Anxiety

Anxiety is natural and even healthy until it starts to dominate your emotions. If you develop anxiety disorder symptoms, visit psychiatrist Margaret Miller, DNP, LMSW, and the team at Greenwich Avenue Psychiatry in Greenwich, Connecticut. They use evidence-based treatments like psychotherapy and medication combined with complementary approaches to reduce anxiety. Call Greenwich Avenue Psychiatry to arrange an anxiety assessment or request an in-person or telehealth consultation online today. They provide telehealth services to patients throughout New York and Connecticut. 

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is something most people feel when worried or scared. You might feel anxious before an interview or audition or worry about your child having their first sleepover.

Feeling anxious primes your mind and body so you can run away from danger or defend yourself from threats. Hormones released by your glands when you’re anxious or scared increase your strength and help you think and act more quickly.

In situations like sporting events, anxiety improves your performance, and it can be highly motivating. However, anxiety can become disabling if it starts controlling your life or erupts into panic attacks.

What symptoms might anxiety cause?

Common anxiety symptoms include:

• Restlessness
• Nervousness
• Irritability
• Difficulty concentrating
• Excessive sweating
• Prickling or tingling sensations
• Fast, shallow breathing
• Abdominal pain
• Nausea and vomiting
• Diarrhea

When a panic attack strikes, physical anxiety symptoms get considerably worse. You might feel you’ve lost control and can’t stop screaming and crying, or you might freeze so you can’t move or speak. You might have difficulty breathing and chest pain that is reminiscent of a heart attack.

Are there different kinds of anxiety?

Anxiety presents in several ways, common anxiety disorders being:

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

People with GAD worry about everything, from choosing what clothes to wear and food to eat to wars and natural disasters. They focus on the adverse effects of their choices and actions rather than making a realistic assessment of the situation and acknowledging their fears are irrational.

Phobias

In contrast to GAD, people with phobias have highly focused anxiety that’s typically out of proportion to any danger. You could have a phobia about anything, but some that are especially common include heights, snakes, spiders, and confined spaces. Exposure to the object of your fear can trigger a panic attack. 

Social anxiety disorder

Social anxiety disorder is a phobia activated by being with strangers and/or in a crowded place.

Conditions like obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) also feature anxiety as a primary symptom.

What treatments help with an anxiety disorder?

The Greenwich Avenue Psychiatry team offers anti-anxiety medications and psychotherapy to help you overcome anxiety.

Psychotherapy (talk therapy) helps you find anxiety’s root causes and teaches you how to deal with them. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and similar behavioral techniques help you challenge anxiety-based thoughts and reframe them so they’re more rational.

Call Greenwich Avenue Psychiatry or request an appointment online today to receive expert anxiety treatment.