Anxiety

"It's excessive and persistent fear best adjusted through preparation and usage of encouraging rather than discouraging thoughts.  To be able to get to such emotional fitness, medications may serve as braces.  Temporary and effective with a plan to taper as we get stronger." - Dr. Gadh

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is a mental health condition characterized by feelings of extreme worry and fear. There are a variety of categories of anxiety, including generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social phobia, and panic disorder.

GAD is the most common form of anxiety. If you have GAD, you live with an ever-present fear and worry. Your anxiety may be focused on seemingly benign things, such as work, school, or family, or your nervous feelings may not relate to anything specific.

Panic disorder is characterized by panic attacks, during which physical symptoms, such as a racing heartbeat, sweating, or tremors, evidence themselves. Panic attacks can be triggered by specific fears or come on out of nowhere.

Social phobia and other phobias are triggered by specific situations and memories. Examples of phobias include acrophobia, which is the fear of heights, aviophobia, which is the fear of flying, and arachnophobia, which is the fear of spiders.

What causes anxiety?

The major causes of anxiety are usually twofold, combining a chemical imbalance in your brain and untreated trauma. While medical researchers haven’t identified the exact reason why some people experience anxiety disorders and others don’t, they have identified risk factors that can increase your chances of developing a condition, including:

• A family history of anxiety or other mental health disorders
• Trauma
• Stress
• Long-term illness
• Substance abuse
• Environmental factors, such as poverty, neglect, and abuse

Anxiety can also lead to other complications, such as depression, substance abuse, and damage to your relationships and performance at work and school.

How is anxiety treated?

Dr. Gadh provides highly customized treatments for anxiety. He combines medication and talk therapy methods, including cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavioral therapy. His goal is to provide you with the self-knowledge and skills you need to heal, recognize your triggers, and respond with more healthy and appropriate behaviors.

His “pills and skills” approach takes place in two parts. First, he provides you with medication to help restore your brain’s chemical balance and thereby relieve you of your symptoms. Second, while the medication helps stabilize you and give you the ability to focus, he teaches you how to recognize your triggers and shows you techniques to control your behaviors.

If you’re living with anxiety, book an appointment online or over the phone with Sudhir Gadh, MD, and get the specialized help you need to lead a healthy and fulfilling life.