What are Anxiety Disorders?
Unfortunately, everyone experiences some form of anxiety. Whether it be nervousness, feeling on edge, uncertainty, and some form of fear in different areas of our lives. Anxiety can be in many different fears such as heights, getting on planes, public speaking, driving, and so much more are all common sources of anxiety for the everyday person. Although everyone has some version of anxiety, a person with anxiety disorders experience nervousness on an entirely different level.
External conditions may not always be the cause of someone’s anxiety when they have a specific disorder. The feelings that one may feel can be extremely intrusive and intense to the point where it interrupts their everyday life. Excessive fear and persistently worrying about different situations that may not exist or may not be as threatening as perceived is how we typically define anxiety disorders. Anxiety could be a symptom of PTSD, brain chemistry, genetics and so much more. Around 40 million people are affected by anxiety disorders in just the United States.
Types of Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety can be difficult to tackle on your own. At Life Adjustment Team, we understand that every person needs one on one attention to help conquer their disorders. Our assertive mental health case management program can be useful for the different anxiety disorders below.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
GAD is one of the most widely diagnosed anxiety disorders out there. Typically, those with major depression and other mental health conditions also experience GAD. It can be difficult to navigate through what is GAD and what may be another disorder to the person coping as the symptoms can be hiding behind the other disorders.
Signs of GAD
Someone with GAD is typically characterized by worrying excessively about their everyday life. This can mean exaggerating fears about their health, social interactions, work, accidents, etc. These exaggerated fears can cause disruptions in completing daily tasks, difficulty concentrating, muscle tension, sleep problems, irritability, and more.
Panic Disorder
Panic disorders are typically more recognizable than generalized anxiety disorder. Its name comes from the panic attacks that people suffer from. This is one of the most crippling anxiety disorders and usually requires more intensive methods of treatment.
Signs of Panic Disorder
Panic attacks have powerful physical effects on the body such as heart palpitations, chest pains, dizziness, shortness of breath, and persistent feelings of terror. Panic attacks are often mistaken for a heart attack with how severe they are. Panic attacks are triggered by many different things and can be different for everyone. While an individual without a panic disorder can experience a panic attack throughout their lives, people with panic disorders experience them often, and if they are untreated, they can last up to several days.
Specific Phobias
Although most people have specific fears, for example, fears of spiders, heights, snakes, the dark, etc., people with phobias have irrational fears that may become a significant block in a person’s life. These phobias can center around almost anything, from contamination and germs to holes or clowns, or even patterns involving holes.
Signs of a Phobia
Phobias and fears are different because phobias are fears that became compulsive, irrational, obsessive, triggering anxiety or overwhelming panic attacks when faced with or thinking about the fear. An individual with phobias might find themselves fixating on the phobia even when they are not in a situation with risks of encountering the phobia and go to extreme lengths to avoid any triggers.
Assertive Case Management for Anxiety Disorders
At Life Adjustment Team, we implement state-of-the-art comprehensive outpatient psychiatric rehabilitation into our treatment. Through these outpatient programs, we have developed a case management model to create a cohesive effort between a client, the client’s family, and our team of multidisciplinary case managers.
We assess the problems caused by the anxiety disorder, provide mentorship, coordinate goals, and advocate for plans of action with key services to help meet the individual’s or family’s health and wellness needs. During the assertive case management model, the client will partake in individualized sessions with our Master’s level staff. The plan is customized to each individual and their family. Typically, clients come in 1-5 times a week for 1-3 hours each session.
The goal of this program is to meet the individual’s needs and they feel at an optimum level of independence, wellness, and functional capability and empower them to live a more active, stable, and productive life.
Contact Life Adjustment Team for Treatment Options
If our case management model is something you are looking for to help you or a loved one live a better life, contact us today. We have the knowledge, training, passion, and experience to help anyone get back on their feet from a debilitating mental health condition. Overcome your anxiety disorder and gain the confidence you need with Life Adjustment Team today.
