Anxiety and Panic Disorders

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and panic disorder affect people off all ages and is seen commonly in females. People with GAD are anxious or worried, often about normal life concerns. They cannot stop thinking about these fears and the anxiety prevents them from performing daily tasks. People with GAD have struggled with anxiety for at least six months, and have more days where they are fearful than days where they feel normal. Other symptoms of GAD may include restlessness, fatigue, difficulty in maintaining attention, irritability bowel syndrome, and headaches. Children and adolescents with GAD are excessively anxious about their performance in areas like school or sports, being on time for appointments, or fear of disasters such as nuclear war. They tend to be perfectionists, constantly needing approval and reassurance for their work, or repeating tasks that are less than perfect.

Panic disorder is a type of anxiety disorder. People with this illness have short periods of intense fear or discomfort which starts quickly and usually peaks in about 10 minutes. The person feels that they are in immediate danger and need to escape. Some feel like they are having a heart attack. Physical symptoms during the panic attack can include difficulty breathing, fast heart beat, headaches, dizziness, feelings of choking or smothering, nausea, or bloating. These attacks may even happen while sleeping. The attacks may occur daily, weekly or less frequently, and are followed by a period where the person is worried about having another attack. This fear can severely restrict their behavior to the point where they fear leaving their house. If not treated, patients can become depressed, agoraphobic, and substance abuse problems can develop in some instances.

GAD can be treated by the cognitive-behavioral therapy (a forum of psychotherapy) and medications. Drugs are used to treat the anxiety, muscle tension, insomnia, and other physical symptoms associated with GAD. Patients may receive drug therapy for several months or even years. Benzodiazepines, a family of drugs which included lorazepam and diazepam, are typically used to treat the acute symptoms of GAD. Antidepressant drugs are usually used for the long-term treatment of GAD, especially in those who are depressed.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy can also be used to treat panic disorder. Panic disorder is usually treated with an 8 to 12 week trial of antidepressants. If the antidepressant works, it will be continued for 12 or more months. If the panic attacks have not returned after one to two years, the antidepressant can be slowly stopped. Benzodiazepines may also be used in the first few weeks of treatment to help them deal with the fear and anxiety.