April 9th, 2010 by admin
Putting aside all the pointless arguments about whether people should get so anxious, the practical reality is that they do. If this seriously disrupts their ability to lead normal lives, then something should be done. Common humanity requires that society makes reasonable provision for their treatment. The pharmaceutical industry would have us believe drugs are the best answer to all our problems and, when it comes to dealing with anxiety disorders, our doctors have a mass to choose from. We start of with antidepressants. Yes, the name apparently suggests their function is limited to treating depression, but they can be just as useful in treating anxiety disorders. So now your doctor decides which variety to try out on you. There are the SSRIs and the tricyclics, and do not forget the MAOIs. Then we get into the anti-anxiety drugs, most often derived from the benzodiazepines. If those do not take your fancy, there are always the beta-blockers. The cabinet in your bathroom can be filled to overflowing (subject to deciding whether all these options are covered by your health plan). But, for all this choice, there is one inconvenient truth. Read the rest of this entry »
April 9th, 2010 by admin
As is always the way when it comes to medical matters, the first step is diagnosis. The patient consults his or her regular doctor and, if a specialist’s opinion is required, there will be a referral to a psychologist. The patient is the primary source of information about symptoms – most of the symptoms will be obvious physical behavior including increased heart rate, faster breathing, sweating, etc. shaded by subjective factors offering an insight into what has triggered worries of this level of intensity. In deciding whether this is a true case of anxiety disorder, the anxiety must have become persistent and significantly affect the quality of life. A key factor is whether there is a genuine and continuing reason for the anxiety. If the anxiety is not completely rational, it will be considered a disorder.
However, the diagnosis and subsequent decisions of treatment can be complicated if there are social or physical contributions to the anxiety state. If the person is going through a long-running divorce or finds the work environment stressful, it may be necessary to resolve those problems first. Only then can the doctor see whether the anxiety is sufficiently irrational to justify treatment as a disorder. Similarly, if there are serious health problems including alcoholism and substance abuse, it will be necessary to treat those conditions. It may well be that, as the health issues are resolved, the anxieties reduce. If the patient has been through previous treatment, it will be very important to review exactly what happened and, if possible, decide why that treatment was not successful. It would be a waste of everyone’s time to repeat what was done before. Then comes the decision on finding a balance between medication and psychotherapy. Read the rest of this entry »