their root, anxiety disorders are, "disorders", of your thought process. Consider:

• Anxiety is a problem with your level of worry, concern and focus.

• Anxiety is not a problem with your mood; however, your mood can be influenced by your worry, concern and focus.

• A mood disorder can contribute to anxiety by coloring your thinking.

If you do believe you are also experiencing a mood disorder, visit the section on dealing with depression to learn more.

There are groupings of anxiety type symptoms that are given the following diagnoses: (click on diagnosis name for more info)

Each of these disorders has a its own unique set of challenges and issues. Working with a counseling professional is vital to coping with their impact.

As with all mental health issues, each diagnosis will have individual groups of symptoms that range from mild to severe. To get a better idea of what is occurring, let's look closer at the first disorder listed above:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

EVERYONE WORRIES

It is part of the human condition to think about the future. If this were not so, how could we plan, use tools, or even take our next step?

Some people plan and worry a lot while others seem to hardly consider the future at all. This can be as much a function of someone's personality as it can be an anxiety disorder.

When it causes you distress.

When it results in difficulty functioning in a work, school, interpersonal or social enviornment.

When you have difficulty controlling or stopping your symptoms.

To understand the symptoms of anxiety let's review

Anxiety involves the thoughts part of the chain

While your thoughts may result in emotions and responses of behaviors you don't want, the anxiety consists of concerns, fears, imaginings, distorted or irrational beliefs, etc.

Anxiety is, in essence: thinking too much. The excessive (and unnecessary) focus is producing fear, confusion, frustration, depression, anger, etc.

Anxiety is also thinking that predicts the future; which, I don't know of anyone who has developed that power to date.

There are steps you can take to reduce the impact of anxiety. You can get control of your thinking process a couple of different ways. You will find these methods explained on: Counseling Techniques for Anxiety.

In certain instances, counseling alone may not be sufficient, and medication may be needed. To learn more about using medications and dealing with any side-effects, visit the Medication section.

Additionally, anxiety can cause physical symptoms such as weakness, dizziness, or headaches. These can lead to further concern and anxiety about the individual's health conditions. For authoritative information and answers to questions about the neurological basis, visit Ask The Neurologist.